All New Wagon R!

So far, the Wagon R’s been seemingly unstoppable. Can the new one keep that going?

- Raunak Ajinkya

There’s no other way to put it, is there? The Wagon R, in India, is a huge deal. Two generations of it, and 22 lakh units later, it seems incredible that people haven’t had their fill of the compact hatchback. It’s been around for what seems like ages now, and it’s a testament to just how well-received it’s been that it still figures in the top-sellers’ list to this day. To think of renovating the ideology behind the car and reinventing it from top to bottom, then, not only seems like a task for the fearless, but also beggars the question, ‘Why bother?’. Then again, it’s precisely that sort of question that Maruti tends to avoid when it comes to its cars in India, and that’s probably also why it is where it is right now: right at the top. So, yes, the Wagon R’s been due for an update, but what Maruti’s given us here is something that’s so much more.

The basics first: the new Wagon R ditches the old A platform that it had for the new Heartect platform that underpins most of its siblings. The benefits of this are obvious: better crash safety, lighter kerb weight and improved dynamics. But it’s also given the Wagon R a new lease of life by being able to grow significantly. It’s longer by 56mm, wider by 125mm and the wheelbase is up 35mm, too. What this means is that it looks like a substantially bigger car than the outgoing spec, all the while being much lighter (by 65 kg, at that). Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.