Maruti Wagon R

The Maruti Wagon R has been the bread and butter of the carmaker since 1999 and it has grown a lot in the last two decades. It has become more feature loaded and more premium-looking, but it has stayed true to its core value of being a functionl people mover.

While it sits in the crowd of Maruti’s many affordable hatchbacks, it still manages to stand out with its tall boy design and family-first approach. I’ve driven the Wagon R a lot and have spent time with its rivals as well, and this is where it stands today. 

The Wagon R does not turn many heads, but it isn’t a design you’ll hate. Obviously, its tall boy silhouette focuses more on function over form. This tall boy design is also rare in the market, which does not go unnoticed. 

At the front, the Wagon R gets a basic grille, but there’s a splash of bling thanks to a sleek chrome strip connecting both the halogen headlights. We like the minimalist chrome approach as it gives the hatch the right amount of show. 

Maruti has also given the Wagon R character and that can be seen on the side. It sits on blacked-out 14-inch alloys which looks sporty. Lower variants of the Wagon R get 14-inch and 13-inch steel wheels. The overall look is further enhanced by the blacked-out roof and ORVMs in the top-spec ZXI+ dual-tone variant that makes the hatchback look more youthful and appealing. 

Things have been kept simple at the slab-like rear as well, with vertically stacked tail lamps and a chrome trim above the number plate housing, with ‘WAGON R’ embossed in bold. 

There isn’t much to hate in this design. It has been kept simple for generations, and the current one does have some modern elements to make sure it looks up to date. The dual-tone shades work in its favour, and the overall design is no-nonsense.

Maruti offers it in seven monotone shades: Superior White, Silky Silver, Magma Grey, Gallant Red, Nutmeg Brown, Poolside Blue, and Midnight Black. Gallant Red and Magma Grey are also available in the dual-tone shade.

Design & Quality

Getting inside the Wagon R is pretty easy due to its wide opening doors and a high roof. You don’t need to duck at all to get inside which makes ingress and egress effortless even for the elderly.

Inside, there is a straightforward flat dashboard design. The cabin is finished in three colours: black and beige with silver highlights. And the use of beige is generous, which makes the cabin feel airy, though do note it’s bound to get dirty pretty easily. 

The cabin is made up of hard plastics, quality of which is strictly acceptable for the price. The plastics are hard and scratchy on some places like the door pads and centre console, but the rest of the cabin is finished in smooth plastics. The AC knobs, stalks and steering-mounted audio controls all feel solid and robust. That said, its chief rival, the Tata Tiago, offers better cabin quality. 

Certain bits such as the plastics around the seatbelt area are crude, and the grab handles are fixed and look old school. We would also have liked some fabric padding on the door pads. 

Front Seats

With the Wagon R, you get dual-tone black and beige fabric seats, which match the colour scheme of the dashboard. You sit slightly higher compared to other hatchbacks, which gives you a commanding and clear view of the road ahead. But, the drive seat doesn’t get height adjustment, and the steering wheel gets only tilt adjustment, which makes it difficult to find your ideal driving position.

We found the seats to be comfortable and accommodating of wide frames. As for comfort levels, the Wagon R fares exceptionally well. The front seats have good lateral support and there’s more than enough room to wiggle around, while underthigh support is above average as well. The room is the footwell is just enough to rest your legs.

There aren’t adjustable headrests, but these fixed units are tall enough and should offer whiplash protection even if you are around six feet tall. And if you’re on the taller side, you will be happy to know that the front seats offer excellent fore and aft range. 

The tall seat height coupled with the slim A-pillar, low dashboard, and large glass area gives you excellent visibility.

Rear Seats

Since it is a tall boy, the rear seats offer great headroom even for 6-footers or those who wear headgear such as a turban. It has enough space to seat one 6-footer behind another, and both will have a comfortable seating position. Even with the front seats pushed all the way back, I (5’8”) had enough legroom. 

And as for seat comfort, underthigh support is more than enough, though the fairly flat seat back results in less lateral support. Another downside is that the fixed headrests are small, and almost useless as they don’t offer any sort of whiplash protection. 

This space is not for three passengers. The narrow cabin width does not allow three passengers to sit here comfortably, unless they’re of a slim/lean build. The middle passenger does not get a headrest, and while they won’t have to sit upright, the lack of shoulder room will leave the middle passenger struggling for space.

With a light cabin theme, and big windows, the overall visibility is great. But the large front headrests do hamper frontal visibility.

