But with passing time and several visual upgrades, the Wagon-R suddenly looked much better and the fact that it scores high on practicality, economy and function helped boost its sales to where it stands today just below the country's sales leader, the humble Alto. Its initial days in the India were marred to quite an extent by the popularity of the Hyundai Santro at that time. But in the course of time, the Wagon-R started to grow on people and gradually clawed its way to the lofty pedestal on which it sits today.
Design
Based on the Japanese Kei-Jidosha (small car) concept, the Wagon-R's design is by no means the prettiest to have graced our roads. If anything, it looks like a classic comic character possessing a big body and tiny legs. The WagonR looks too tall and top heavy and the small and skinny tyres don't help matters either. But this is a car whose mere existence and success is a living proof of the fact that there is much more to the car than just looks.

WagonR's design is not as much about looking good as it is about functionality. This it the core competency of the car and where it really shines! The 'tall boy' design has some inherent advantages. For starters this design allows for one to 'walk' into the car, rather than crouch and get into the car - an important aspect for the old, who find it hard to bend and duck. The 'tall boy' design also gives the WagonR acres of headroom – a boon for tall people who often bump their heads on cars with low roofs and last but not the least this design also gifts the WagonR with a straight boot so that it can more luggage than its rivals. In fact WagonR's boot is the most spacious in its segment!

The front fascia as well as the posterior has been revamped in the last couple of years in an attempt to appeal to the aesthetic senses and also to keep up with the reformations taking place in the world of automotive designing. A new design bonnet, headlamps, radiator grille with chrome strip, boot lid, tail lamps and a new set of bumpers with integrated fog lamps has surely helped to make the WagonR look far more appealing.

On the inside, the Wagon-R stays true to its economy image, and displays acres of shiny gray plastic. But the beige coloured seat and door moulding fabric does bring relief.

The dash design which belongs to the early 90s looks boxy and the sliding a/c controls only recently made way for rotatory knobs, but it's still not enough to jazz up the dashboard considerably. However the dashboard does have an uncluttered look to it, its ergonomics are good and it does provide for quite a few storage spaces. The rest of the interior is also quite basic with adequate amounts of legroom and knee room. The seats are comfortable with decent support and can accommodate four adults in comfort with possibility of a fifth squeezing in for short distances.
Comfort
The Wagon-R is a comfortable car to travel in thanks to its airy interiors and an able suspension system. The front gets McPherson Struts with torsion type roll control device, while at the rear is a coil spring with three link rigid axle and isolating trailing arm. The suspension unit more or less absorbs anything that the road throws at it, though the front suspension is a bit too softly sprung and bottoms out quite easily.

Judging by comforts and conveniences the Wagon-R is at par with its competition with an air-con-cum-heater, electronic power steering, front power windows and a segment first – power external rear view mirrors. The base LX version although is devoid of even these basic comforts.

The Wagon-R's handling can be said to be decent at the best. A brick's aerodynamics and skinny 155/80 R13 tyres don't translate into sports car like handling, not even by a mile. But still the car handles fine at speeds in excess of 100kmph.
Engine, Transmission and Performance
Like its bitter nemesis the Hyundai Santro, the Wagon-R too is available in both petrol and LPG guise. Powering both variants of the WagonR is a 1.1-litre, in-line 4 cylinder, 16-valve MPFI engine that puts out 65PS of power in petrol mode and 58PS in LPG mode and a torque of 84Nm at 3,500rpm and 77Nm at 4,500rpm while running on petro and LPG respectively.

The WagonR with the factory-fitted LPG kit is known as 'WagonR Duo' as it can run on both petrol and LPG and can switch from one to the other with just a flick of a switch! Even though power and torque figures show a decline when running the car on LPG, difference in performance is difficult to tell because of the good spread of torque. Acceleration is also nothing to write home about as it takes the WagonR 16.6 seconds to reach 100kmph. On the positive side it is capable of a top speed of 154kmph!

Fuel-economy is one department where the WagonR really shines, as it returns 13.9kmpl in the city, 17.3kmpl on the highway and a combined fuel economy of 15.6kmpl. In the LPG format Wagon-R's running cost is further reduced by 33% over petrol. Another interesting aspect of the Duo is that its combined range is more than any other car in its segment!

But like most cars in this segment, the Wagon-R is not without its faults. WagonR's performance gets drastically affected when its air-con is switched on. All WagonR variants come equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox, which feels rubbery and occasionally refuses to engage reverse however the WagonR AX variant comes with an automatic 3-speed gearbox.
Safety
Budget hatchbacks are not known for safety, but the top-end variant of the Wagon-R surprisingly comes with some safety features that are usually found on more upmarket cars. Besides the basic side impact beams, seat belts and child locks on rear doors, this variant also gets ABS and dual SRS airbags as options. Another safety feature which comes standard on all WagonR variants and helps to bring down the car's insurance amount is a factory-fitted anti-theft and central locking system, named 'iCats'. The Wagon-R is the highest selling car from the Maruti Suzuki family after the number one seller, Alto. Not surprising at all considering the fact that it fits beautifully into the budget of the middle-class Indian family and at the same time provides a healthy mix of practicality, comfort and economy. The WagonR range starts from Rs. 3,22,859 for the bare basic LX and goes up to Rs. 3,98,686 (all ex-showroom New Delhi) for VXi with ABS and airbags.