gear kereta

Verdict

We'll have to wait for our road test car to arrive to let our readers know if the claimed numbers match up, but prima facie the new WagonR has everything needed to make for a great city car. Its chief concern was shaking off the budget car image that its predecessor had, and the new iteration does that with typical Maruti aplomb.

It must not be forgotten though that the space it is planning to function in has some formidable foes. The Hyundai i10 is the first that comes to mind - even if it does not offer the sort of space that the new WagonR does, it has already made a name and place for itself amongst urban buyers for its upmarket feel - the same thing that the WagonR is aiming for. And we're not even considering the Chevrolet Beat, that has all the goods including a larger and much more powerful engine and properly butch styling to set it apart from the crowd.

At the same time, we can also not ignore the fact that when the WagonR was first launched in India, one wouldn't have dreamt of the success it saw later in its tenure. Most of it lay on Maruti Suzuki's faith in the product, some very smart marketing tactics and the clout that the brand carries. With all that riding behind the new offering, we won't be surprised if Maruti's 'Blue-eyed Boy' manages to live up to the success of the WagonR name.