[MotorDev]

Living with the WagonR 1.2L AMT | The perfect first car?

Introduction

Dabba re dabba, uncle ka car dabba (uncle's boxy car) – what comes to your mind when you hear this phrase? Something that is boxy, spacious, affordable, has tons of headroom, and something extremely reliable – that's the WagonR for you. This famous car is known for its cute looks (pun intended). This is the ownership review of our cute !? WagonR...

Pros of the WagonR

- Smooth and refined engine, barely audible at idle
- Spacious interior comparable to SUVs, especially in the rear
- Useful features like electric ORVM, reverse parking sensors and Android Auto
- Tons of headroom in the front and rear
- Large windows for a bright interior
- Generous boot space of 341 litres, surpassing some compact SUVs like the Brezza and XUV 3XO
- Fuel-efficient, with up to 15 km/l in the city and 20 km/l on highways
- Compact and easy to navigate in busy cities like Bangalore

Cons of the WagonR

- Built to a cost, evident from its exterior panels' quality
- Cheap, low-quality plastics used inside
- Uncomfortable seats, particularly due to lack of adjustable headrests
- 1-Star GNCAP safety rating
- Steering lacks feedback
- Laggy infotainment system
- Ineffective AC, especially for rear occupants in summer
- Subpar handling and high-speed stability
- Jerky AMT
- High service cost

[MotorDev]

The Car Buying Journey

Index

Exterior Impressions
Interior Impressions
WagonR's Impressions on the Road
Ownership experience and conclusion


How a WagonR ended up in our garage:

So it goes back to 2019, there was no intention of buying the WagonR. I used to make fun of this car whenever I saw it on the road, calling it a box on wheels. Now, some of you might know that we previously owned a Honda City from this (The things you miss about your ex-cars):

Originally Posted by MotorDev

Our previous car was the Honda City 4th Gen.

What I miss about my previous car:

Space: The Honda City had more rear space for three people compared to our Slavia.

Fuss-free ownership experience: While our Slavia doesn't have major issues, minor ones like rattling noise can be irritating. We didn't face anything like this with the City.

Low maintenance costs: I remember our City used to get serviced at extremely low costs, around 2000-3000 rupees.

Refinement: The car was extremely smooth and refined! You couldn't hear a thing while on the go.

and this (Did you ever buy a car out of impulse?)...

Originally Posted by MotorDev

My dad did it way back in 2014. I vividly remember that we were passing by a Honda showroom in our Ford Ikon, and my dad, without even sitting inside the 4th-gen City, decided to book it! He didn't even take a test drive. He loved the Red City and booked it by paying 50,000 rupees at that time. He never regretted his decision and took care of the car like it was his baby.

At the start of 2019, our Honda City was involved in a terrible accident. The rear tyres burst, causing my dad to lose control of the car on a curve. Fortunately, no one was injured and my dad came out without a scratch, but the car was totalled.

In early 2019, there weren't any major new car launches, and we needed a car with a short waiting period.

Our requirements for the new car were:

- Low waiting period
- Automatic transmission
- Good rear seat space
- Cost under 7 lakhs

Cars Considered

Tata Tiago

- Test drove the car; the engine was noisy, but the main issue was that the car felt extremely cramped, so we rejected it instantly.

Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Santro

- Considered both, but they also lacked sufficient space, so we rejected them too.

Honda City

- We considered it, but we didn't want to buy the same car again.


This left us with the WagonR. After taking a lengthy test drive, we decided to book it. The waiting period for the WagonR in 2019 was just 11 days.

Dealership: Maruti Suzuki Bimal Auto Varthur Bangalore

The dealership experience was excellent, with friendly staff and the car was delivered on time. We also opted for the extended warranty and purchased all accessories from the dealer, which are of great quality.


Car Details:

Make: Maruti Suzuki WagonR
Engine and Transmission: 1.2L AMT
Fuel Type: Petrol
Colour: Nutmeg Brown
Year of Purchase: 2019
Kilometres Run to date: 32,700


Here are the pics from delivery, (Apologies for the low-res pics, was very excited that day ):

The recent facelift of the WagonR in 2022 brought minor updates like new upholstery and additional features such as idle start-stop and hill hold for the AMT. Overall, not much has changed, so I hope this review remains relevant for prospective buyers today.

[MotorDev]

Exterior Impressions

The WagonR appears large from every angle, mainly due to its height. The front is imposing with a wide grille, though some might find the headlight design quirky. The short bonnet complements the overall design well.

- The inclusion of fog lamps is a nice touch. Both the headlights and fog lamps are halogens and perform adequately in both city and highway driving.

- The wipers work well with plenty of spray from the washer nozzles.