Storage Options

All four doors have bottle holders that can accommodate a 1-litre bottle, though the door pads are on the slimmer side and perfect for documents and wash cloths.  

There’s a large cubby hole below the AC controls to stow your smartphone, and you only get one cup holder at the front shared between both the occupants. As for the glove box, it is smaller than we'd have liked. Most of the little space is consumed by the user manual.

Rear passengers only get seat back pockets. No cupholders or small cubbies are on offer.

Charging Options

As for charging options, the front passengers get a 12V socket and a USB port, while the rear passengers don’t get any.

Overall, the cabin of the Wagon R is just at its exterior: simple and no-nonsense. There is a good amount of space, the cabin's quality is acceptable, and the fit and finish did not disappoint. The only room for improvement is in the cabin practicality, which is a little disappointing.

Features

With the Maruti Wagon R, you get all the basic amenities needed for your regular drives, but that’s more or less it. Here are your daily use functional features:

Other than these features, you get a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Its user interface is snappy, easy to use and it gets the job done. However, the graphics and the user interface feel outdated. That said, it supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which work seamlessly, and you can relay your smartphone’s screen on it.

While this feature list is enough for the price, features like automatic AC and a bigger touchscreen would have made it a better package.

Safety features include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors and hill-hold assist. It still misses out on ISOFIX child seat anchors, and a rear view camera. 

When the dual airbag version of the WagonR was crash tested by GlobaNCAP, it scored a disappointing 1 star rating. It remains to be seen if the score has improved post the update in safety features. 

The Wagon R comes with a 341-litre boot, which is squared off to allow easy placement of your luggage. Here, you can fit an entire set of suitcases (small, medium, and large) and you’ll still have space left for one or two small soft bags.

You do have to contend with a high loading lip, which makes it a little difficult to load or unload luggage. If you’re carrying more bags, Maruti has offered a 60:40 split in its rear seat, which you can fold to keep additional items.

The Maruti Wagon R is offered with a choice of two naturally-aspirated (NA) petrol engine options: a 1-litre three-cylinder and 1.2-litre four-cylinder. Both the engines get manual and AMT options. The 1-litre engine can also be had with a CNG option as well. Take a look at the detailed specifications:

1.2-litre Petrol

This 4 cylinder engine is refined and vibrations are kept under check. Turn the engine on and it quickly settles into a smooth idle. It’s only when you push it hard that it becomes vocal due to the lack of insulation.

City Performance

The engine is peppy and extremely responsive to drive in town. You don’t have to work it very hard to keep up with fast-moving traffic. You can close gaps in traffic comfortably too. Driving inside the city in slow moving traffic is also easy since it has enough low end torque to not cause any issues.

Even in bumper to bumper traffic, you don’t have to play around with the clutch as it crawls effortlessly. With a manual, you get a light clutch and the gears slot into place with ease. You can move around the city in 2nd or 3rd gear without needing to change gears frequently.

If you want some convenience in your city drives, you can pick the AMT which I drove. This transmission does make your city drives easier, but you’ll have to deal with occasional jerks and slow gear shifts. However, you do get a manual mode for better control.

In terms of fuel efficiency, you can get around 15-17kmpl inside the city with ease.

Highway Performance

Out on the open road, the Wagon R’s light kerb weight helps it get to 100kmph quickly. It can do three-digit speeds all day long. This engine is perfect for those, who’ll be using the Wagon R both on the highway and city. And if you’re in the mood for some fun, you’ll also appreciate the fact that it revs all the way up to 6000rpm.  

Overtakes on the highway don’t take much time and you can actually enjoy your highway drivers. With the manual, driving it is easy, and the AMT also does its job well. The gear changes are a little jerky, but this is one of the best AMTs in the market. 

Fuel efficiency is around 19-20kmpl on the highway. But if you’re cruising at 80 kmph, you can easily get a higher mileage.

1-litre Petrol

Being a 3-cylinder unit, it is a little less refined. This results in vibrations on the steering wheel. Gear knob, and in the footwell. Regardless, the power delivery is smooth, and enough for effortless city drives.

City Performance

This behaves nice inside the city where you do not feel any lack of power. Driving it around is as easy as the bigger engine, and overtakes don’t require much effort. Even in bumper to bumper traffic, this engine does a good job. It also offers a similar fuel efficiency. 

