Maruti Suzuki Wagon R review - engine and transmission |
Engine and transmission
The Wagon R has a 1061cc inline 4 cylinder cast iron engine which is basically the engine from the Maruti 800 with an extra cylinder. It uses fuel injection, controlled by a 32 bit ECU. Like all other marutis, even this car runs 4 valves per cylinder and 16 valves in total. 4 Valve engines have a high revving trait and rather low bottom end grunt. This engine is no exception. It generates 62bhp at 6200rpm which is pretty much the red line. But, low down the engine seems very underpowered especially with the air conditioner on. No, actually this car is no slouch; the power although a bit late for my liking is actually quite good and propels the car to a respectable 90kmph in 2nd gear! This car can reach 150kph, that should speak volumes about this little heart. The best part about this engine is the fact that the four valver likes to be revved, so overtaking isn't a chore. The fact of the matter though is that this was designed as a smart car, not a fast car.
The car uses a 5-speed gearbox with one reverse gear. Gears 2 and 3 are great for city use and the car is able to slot into 5th by the time you reach around 50kph. That means very reasonable fuel efficiency. Efficiency thus get compromised due to the fact that you need to rev just that wee bit more when compared to say the santro, but the efficiency figures on the highway of 19+ kmpl is excellent. Within city limits though, 13kmpl is easily achieved. The reason for the significant difference is the tall 5th gear, which keeps the engine revving very low, as a result the top speed of 155kmph is achieved in 4th. One grouse about the gearbox is its play, its just too much and can get irritating at times; the gearbox is also a bit notchy. At times, engaging reverse gear could involve double clutching.
Design and interiors.
Ride and handling. |
![wagon r interior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=wreng.jpg&imagetitle=Wagon R engine"))