Maruti designers have added multiple cuts, creases, and curves to the profile, giving the WagonR a more stylish look while still keeping its tall boy stance. Though it doesn't look too eye-catching, this design reduces the boxy shape's impact and makes it more appealing. The car is built on Maruti's Heartect platform.

- Flap-based body-coloured door handles feel very old-fashioned in 2024.

- Electrically adjustable ORVMs in body colour are provided, and IMO, they look very appealing.

- The WagonR has small tyres at 165/70 R14. The top variant at that time didn't offer alloy wheels, but the showroom had them as an accessory, so we had them installed. In my opinion, they look very good on the car. The alloys are 14 inches in size.

Coming to the rear, you first notice the lights, which are heavily inspired by Volvo cars. The rear doesn't have many design elements and is plain, but it doesn't look as boxy as the previous generation WagonR.

- The WagonR has a rear wiper, washer, and defogger. Yes, I know the wiper looks faded, but it isn't as white as it appears in the picture.

- Also, the car offers two parking sensors and reflectors at the back. The reverse camera is an accessory.

Index

[MotorDev]

Interior Impressions

The dashboard looks old-school, but all the buttons and the steering wheel are in optimal positions. The dashboard isn't placed too high, aiding visibility for shorter passengers. The quality of plastics used is rather cheap, and there are some poorly fitted bits. Despite these issues, the dashboard gives the car a wide feel. However, the beige trims and seats are difficult to keep clean. The wood-like plastic trim around the power window controls and the gear lever is an accessory.

- The steering wheel feels small but has a good grip. It doesn't come with a leather wrap.

- On the left side of the steering, you have volume and infotainment controls; below that are voice command and phone controls. There are no controls on the right side, and it misses out on cruise control.

- Behind the steering wheel, you have stalks for controlling the wipers and lights.

- The instrument cluster looks good and provides all the necessary information, such as time and range. You can browse through the info on the MID using the stalk beside it. The instrument cluster is easy to read.

- The infotainment system is placed in an optimal position. The screen's resolution is good and the system provides various information such as mileage and sound settings. It supports wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. However, the system tends to hang, and when using wired Android Auto, it disconnects once the phone reaches 80-90% charge, requiring a wait before it reconnects.

- There are two speakers in the front, none in the rear; the sound quality is pretty average.

- On the driver-side door, you'll find controls for the power window and electric ORVM. Only the driver-side power window gets a one-touch up and-down function, and it is illuminated.

- All four door handles are painted silver.

- The AMT lever doesn't have a shift lock like traditional automatics. You must press the brake pedal to switch to drive or any other mode. It also offers a manual mode, which is really helpful on steep inclines.

- The positioning of the A and B pedals is good, and there is a sort of dead pedal for added comfort. The footwell area for both the driver and passenger is spacious.

- Here are the manual AC controls, and thankfully, they are knobs. The AC controls in the Slavia are nonsense compared to this. Below the AC controls, you get a 12-volt charging socket and a USB Type-A port for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There is also some storage area beneath the ports for your phone.

- A centre armrest is missing, but there is storage beneath the handbrake that can be used for cups and coins.

- The front seats are wide enough but not very comfortable due to the lack of adjustable headrests.

- The rear seats offer good shoulder room for three passengers, but the lack of adjustable headrests is an irritant. Additionally, the beige seats are a pain to keep clean.

- Look at the headroom! I'm 5'10" and I have tons of space above my head. Cool!

- Knee room and legroom in the WagonR are excellent. For reference, in the picture, the front seat is pushed all the way back, and I still have 4 to 5 inches of space left.

- The car offers a huge boot space of 341 litres, beating many compact SUVs like the 3XO and Brezza.

- The passenger-side sun visor comes with a mirror, while the driver's visor includes a ticket holder.

- On the roof, there's a single light and a microphone.

- You don't get an auto-dimming IRVM.

- The rear camera provides high-quality footage both during the day and at night. (The footage looks blurry because of my phone camera.)

Index

[MotorDev]

WagonR's Impressions on the Road

Note to the reader: I want to clarify that I am 15 years old and not eligible to drive a car. The "driving impressions" that I share in this ownership report are based on my dad's experiences. I want to emphasize that I do not support underage driving.

Apologies for the shadow - that's just me being a newbie at taking pictures:

This WagonR features its most powerful engine, a 1.2L unit that produces 82 HP and 113 Nm of torque. The engine is calm, refined at low speeds, and sounds very good. However, this excellent engine is mated to a sluggish AMT, which diminishes its potential.

IMO, the AMT is the most subpar gearbox. One shouldn’t expect lightning-quick overtakes with this gearbox and should keep your calculations ready. The AMT is very jerky and has the typical head nod to it.