Highway Performance

This is where the difference is more noticeable. When driving on the highway, you’ll need more time to get to 100 kmph, and the car will start to feel dull once you cross 80 kmph. Overtakes will also require some additional planning. The upside is a good fuel efficiency of around 20 kmpl.

Note: WagonR CNG Performance

The CNG variants of this smaller powertrain offer a smooth driving experience inside the city where you don’t feel any lack of power. Overtakes will be quick and cruising around will be simple.

The engine will get a little loud compared to the standard petrol only powertrain, but that is something you can live with. 

Its lack of power will be noticeable on the highways when getting to triple digit speeds will require some planning and additional efforts. This powertrain is best used for high city commutes and relaxed highway drives. And being a CNG powertrain, you will get a fuel efficiency that’s light on your pocket.

Ride Comfort

The Wagon R boasts a suspension setup that offers a cushy ride. Speed breakers and minor potholes post no threat to the hatchback and most of the shocks don’t make their way into the cabin. Most of the imperfections and undulations on the road are dealt without unsettling the cabin. 

What catches it out mainly are big and sharp potholes, whose shocks do make their way to the interior. Also, there is some side-to-side movement while driving over really bad roads, but it isn’t to the point of being uncomfortable. Even when going over expansion joints, it doesn’t bounce much and settles down quickly. 

Handling

If you’re looking for something fun and enthusiastic, look elsewhere. Straight-line stability is par for the course, and the hatch remains stable even at triple-digit speeds. 

It’s only when you want to make a fast lane change that the hatch exhibits a lot of roll, which can be a bit overwhelming if you are not careful. Also, because of the roll, it takes a bit of time to change directions at higher speeds. What remains reassuring are the brakes. The pedal is easy to modulate and offers good feedback. And if you intend to brake hard, it offers a reassuring bite

as well. 

• Maruti offers the WagonR in four variants: LXi, VXi, ZXi, and ZXi+.

• CNG is available in all variants except the top, and AMT is offered from VXi variant onwards.

Maruti WagonR LXi Variant

• Typical base variant with basic design elements like 13-inch steel wheels, halogen lighting elements, and blacked-out ORVMs and door handles.

• Features include manual AC, front power windows, and idle engine start/stop (petrol only).

• Gets a good safety package with 6 airbags, electronic stability program (ESP), and rear parking sensors.

Maruti WagonR VXi Variant

• Gets the option of an AMT for driving convenience.

• Design upgrades include 14-inch steel wheels with covers along with body-colours ORVMs and door handles.

• Cabin gets more premium with steering wheel garnish, silver door handles, and silver insert on gear knob.

• Gets additional features like keyless entry, all four power windows, tilt-adjustable steering, bluetooth and AUX connectivity, and 2 speakers.

• Safety kit gets hill hold assist in the AMT variants.

Maruti WagonR ZXi Variant

• This variant gets similar styling as the VXi one, but comes with blacked-out B-pillar.

• No major changes to the feature list apart from steering mounted controls and electrically adjustable ORVMs.

• However, this variant gets the bigger 1.2-litre petrol engine.

Maruti WagonR ZXi+ Variant

• Exterior becomes more premium with 14-inch all black alloy wheels, ORVM mounted indicators, and option of dual-tone shades.

• Feature upgrades include a 7-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 4-speakers, and voice commands.

• The only addition in the safety kit are the front fog lamps.

CarDekho Recommends

• Pick the one-above-base VXi variant if you’re on a budget. You get the basic features and a good safety package, along with the option of both CNG and automatic powertrains.

• Go for the top-spec ZXi+ variant if you want a better feature experience. Gets the best styling inside and out, along with a more powerful powertrain.

The Maruti WagonR has always been a people mover, and it continues to do that today. It gets all the basics right, and focuses on giving the space and comfort you need for your family. While there could have been improvements in the cabin quality and feature list, it tries to give you the most for its price.

Even today, the WagonR is still a good choice for those looking to buy their first car. And no matter what it misses out on, it rarely disappoints.

Other Options To Consider

Maruti Celerio

Reasons To Consider

• Better styling

• Slightly better features

Reasons To Ignore

• Less rear seat space

• No 1.2-litre petrol engine

Tata Tiago

Reasons To Consider

• Better infotainment package

• More premium design

Reasons To Ignore

• Gets only 2 airbags

• Less space in rear seats

Citroen C3

Reasons To Consider

• Comfortable ride quality 

• Better infotainment package

Reasons To Ignore

• No CNG option

• Much more expensive