Got the Duo!!!!!!!(updated on 9th Oct ). Review on Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

Amigos!

Got the duo yesterday in superior white. Well first impressions were that of total surprise as the white color is definitely a very striking color. I have got the following accessories fitted in the car

1) A Kenwood system kdc-mp5029 with 2 rear Kenwood 6x9 speakers and 2 front 4" Kenwood speakers.

2) Wheel Caps

3) Accessory outlet

4) Teflon coat

5) Front power Windows

I got into the car and the First feeling I got gosh this is a big car and I felt very "tall". The steering and the seating are extremely comfortable as I am 6 feet tall. I started the car and it felt a little coarse as the engine was a little cold. After I put it into reverse and I felt the gears a little stiff (probably because it has to be broke in). The power steering felt so light that could probably steer the car with my little finger. The response in first gear is smooth, but I cannot call it a rocket. But it takes off smoothly without any jerks. After about 5 mins I decided to switch to the LPG mode.

Here comes the best part I did not even feel it when the mode changed from petrol to LPG, as a matter of fact the engine became quieter in the LPG mode. The acceleration is a lot more relaxed and you feel a little underpowered, but the feel is very smooth, much smoother than petrol.

As someone was telling that the car switches to petrol mode when encountering a slope, slow speed etc... Sorry mate nothing of that sort happens. The first start in the morning was the only time I used petrol; otherwise u can start the car in the LPG mode anytime during the day!

The only time you can feel the change is when you shift from LPG to petrol where you get a "kick" from the back, probably cause of the bop increase.

Well another suggestion if you are planning to drive outside the city the 145 tires coming as standard on the duo are pathetic as they start vibrating at 70 kmph. I have to fight with the dealer now to get my tires changed. Please get a 165 size tire or at least a 155.

As a city car it is a delight to drive. The suspension is very supple and soaks all the bad roads thrown at it. Their is slight over steer and the car feels a little too quick to react to the steering input, making you a little uncomfortable. I believe this is because of the tall boy design.

The headlights are just great as the beam is pretty widespread.

I have got a tray installed in the rear for the 6x9 speakers as I realized the boot is useless cause of the spare tire in the boot. I did not like the sound effect of the speakers when they installed it in the hatch of the car.

My conclusion is if you have a lot of city driving and are not too bothered about boot space then go for it as there is no other car like this!

You realize it when you pay only 616 rupees for a full tank of gas.

I will give you the stats for the mileage after running it for a full tank or two

Happy Driving

ciao

Update 24/08/2006 :- The car starts without a hitch in LPG even in he morning basically the petrol is more or less a back up. Great news , imagine visiting a petrol pump maybe never!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHa.

Update 27/08/2006:- I have driven the car for 400 kms

Mileage 11.5 km/l on gas and all in the city . This is with the air con switched on at all times. that works out to be 2.42 rs / km which is pretty decent as the car has to be broken into yet. Will know the real mileage after 1000- 5000 kms.

Cons: The doors are like our old ambys they dont close without a bang have to talk to maruti about it plus the stereo is making a rattling sound

Update 31/08/2006:- Problems!!!! My LPG tank somehow is not able to hold more than 13 litres for some unknown reason. Yesterday the car just refused to run on LPG the engeine kept on stalling , had to drive the car on petrol. The service guys are picking up the car tomorrow, lets see what happens I will keep u informed.

Update 08/09/2006:- Well the car did come back promptly from the workshop and they seem to have located the problem in the supply pipe and a pressure valve. Even though there was enough gas in the tank the valve was shutting down. The reason is they have a stop valve arrangment where in you cannot fill more than 22.5 litres of LPG even though the capacity is actually 28 litres. It seems the problem has been solved as the car has already done 160 kms sice the last fill. I am going to run it till it stops on LPG, and then I will fill the tank up. Lets see what is the situation then.

Another funny thing is the indicator for the amount of LPG in the Tank, it is totally decptive! There are 4 green light and one amber to denote the amount of LPG. Within 55 kmsthe top 3 green lights are not lit anymore and yet the car has been running for a further 100 kms on the last green and amber light! Popular has been good in the response to my problems. Lets hope all goes well. Otherwise I am enjoying my drives on LPG and dont really miss the petrol one bit. Will keep all of u guys posted on the next full tank .

update 11th Sep :-Here are the stats for the mileage on LPG, on 21.6 litres the car ran a total of 220 kms or roughly 10kmpl1 which works out to be 2.74/ km Cool. i am quite satisfied with this mileage as it costs the same to run a diesel indica. The only negative point is the body roll it can be very uncanny esp if you are used to driving low cars ( lancer, old honda city etc.. ). I have come to this cocnclusion is that these cars are safe only for the cities, highway driving should be done with caution. My service manager has said that there should be a 10 % improvement in the mileage after the 2nd service. Will keep posting the updates on my car.

Update 22nd:- Got the 1st service done ! The car is a lot smoother and the pick up seems to be better, Sterted getting 240 kms to 21.6 litres of gas . One or two things I dont like is its quite noisy in the cabin the engine noise is quite high and there is a rattling coming from the speedo , weird!. But other than that no problem. Doing about 50 KM a day.

Update 9th October:- Well Have finished 2000 kms and now I am realising a difference in fuel bills as all of us are trying our best to use the wagon R for the city. The only issues that have cropped up is there is a noise from the fan belt , which makes a grinding sound everytime the car is started. Pretty irritating. I have to send the car to the workshop and get it rectified. Mileage is still the same at 11 km.lt with the a/c switched on at all times