But where the AMT really shines is in the city. It places the car in 5th gear (the topmost gear in Maruti AMTs) at 50 km/hr which improves the mileage further. For reference, see the mileage figures of the car in city traffic:

Ignore the 9.8 km/l because the car was driven only a km with the AC at full blast for a short duration, but other than that, the mileage the car provides in the city is nothing short of amazing.

Our WagonR’s AMT had its clutch plates worn out completely at 20,000 kms itself, despite my dad’s cautious driving. The AMT sometimes tends to vibrate because it hesitates to downshift sometimes when you tap hard on the pedal. If you need quick acceleration, go for the MT instead.

Before the AMT clutch change, it had a tendency to overheat. What would happen was that if you pressed the accelerator hard for the car to pick up speed, sometimes the transaxle light would come on. After running for 2 kilometres, the car would automatically switch from D mode to N mode. To rectify this issue, we had to wait for 5 minutes and then restart the car. This is the warning light that used to come on before:

- Our WagonR, being the pre-facelift one, misses out on Hill Hold Control for the AMT which is now offered. We miss that feature terribly.

- The AMT, however, offers a manual mode which is helpful on steep inclines.

- The NVH levels of the car are surprisingly good till 80 km/hr and the only thing you hear at these speeds is wind noise.

- The car doesn’t have great high-speed stability (still manageable till 110 km/hr) and on the corners, you feel tons of body roll.

- The car’s suspension setup is rather soft which translates to an excellent low-speed ride.

- The steering doesn’t offer any sort of feel and feedback and the biggest miss is that it doesn’t self-center itself. This is a pain in U-turns.


Index

[MotorDev]

Ownership experience and conclusion

The car has been great so far. The AMT has improved significantly after the clutch change. Although it occasionally vibrates, it's much smoother than before. I had expected the service costs for a Maruti to be minimal, but they've averaged around 12,000 - 15,000 rupees annually.

WagonR 30,000 km Service Bill:

The RSA is excellent. They responded promptly when our car had a wheel nut issue, arriving within 10 minutes of our call. Their efficiency surpasses that of Skoda's service.

For those concerned about reliability, rest assured, our WagonR has been very dependable. Apart from the AMT issue, which has been resolved, we've driven 32,700 km without any major problems. Overall, the car works like a charm, and we're extremely satisfied with it. So, to answer the question - Is it the ideal first car? Yes! Would I recommend buying it today? Definitely yes!

A sincere thank you to all the guests and fellow BHPians who took the time to read my thoughts.

Cheers.


Index

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[condor]

Nice review @MotorDev. Just when we are considering one as replacement for wife's A-Star.

Originally Posted by MotorDev

Uncomfortable seats, particularly due to lack of adjustable headrests

Why do you say this ? These are in the front seats, and many cars have it. Also, it is a 'restraint' - something to avoid whiplash injury in situations. We dont actually rest our head on it - esp when driving, or sitting awake.

[Maverick Avi]

Well you pretty much summed up my experience with 1.2 AMT which has run 25k mostly in Delhi traffic. It's a great car for city and I have no qualms about the AMT either other than when driving on hills. Since it's a manual transmission that has actuators for auto shifting people should understand that keeping the accelerator pedal pressed the whole time is eventually leading to severe clutch slippage and hence the early wear and tear of clutch. In a manual transmission we usually let go the a pedal while changing gears and if you can mimic that in AMT it's definitely going to enhance the clutch life. Though the system itself has been engineered to liberally slip clutch in order to provide a smooth ride and not stall the engine we can help avoid making matters worse by letting go the a pedal at regular intervals which will allow the gear changes to happen during those intervals. Once you get the hang of it it's pretty much seamless.

I am pretty happy about the seats though and have no issues being a 6 footer. AC is definitely a sore point unlike most Marutis and the weird vent positioning make matter worse. It is able to keep the front occupants comfortable at 45 to 47 degree summers in Delhi but just barely makes it. Back seaters would definitely complain.

My service bills never exceed 5 to 6K because I get those additional jobs removed. You can definitely avoid injector cleaning, gas top up and some other value added jobs which are just a rip off. Just basic fluid changes and caliper greasing should be enough to keep your car going strong. Anything beyond the periodic maintenance schedule can be avoided unless you have some specific issue.

People might call the Wagon R a dabba, taxi car and tin can but owners really appreciate the sheer practicality and reliability of this workhorse.

[PistonCrown]

During your last service visit, the oil change done on record is 5w40.
I have a petrol Suzuki Swift from 2016 and since then they had moved to 0w20 as recommended oil.
Since bs6 Maruti Suzuki recommends new engines to 0w16.
5w40 was used in diesel bs3 engines by Maruti Suzuki followed by 5w30 a5/b5.

