Maruti Wagon R Duo - Incremental Progress

LPG - Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Octane rating - 90 to 110. We've been using it in our kitchens for ages, and more recently, in our cars as well. So, when Maruti offered a factory fitted LPG kit with its new Wagon R, we had to take it out for a spin.

Story: Muntaser Mirkar Photography Kunal Khadse

THE REAR END IS A COMPLETE REDESIGN, WITH CRISPER LINES ON THE TAIL-GATE AND A COMPLETELY NEW SET OF TAIL LAMPS - WHICH ARE MUCH MORE CURVY AND STYLISH COMPARED TO THE OUTGOING WAGON R'S SET

Launched during the Christmas of 1999 by none other than Osamu Suzuki, Chairman - Suzuki Motor Corporation, the Wagon R wasn't exactly what you'd call a 'runaway success' right away. Based on the Japanese Kei-Jidosha (small car) dimensions, the Wagon R was conceived in Japan in 1993 and remained pretty much unchanged ever since. Over the years, the original tall boy has picked up on the sales front and is currently one of the best selling cars in its segment in India. So, what is the next step? What do you do with a car that's already quite popular with its customer base? Er, well, you improve on fuel efficiency! With fuel prices trudging northwards like mercury on a hot summer's day, anything which reduces running costs (in terms of fuel consumption) should be welcome. The solution is simple. Along with a cosmetic makeover, Maruti have now plonked in an alternate fuel (LPG) kit to go with the regular 1.1-litre petrol engine, and named it the Wagon R Duo - for obvious reasons. You can run this car on LPG, and if you run out of gas, simply switch to petrol, and vice versa. All right, so it's not exactly the first attempt a manufacturer has made at getting alternate fuel cars to the customer. Tata already has CNG kits on offer for the Indica, though it's a dealer fitted option. And Ford is all set to launch CNG variants of its Ikon by the end of the year. So what's so unique about Maruti's newest variant? The answer is LPG.

The interiors have been worked upon extensively. The steering wheel is new and the quality of plastics and fabric has gone a notch up. The instrumentation too is new and the car not only looks, but feels different too once you get in

The most prominent and visible change in the new WagonR has been the eyelid blinkers above the headlights. It's not a subtle design alteration by any means, and the good thing is that it has gone down very well with the overall theme. The lids shout 'new' in the loudest tone of all the other changes

The rear treatment too is bang on money. Though the changes are not as pronounced as the front, they look refreshing. Noticed the special fuel inlet for LPG and instruction sticker?

This car could just turn out to be the killer double whammy for Maruti's competition. Not just the form has improved massively with those eyelid-winkers, happy grille and aggressive air-dams, the LPG kit ensures that there's nothing more functional in these pricey times

Swing open the boot, and you'll find the spare wheel right there in front of you instead of being neatly tucked in under the 'floor' of the boot. Lift the floor mat in the boot, and you'll discover that a black, round LPG tank now takes up the space generally allocated for the spare wheel. A tiny lid on the rear right of the vehicle provides access to the LPG tank. The rear end, by the way, is a complete redesign, with crisper lines on the tail-gate and a completely new set of tail lamps - which are much more curvy and stylish compared to the outgoing Wagon R's set. The front has undergone a lot of tinkering, giving the car a completely different look. It now sports more contemporary looking headlights with the turn indicators marking the top edge of the unit - looks like the car has eyebrows, and kind of reminds me of Leslie Nielson in Mr Magoo! The grille has been completely revised as well - it's wider and lends a happier face to the car. The all-new wraparound front bumper has an aggressively styled air dam, and coupled with the large headlights and grille, tends to give the Wagon R an appealing stance. Rest of the exterior is pretty much as it was in the earlier models, but gels well with the revised touches, to make it look all new.

The interiors have been given a major revamp. They are now sportier than before with a revised facia, revised instrumentation and a slick looking steering wheel. Seat upholstery is all new with the same upmarket fabric used on the door trims as well. Single rear bench now sports head rests. Quality of plastics also seems to have improved. The button for toggling between petrol and LPG modes is located on the right hand side next to the steering wheel, and three green LEDs indicate the amount of LPG in the tank, while a red and an orange LED displays whether you're using petrol or LPG respectively.

Source: Car India SEPTEMBER 2006.