Maruti Wagon-R VXi 2003 Ownership Review

[jeno_turbo]

This is my first thread here , so pardon me if i commit any mistakes. Well, where to start? My dad bought a Wagon R vxi by august 2003 ,and gave it to me when he got a new MAM/Renault Logan by 2007. So thats 4 years of personal use and 8 years for friendship with that car . And an another sad news i sold it last month too . So planned to give a review of that ultra efficient car after spending soo many years with it.

LOOKS :

Yeah , i know , Wagon R has a very much boxy nature , its not the sexiest car around. But in my personal view , my car looks smart rather than cute/handsome ;-)

And you can rate my Waggy too.

 

[jeno_turbo]

2003 WagonR vxi

SPACE AND COMFORT :

This little car has more space inside than how it looks outside . It has the best in class space , but not the best in class comfort. But it seemed to be good by 2003. Best part is Leg room and head room, its gives a very comfortable feel for tall drivers. (I am 6'3'' tall).

HANDLING:

This car equals an auto rickshaw in bumper to bumper traffic , EPS does a perfect job and makes driving in city a piece of cake. On highways its not a cruiser but can do things which may surprise you. I used to do 120 comfortably in straight roads . In curves body roll is clearly visible, but doesnt put me off .

PERFORMANCE:

Not the best refined engine , but good power delivery . Its noisy at high rpms but doesnt run out of breath easily. It revs quite nicely. And not a great acceleration, but anyone can live with it . But the acceleration is good , in its segment. Picture added, revving my car at 4th gear.

top speed i achieved : 145 kmph calculated via gps (error free)

MAINTANENCE :

I do care for my car, but i just give the car for service once in 7-8 k kms. And get a bill of around 4k. Only trouble i got with this car is Condenser fans fuse was gone during rainy season, costed abt 400 bucks. Thats it ! No other trouble in this car for 9 years and 80k kms.

Well, i had a great time with my buddy, it was time to say good bye, and i did say goodbye without a whole heart. i still miss my buddy . But i go to see my car to the current owner who lives 10km away from my house. atleast once a month ! It has been just a month since i miss him, and i went to see my car for almost 10 times.

 

[Akash]

Re: 2003 WagonR vxi

Very nice and detailed review buddy. Your Waggy looks great. I know how difficult to to let go your car after spending so much time with her. Its been 5 years since i sold my last car, and i still visit her.
Needless to say, the 1.1L engine of WagonR had good juice in it and touching 3 digit speeds was never an issue. How about posting the ICE specs.

 

[smooth rider]

Re: 2003 WagonR vxi

nice car to own buddy. i too had a wagon r lxi prior to my present baby ( 2006 - 2011 ). you didn't mention any thing about the braking. the original tyres on my car were 145/70 R 13. the tyres used to lock and the car skidded to halts. several time i had near misses, then changed them to 165/65 R 13 Bridgestones . the braking improved a lot.the mileage initialy was about 16kmpl towards 5 years of ownership it dipped to almost 12 kmpl. head and leg room were ample and i did long trips in it comfortably. ( kannur- goa, kannur -alapuzha etc ) the odo read 90000 km when i sold her.

 

[jeno_turbo]

Re: 2003 WagonR vxi

nice car to own buddy. i too had a wagon r lxi prior to my present baby ( 2006 - 2011 ). you didn't mention any thing about the braking. the original tyres on my car were 145/70 R 13. the tyres used to lock and the car skidded to halts. several time i had near misses, then changed them to 165/65 R 13 Bridgestones . the braking improved a lot.the mileage initialy was about 16kmpl towards 5 years of ownership it dipped to almost 12 kmpl. head and leg room were ample and i did long trips in it comfortably. ( kannur- goa, kannur -alapuzha etc ) the odo read 90000 km when i sold her.

i totally forgot about the Braking abilities. The vxi version had 155/70 R 13 as stock, so didnt have much problem in braking. But 165 would have been something really better to handle.

And coming to FE. I usually drive without Ac (i need acceleration ) . It gave me a good 13 kmpl during aggressive driving in city . But with a light foot, whenever i feel the tank is gonna get empty, i get 15-15.5 in city.

Thank you for reminding me about FE and braking.. ;-) And now i own an used Skoda Octavia 1.9 tdi, and a review coming soon too.

 

[350Z]

Good review. Our cars share the same manufacturing year. I can see that you had kept her well and replaced the headlamps too. I dislike the stickering though, but seat covers have perfect fit. Would love to read the review of Octy. One of of the most suitable cars for budget enthusiast which India had (Read vRS).

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[jeno_turbo]

Good review. Our cars share the same manufacturing year. I can see that you had kept her well and replaced the headlamps too. I dislike the stickering though, but seat covers have perfect fit. Would love to read the review of Octy. One of of the most suitable cars for budget enthusiast which India had (Read vRS).

Drive Safe,
350Z

I have to wash my octy before taking snapshots . And i have diesel Octy not the vRS. And another two doubts.

1) Can i post the Test Drive Review for a car which already has one?

2)Can i post a Test Drive Review for a used car. ( because im not going to talk more about ownership of the octy, im going to talk about how it handles and feels on road).

 

[350Z]

1) Can i post the Test Drive Review for a car which already has one?

Sure.

2)Can i post a Test Drive Review for a used car. ( because im not going to talk more about ownership of the octy, im going to talk about how it handles and feels on road).

You still own the car though. Skoda Octy thread can be posted in Ownership Reviews section so that you can keep it updated in future related to ownership issues.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[jeno_turbo]

Sure.


You still own the car though. Skoda Octy thread can be posted in Ownership Reviews section so that you can keep it updated in future related to ownership issues.

Drive Safe,
350Z

Looks like you are expecting some issues in a skoda , just kiding ! But i know having a part changed in a Skoda is a Nightmare (though the 1.9 tdi is rated as a Excellent Reliable Car). Anyway, i am going to post SX4 diesel Road Test for now !

And another doubt , how do i add pictures between text in a post??. I added the pictures as attachments here.

 

[dodge_v1per]

you look like rs turbo fan dude!! already have RS stickers on your waggy..great review!!

 

[jeno_turbo]

you look like rs turbo fan dude!! already have RS stickers on your waggy..great review!!

Yeah , most of the petrol heads like us are turbo fans. And i dont mind whether its petrol or diesel , i want the turbo whistle !!

 

[cooldhaya]

Neat and crisp review there buddy , your car looks well maintained. Even i am not a huge fan of stickering , i liked your seat covers though! Great to hear it was running trouble free for all those years , your buddy has served you well! Now switching over from WagonR to Octy must have been a good experience atleast on the driving , space and handling part , just kidding!


Waiting for your Octy's review too.

 

[jeno_turbo]

Neat and crisp review there buddy , your car looks well maintained. Even i am not a huge fan of stickering , i liked your seat covers though! Great to hear it was running trouble free for all those years , your buddy has served you well! Now switching over from WagonR to Octy must have been a good experience atleast on the driving , space and handling part , just kidding!


Waiting for your Octy's review too.

Totally wrong about the space part, WagonR has more space

 

[Umang]

well maintain wagonr man and greatly modified!! for how much you sold it?

 

[jeno_turbo]

It was sold for 1.5L , it was a 2nd owner car, as it was got from my dads company(though we used it from day one). 80k on odo. Thats not the best price, but it was okay for us.

Jeno