Suzuki Wagon R Japanese Car

[CommonRail]

Hi Folks,

I am very happy to post my very first query here in AL forum. in breif, i am a toyota fan since i was born, but last week i saw a suzuki wagon R japanese car and really felt love with that. As a brand new japanese machine which comes with hybrid system i feel like to buy rather than buying indian craps. currently wagon R FZ model selling around 2.6mil. i myself inspect the car and found leg space is quite enough.

however, i though to ask any good or bad issues regarding this car if anyone knows well. your inputs are really appreciated.

[The Don]

The problem is, the car is too new for any objective input. It was recently discussed as an option instead of a kei van, but other than that there isn't much information.

Seems the Wagon R uses a mild hybrid system with assistance from an electric motor, so cannot run completely on an electric charge, but the advantage is the car is probably drivable even if the hybrid system completely fails.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Wagon_R

[iRage]

The S-ENE charge was touched upon here : http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/15224-japanese-car-news/page-17

Apart from that the Wagon R is too new in SL for any known things to be noted. When reading about the S-ENE Charge system I remember reading about the Wagon R and most of the reviews just stated that it was a decent smooth kei car with improved fuel efficiency. Two notes I kind of remember are:

1. the idle stop system being too eager to restart and later on being fixed

2. something about not being "confident' about the regenerative braking fully charging the battery under soft braking <or something to that effect....I really can't remember>

EDIT: Okay, I dug up one of the articles I read at that time. Apparently, the idle stop function shuts the engine once speed is below 13 km/h. Then cranks up the engine the minute you take your foot off the brake. Not sure if this has been fixed or not.

Also, the car claims to do 32.5 kmpl in the usual JC08 cycle, but the tester got only 20 kmpl in a mixed cycle and managed to squeeze out 16 kmpl on a strict city driving run (the kei cars I have driven in JPN got on average around that much...which makes sense since if the batteries don't recharge for assisting it just runs on the normal ICE engine ?)

Edited April 13, 2015 by iRage

[Schiffer]

Dont think there are any users here

but the thing is these japanese kei cars are really really good. The Wagon R has really good space and even with its hybrid system i bet it will be nippy to drive as well.

and i am not sure about the FZ but the Stingray had stuff like Traction controll. which the first time i saw from a non hybrid japanese hatchback.

[CommonRail]

thanks all, lets wait for more feedback from users.

[iRage]

I dont think there are any new Wagon R users on AL

[killercruise]

I went to check on this vehicle today. It is a good vehicle with leg space and all, but my problem is with the engine. It's a 660cc vehicle so I am pretty sure it is under powered even though it has a support from the hybrid motor. Any users on this forum please give us a review .

Thanks

[matroska]

I went to check on this vehicle today. It is a good vehicle with leg space and all, but my problem is with the engine. It's a 660cc vehicle so I am pretty sure it is under powered even though it has a support from the hybrid motor. Any users on this forum please give us a review . Thanks

recently i was able to pop in to one and you are right it actually is quite spacious i'm 5'11 and I could fit easily into the front or the back the rear seats can be moved forward to accommodate a fair amount of luggage in the back -typical Japanese space utilization. Also the interior while not top notch is put together decently enough. i have no idea about the power of the tiny 0.7 Liter engine though as you said it could be under powered I guess if there was a 1000 cc engine it would have been a massive hit . Also i think the going price is between 2.7 and 2.8 mill which is a tad too much ... 2.4 would be a reasonable price. A little bit of more power and I guess it would have the given the overpriced second hand 1000 CC Vitz's a run for their money.

Having said that there are so many of these Wagon R's on our roads these days and everywhere there are adverts from car sales and leasing companies it reminds me of the viva elite craze of 2011.

[Nimz77]

No comfortable, very hard to overtake. very lower break system. is this valid for Wagon R hybrid?

[matroska]

No comfortable, very hard to overtake. very lower break system. is this valid for Wagon R hybrid?

recently traveled in a taxi of the model in question. I agree with the 'hard to overtake' part though it was not THAT uncomfortable.(

You shouldn't expect sedanish comfort from a kei car.

[Magnum]

Are they N/A or turbo?

[iRage]

The Hybrids are N/A. I believe all Wagon Rs are such

[Magnum]

The Hybrids are N/A. I believe all Wagon Rs are such

I assume this is the same 660cc engine found in the Suzuki Every

[Sampath Gunasekera]

I assume this is the same 660cc engine found in the Suzuki Every

In the past Japanese Alto and Wagon R had a big relationship.

Most of the things were common and even they shared same owner's manual.

