The all-new Wagon R is here and it is bigger and should certainly be better than before. The Wagon R is one of the longest surviving brands in Maruti’s Indian history, second only to the Omni, and has been featuring consistently in the top ten highest selling cars of India for at least a decade now. But there is a new breed of cars that aims to challenge the singular domination of the Wagon R and here is the list –
1. Tata Tiago
The Tiago has been the only non-Maruti competition that has been fighting the Wagon R for the past two years. Benefitting from Tata’s new-found product and build quality, the Tiago has raced ahead to become the most-sold Tata vehicle in the market. The Tiago gets both petrol and diesel options with an automatic option for each of the mills while the Wagon R is being offered only with the petrol engine. Because it is a tall-boy, the Wagon R offers better space but the Tiago is a better driver’s car between the two.
The Santro made a comeback in its all-new avatar a couple of months ago and looks poised to take the fight to the new Wagon R. But because the Wagon R has grown bigger, it might hold an edge over the Santro. But then, the Santro has Hyundai’s design and quality which is at par with Maruti Suzuki. Both are tall-boys but the Wagon R has gotten bigger in size which should make it more spacious of the two.
This has been Maruti’s option for those who did not want the Wagon R because it wasn’t sporty and too practical. The Celerio has been on the fence but still sold more than the Tiago did in 2018 which kind of shows the acceptance of no-nonsense cars in India. With the new Wagon R, the Celerio might get hit a little bit, but then since both the slices of the pie belong to Maruti, they wouldn’t mind.
4. Datsun Go Plus
The Datsun Go+ aims to be a sub-four metre MPV and for the ones on a really tight budget, it sure is one with the tiny third row in its tow. The Wagon R is a pure five seater and despite being smaller than the GO+, it offers more space. While the Wagon R gets a 1.0-litre option along with the 1.2, the GO+ comes with the 1.2-litre unit only and without and automatic option.