Mar 28, 2007 04:43 PM
5667 Views
I have been using the wagonr lx since 2002. I have driven it almost 50, 000km with a good deal of highway travel in an around Jaipur. I was impressed with the reliability of Maruti vehicles since I had used the 800 for good four years when I upgraded to the wagonr. I tried the Santro and Palio before opting for wagonr. I found Palio considerably better than wagonr in almost all respects as a car.
But I got scared of the then already downsliding reputation of FIAT as a company in India and maintenance issues related to the Palio. Second option was Santro which did everything like Wagonr with no edge with either of them. So with nothing extra going for Santro giving weight to the Maruti badge, I went and bought a White Wagonr LX in august 2002. First the positives - a great city runabout with ease of driving, lots of space, good economy, okay air conditioning - you can just feel the compressor kick in and draw engine power.
Thats the playing field of the Wagonr - a city car with low speeds (40to80 kmph) its reliable to a fault. Push it higher and it begs for forgiveness.On the highways, the physics of the 'tallboy' design make it a little unstable while cornering where the pronounced roll is enough to force you to take the next turn at a modest 40-60 kmph. Non ABS braking on those flimsy thin tyres is another Ramsay brothers horror show.
It feels underpowered with the engine protesting loudly at speeds over 80 kmph. Steering given zero feedback to the driver.So this is it. A great city runabout for the ladies ideally!! Excuse me for the gender bias. Maybe ok for an occasional maximum 300 km visit to friends in the the next city but definitely NO NO for regular highway users or those who enjoy life in the fast lane.
