At first glance the Maruti WagonR Duo looks quite normal. Well, that is if you think the WagonR's boxy looks are normal to start with. Frankly, for a car that has to get around a city, I really don't care, because the Duo is all about LPG, and the fact that it is first factory fitted LPG car in India. Factory-fitted means one major plus, your warranties don't get voided because of the gas fitment.
The problem is that despite the not insignificant cost savings, you save a rupee a kilometer on LPG over Petrol, which even makes the extra Rs 24000 you have to pay for the car seem worth it, the Duo just wheezes at times. And this is despite two important facts, first LPG has more energy than CNG (that other gas) and because this is a company designed car, Maruti engineers have really played around with the engines tuning.
Firstly, they've cut the power of the 1.1 litre engine by around 10 per cent, and on your first drives around, you really can't notice it. But if you live in Delhi, and flyovers are a constant facet of life, if you hit a flyover carrying too little forward momentum, you'll need to mash the gears a bit, sometimes going all the way back to third, and even that isn't enough at times. Of course, with a CNG vehicle very often you'll have to go back all the way to first just to find the right power band. Yet, you do wish this car had more in it.
But despite the cars asthmatic display in the lower-end of the rev range, once you get the car moving, it doesn't do a terribly bad job. The problem then is to find a decent place to fill the gas. There are only 16 IndianOil 'AutoGas' stations in Delhi, and they aren't always on your office commute route, the situation is a bit better in Mumbai, but it is only IndianOil which is selling auto-grade LPG right now.
Another major problem with the Duo is that the WagonR's measly luggage space has been compromised further thanks to the LPG tank taking the space of the spare wheel. The wheel has now been moved on to a complicated jig on the floor of the luggage rack, cutting its space by half. Maruti should have given the option of 60:40 split rear seats to increase space. This effectively rules out the Duo as a viable option the primary car of a family.
If you go in the LPG variant, Maruti dealers will try and convince you that more LPG filling stations are on the anvil, which I'm sure there will be, but even at Rs 2.50 a kilometer as compared to Rs 3.50 a kilometer on petrol, anything more than a 4-5 kilometer detour is silly. However, keep in mind the car is a bi-fuel car, which means it can run on petrol as well, and the switchover isn't the cheap shoddy jobs you often see on after-market jobs, the changeover switch is nicely integrated to the fascia on the side of the steering wheel, one switch and you're on petrol. In fact, combined range on both fuels is an impressive 600 plus km, but range on LPG only is a miserly 200km because the tank stores only 22litres �?? LPG gives around 10-11km to a litre on the Duo.
There is no denying the cars cost advantage, this is the cheapest Maruti vehicle to run, and that in itself is a massive statement. The redesign of the car hasn't just meant a fresh exterior look, it has also meant a new interior - rotary controls on the panel and a very neat looking display with an all new speedo.
The Duo, to me, is a very cheap and effectively city runabout and nice for short hops out of town. It is not a car you would buy if you like the occasional burst of speed, or if you travel a lot. The WagonR Duo LXi (with power steering) is available ex-showroom Delhi for Rs 3,79,000.
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