I guess present Alto, Wagon R & Every all are using R06A engines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_R_engine

Edited June 29, 2015 by Sampath Gunasekera

[Magnum]

The Suzuki Every gets a turbocharged version but this being N/A makes sense cuz I think the Alto and Wagon R mainly used as city cars in Japan probably carrying 2 adults only.

[CommonRail]

it is surprising the way price goes down of this car. and thats one of the sign of clue about car's attributes. i guess this suzuku wagon R is ideal for city taxi services. by the way, Indian Alto's are still holding the market share in srilanka.

thanks everyone for your valuble inputs. i badly chased with car dealers for best price to purchase this car but finally change my mind to go for Old Allion 240, 121 or Honda GP1 or GP2.

[iRage]

it is surprising the way price goes down of this car. ****1**** and thats one of the sign of clue about car's attributes. ****2****i guess this suzuku wagon R is ideal for city taxi services. by the way, ****3**** Indian Alto's are still holding the market share in srilanka.

thanks everyone for your valuble inputs. i badly chased with car dealers for best price to purchase this car but finally change my mind to go for Old Allion 240, 121 or Honda GP1 or GP2.

First highlight: It is also a sign of how distorted the mentality of Sri Lankan car users are. We live in a country where a crappy beaten to death 15 year old Corollas with dubious pasts are more expensive than well maintained as good as new euro cars or even more luxurious japanese cars.

Second Highlight:

But that is what kei cars are ! City cars ! In Japan you get separate model lines by Nissan, Toyota etc for taxis so you won't see kei cars as taxis as they are too small (funny how that is in reverse in SL), but the concept of kei cars are to be city cars. ESPECIALLY the normal ones. You do get turbo charged and funner versions of kei cars that are nicer to drive in various funky forms to appeal to different life styles and fashions; but even then they too are city cars. Main reason kei cars will not catch up in Sri Lanka is because people (and for the large part being lead to believe by our consumer conscious car sales people to) expect large car performance from these things (which you will never get) for half the price of a normal car. The only reason the Wagon R was brought down here was because it was cheap due to it being classified as a Hybrid. Now I see that even the Hustler is being brought down because of the S-ENE-CHARGE option. Kei cars were not being brought down because Sri Lankans had an epiphany about evolving/revolutionizing city commuting but because the those were the cheapest Hybrids that can be flooded in to the country.

3rd Highlight:

That is the cheapest you can buy in Sri Lanka isn't it ? So....

Edited July 9, 2015 by iRage

[matroska]

First highlight: It is also a sign of how distorted the mentality of Sri Lankan car users are. We live in a country where a crappy beaten to death 15 year old Corollas with dubious pasts are more expensive than well maintained as good as new euro cars or even more luxurious japanese cars.

Second Highlight:

But that is what kei cars are ! City cars ! In Japan you get separate model lines by Nissan, Toyota etc for taxis so you won't see kei cars as taxis as they are too small (funny how that is in reverse in SL), but the concept of kei cars are to be city cars. ESPECIALLY the normal ones. You do get turbo charged and funner versions of kei cars that are nicer to drive in various funky forms to appeal to different life styles and fashions; but even then they too are city cars. Main reason kei cars will not catch up in Sri Lanka is because people (and for the large part being lead to believe by our consumer conscious car sales people to) expect large car performance from these things (which you will never get) for half the price of a normal car. The only reason the Wagon R was brought down here was because it was cheap due to it being classified as a Hybrid. Now I see that even the Hustler is being brought down because of the S-ENE-CHARGE option. Kei cars were not being brought down because Sri Lankans had an epiphany about evolving/revolutionizing city commuting but because the those were the cheapest Hybrids that can be flooded in to the country.

3rd Highlight:

That is the cheapest you can buy in Sri Lanka isn't it ? So....

amen to that - especially the part about the overpriced old sedans - as it is it's not only corolla 121's but most older sedans FB15,Sylphy,axela, civic etc.

the ONLY used car that is being sold for a reasonable second hand price is the Lancer CS1-3 series and that is mighty hard to find as well

How retarded is it that a 2003-4 121 with about 200,000 km on the Odo costs about the same as a Honda Fit that came 10 years later.

[Kasun Tharaka]

Hi All,

How about the maintenance of these Cars? I mean being a Suzuki, can we get the periodic maintenance (like servicing) from A*W? or are there any other specialized places?

Expecting an advice coz I'm thinking of bring down Wagon R Hybrid.

Thanks

[deshan.048518]

On Friday, July 10, 2015 at 9:43 AM, matroska said:

amen to that - especially the part about the overpriced old sedans - as it is it's not only corolla 121's but most older sedans FB15,Sylphy,axela, civic etc.

the ONLY used car that is being sold for a reasonable second hand price is the Lancer CS1-3 series and that is mighty hard to find as well

How retarded is it that a 2003-4 121 with about 200,000 km on the Odo costs about the same as a Honda Fit that came 10 years later.