So I am pretty sure they have filled incorrect grade in your car.

Please check your manual for recommended oil grade please. I may be wrong in case your manual says same oil grade.

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also gone here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

IMO, the AMT is the most subpar gearbox. One shouldn’t expect lightning-quick overtakes with this gearbox and should keep your calculations ready. The AMT is very jerky and has the typical head nod to it.

Our WagonR’s AMT had its clutch plates worn out completely at 20,000 kms itself, despite my dad’s cautious driving. The AMT sometimes tends to vibrate because it hesitates to downshift sometimes when you tap hard on the pedal. If you need quick acceleration, go for the MT instead.

I'm not sure if this issue is present in older AMT versions, but I have been using AMT for the past year on various roads, especially highways and hill stations. When you tap hard on the pedal, you can downshift to either 2nd or 3rd gear instantly and move on. I have never used manual mode in AMT, as I feel it is unnecessary. I know how hard I need to press to make the gear shift to 2nd or 3rd from 5th and it is very useful. It's perfect for me to overtake on highways and to downshift on hilly terrain.

AMT tends to vibrate when the clutch is worn out. If you need quick acceleration, press the accelerator pedal hard, and it will downshift quickly. If you want a smooth drive and want to avoid head nodding, press the pedal lightly.

[DrivingDoyen]

My first car purchase in 2003 was a WagonR with company-fitted LPG kit and she had loyally taken me & my family to almost all important tourist destinations in the South India.

Those were days when the lack of airbags in these tinny boxes (Maruti cars) never scarred or deterred us from venturing out of the cities into the highways to pursue inter-city travels.

But, of course, the roads used to be less prone for traffic and witnessed a lot more better behaved motorists though.

[Raghu M]

Those service bills are way way higher than a regular (new age) Wagon R. Try changing your service center, I owned an Estilo which shares the Wagon R engine (MT though). My service bills outside the authorized center were around 3K every year. My XUV3OO's annual bills are at 3.5K to 4K. Those service bills are definitely very high.

[MotorDev]

Originally Posted by condor

Nice review @MotorDev.

Also, it is a 'restraint' - something to avoid whiplash injury in situations. We dont actually rest our head on it - esp when driving, or sitting awake.

Thank you! While I agree with your point on headrests, I also believe that adjustable headrests provide better comfort on longer drives as you can adjust the headrest according to your preference and rest your head on it.

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Well you pretty much summed up my experience with 1.2 AMT which has run 25k mostly in Delhi traffic. In a manual transmission we usually let go the a pedal while changing gears and if you can mimic that in AMT it's definitely going to enhance the clutch life.

AC is definitely a sore point unlike most Marutis and the weird vent positioning make matter worse. Back seaters would definitely complain.

My service bills never exceed 5 to 6K because I get those additional jobs removed. Just basic fluid changes and caliper greasing should be enough to keep your car going strong.

Hi, it's great to hear that you are satisfied with your WagonR. I agree with all your points and will keep in mind next time to remove the unwanted services that you mentioned. Thank you.

Originally Posted by PistonCrown

During your last service visit, the oil change done on record is 5w40. I have a petrol Suzuki Swift from 2016 and since then they had moved to 0w20 as recommended oil. Since bs6 Maruti Suzuki recommends new engines to 0w16. So I am pretty sure they have filled incorrect grade in your car. Please check your manual for recommended oil grade please.

Oh, I'm not sure about that. I will check the manual and let you know. However, I don't think they filled the incorrect one because the engine is running even smoother. Anyway, thank you for informing me.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of cars have started going to our homepage reviews box. Your review has also gone here. Thank you so much for sharing.

I'm honoured to hear that. Thank you!

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

When you tap hard on the pedal, you can downshift to either 2nd or 3rd gear instantly and move on. AMT tends to vibrate when the clutch is worn out. If you need quick acceleration, press the accelerator pedal hard, and it will downshift quickly. If you want a smooth drive and want to avoid head nodding, press the pedal lightly.

Yes, what used to happen was that before the clutch change, the AMT didn't downshift even on hard accelerations and vibrated. Now, that is not the case. It is sluggish sometimes, but it picks up pace better than before.

Originally Posted by DrivingDoyen

My first car purchase in 2003 was a WagonR with company-fitted LPG kit and she had loyally taken me & my family to almost all important tourist destinations in the South India.

Nice! I'm happy to hear that your WagonR served you well. It is a really good and practical car, it will keep one happy for years.

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Those service bills are way way higher than a regular (new age) Wagon R. Try changing your service center. My XUV3OO's annual bills are at 3.5K to 4K.

Yes, the service bills are high. I will try another authorized Maruti service center this time and, as BHPian Maverick Avi pointed out, will not opt for unnecessary services. Thank you.