Feb 10, 2004 01:30 PM
5843 Views
(Updated Feb 10, 2004 01:30 PM)
Walking toward the car for the first time, well the first time with the fact that I was going to be writing about it, I began taking notes over twenty meters in advance. The Ruby Red colour Wagon R VXi stood tall among the row of cars it was parked in. I guess a winner when you?re trying to spot your car in Delhi?s huge parking lots. What also caught my eye were the straight lines and the huge square headlamps.
Get into the car was very comfortable, owing to the height and the fact that the seat is pretty high. I quite enjoyed the seating position. It reminded me of my chair in office where I spend a better part of my day. Unlike most cars where your legs are nearly outstretched to reach the pedals, in the Wagon R your legs are in a more folded position and you actually press down on the pedals. A footrest beside the clutch would be great though.
A look around reveals quite a few surprises. This car has got to have the largest dash. It just seemed like forever till it reached the windshield. While on the subject I must add that, while driving around I noticed a Wagon R owner who had put it to the strangest use ? an assortment of the cutest stuff toys I?ve ever seen was on display. The dash being the size it is has been put to good use. If you?re the kind of person who carries a lot of knick-knacks, the passenger side has a top opening compartment, a traditional glove compartment and below which is a large pocket, which I used to park my magazines and files in. On the drivers site under the steering also there is space to park some small items like keys or cigarette pack. Beside this is also a very neat cup holder. The windshield also covers a large area, which in turn makes for better visibility.
The instrumentation is very average with a digital odometer.
Now it ?s time to test what?s under the hood. A turn of the key in the ignition brings to life the 1061 cc 4 cylinders 16 valve MPFI to life. A push forward on the gear, which is at par with other Maruti small cars, release of the clutch and a little initiation on the accelerator and the car moves out of the parking lot. The power-steering responds as expected and the car moves out comfortably. I just needed to check out one aspect about the car, which had been nagging me for a while. The height factor worried me about the possibility of it toppling over at fairly high-speed turns. Well the opportunity to test this was just around the corner and so I did. Apart from a the visual effect of me seeing the entire body from inside, and there?s so much of it in perspective, tilt to one side, the Wagon R negotiated that turn (and a lot more thereafter-skeptical that I am) with panache.
The suspension is decent, soft but decent. The perfect place to test this is on those mini speed-breakers you have in colonies all over Delhi and so I did. Ground clearance is also higher than most cars in the segment and otherwise too. I hate the scraping sound of metal making contact with the road surface especially when scaling some of those mountainous speed-breakers that are also commonplace on Delhi roads.
The Wagon R wasn?t as peppy as I expected. Maybe be it?s box design affected the aerodynamics. Anyway I did push the car to about 120 kmph. The fifth gear is a pleasure with a range from 40 kmph upwards. I felt this was the most responsive gear.
Coming back to the interior, the Wagon R is all about space. I specially like cars with a lot of legroom in the back seat and the Wagon R lives up to that desire. The large boot will comfortably accommodate your baggage if you?re off on a long trip. Five people in a Wagon R still gives a feeling of space. I guess it?s all that headroom. Of course all this space and high body design did have a downside, which I noticed while trying to reverse. Visibility and judgement are impaired drastically. I guess that?s the reason for driver & passenger side mirrors. This should be made standard on all models. The large Internal volume also seemed to take some sting out of the otherwise effective AC with powerful blowers, especially in the back. Central Locking and childproof power windows in the front were the other noticeable benefits.
Ask me about buying the car and I?ll rank it near the top on my list of options in the small car segment because an average of well over 15 kmpl is a straight A on the report card for the original ?TALL BOY?.