Agree...I think the reason behind this is people want to make profits by selling their vehicles in the second hand market..Ya 121 is 15 years old but the price is 3.5 to 4.0 Mn....even more than toyota aqua

[terrabytetango]

Thanks for waking up a year old thread.

[inosh]

On 4/13/2015 at 11:00 PM, iRage said:

EDIT: Okay, I dug up one of the articles I read at that time. Apparently, the idle stop function shuts the engine once speed is below 13 km/h. Then cranks up the engine the minute you take your foot off the brake. Not sure if this has been fixed or not.

This is not a defect, it is a feature.

Also refer - http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corporate/environmental/green_technology/

[iRage]

2 hours ago, inosh said:

This is not a defect, it is a feature.

 

Well done for re-reviving a thread and quoting what was said 1.25 years ago

Anyway, yes the system is supposed to shut down the ICE at low speed. The issue was it restarted unnecessarily even when the speed was at 13 kmph or less on a full battery (i.e. as soon as the brake pedal was let go). At launch there was uncertainty if Suzuki intended the Elevtric motor to take over only during slowing down and coming to a stop or if it was supposed to be able to cruise at speeds <=13kmph. Kindly do some background reading....

On a side note...do average people understand what is being said in that video clip ? or do they get cross eyed at think its all magic and leave their fate to the gods of cars ?

 

[inosh]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

Anyway, yes the system is supposed to shut down the ICE at low speed. The issue was it restarted unnecessarily even when the speed was at 13 kmph or less on a full battery (i.e. as soon as the brake pedal was let go). At launch there was uncertainty if Suzuki intended the Elevtric motor to take over only during slowing down and coming to a stop or if it was supposed to be able to cruise at speeds <=13kmph. 

 

My understanding is, even when the speed is less than 13 and in full battery, engine will restart when the air conditioner units, temperature falls below the expected value. When it can no longer provide cold air using the frozen substance[1], it will restart the engine. This is clearly mentioned in the below  quote from their site[1]

Quote

"And by limiting the extent to which the cabin temperature rises, it helps to minimize engine restarts and fuel consumption."

The audio and other electrical systems can still be used when the Engine Auto Stop Start System has shut down the engine. If the air conditioner is running when the Engine Auto Stop Start System shuts down the engine, the climate-control system switches to fan-only operation. If the cabin temperature subsequently rises, the Engine Auto Stop Start System restarts the engine and activates the air conditioner to keep occupants comfortable.

Wagon R's ISG only provides assistance to the engine when accelerating for few seconds and for starting up of the engine. So when you take you foot off the brake, engine has to start, since at the beginning, it doesn't run with the mortar(ISG). ISG only engages when you are accelerating and the engine power is not enough to provide the required acceleration. Please read the bellow quote from their site

 

Quote

 

Suzuki's new Engine Auto Stop Start System limits unnecessary petrol consumption by shutting down the car's engine during deceleration. In the Suzuki Wagon R, it automatically stops the engine when the driver is pressing the brake pedal and the vehicle speed drops to 13km/h or lower. By maximizing the durations of engine shutdown, it helps to maximize fuel savings. The driver can restart the engine by just releasing the brake pedal or turning the steering wheel. Even at junctions, standing starts are smooth. An Engine Auto Stop lamp comes on in the meter cluster to show when the system is active, thereby warning the driver of impending engine shutdown. Also, the system has a hill-hold function that promotes peace of mind for the driver by helping to prevent the car from rolling backward during standing starts on hills.

• In certain conditions, the Engine Auto Stop Start System does not operate even when the Engine Auto Stop lamp is on.
• The driver can disable the system by pushing an Engine Auto Stop OFF switch. Also, the driver can use the switch to restart the engine when the system has shut it down.
• The audio and other electrical systems can still be used when the Engine Auto Stop Start System has shut down the engine. If the air conditioner is running when the Engine Auto Stop Start System shuts down the engine, the climate-control system switches to fan-only operation. If the cabin temperature subsequently rises, the Engine Auto Stop Start System restarts the engine and activates the air conditioner to keep occupants comfortable.
• The Engine Auto Stop Start System operates only when certain conditions are satisfied.

 

•  

[1]. http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corporate/environmental/green_technology/#ecoCool

[2]. http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corporate/environmental/green_technology/#idling

 

 

[iRage]

Yes...true....the point was...when the system was introduced the parameters were off and the system was way too sensitive...the engine cutoff was minimal and proved no significant advantage over the vehicles with the standard Start-Stop mechanisms and even Suzuki's own Ene-charge systems.