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The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, which was first launched in India on December 18, 1999, has just completed 25 years in our market. This makes it one of the longest-surviving nameplates, alongside only a few other cars, such as the Honda City and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Notably, the Wagon R has also been India’s bestselling car for the past three years in a row – FY2022 (188,827 units), FY2023 (212,340 units), and FY2024 (200,177 units). In the first eight months of FY2025, the Wagon R has sold 120,016 units.
Over the past 25 years, the Wagon R has seen two generational updates, and Maruti Suzuki claims to have sold over 32 lakh units of the hatchback during that period. Originally a Kei car in Japan, the Wagon R has become a favourite among entry-level car buyers in India due to its tallboy design and spacious interiors.
First-generation (1999-2009)
The first-gen Wagon R was introduced in 1999 as a direct rival to the then-Hyundai Santro and it was quick to gain popularity thanks to its ability to seat tall passengers with ease. It was powered by a 67hp, 1.1-litre F10D petrol engine, and over the years, it was updated with two facelifts – the first arrived in 2003 with minor cosmetic updates, while the second, in 2006, brought more comprehensive changes, including the introduction of a new LPG variant.
The first facelift for the Wagon R brought only minor cosmetic updates.
Interestingly, as synonymous as the Wagon R is with space efficiency today, it wasn’t quite true with the first-gen model. Available with a 50:50 split rear seat, the first-gen model was registered as only a 4-seater car. However, this didn’t bode well with Indian buyers, who wanted a three-seat layout for the rear. Maruti later rectified this with further updates to the hatchback.
Second-generation (2010-2018)
CNG was introduced with the second-generation of the Wagon R.
The second-gen Wagon R in India got an all-new platform based on the fourth-gen Wagon R in Japan. It was larger, received safety updates in the form of ABS and airbags, and was powered by a 68hp, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder K10B engine. CNG was also introduced for the first time on the Wagon R with the second-gen of the hatchback.
A facelift arrived in 2013 with cosmetic updates and more features on the inside. Then, in 2014, Maruti Suzuki introduced a new Stingray variant, which was sold alongside the regular hatchback. It was positioned as a more premium variant, which even got projector headlamps (a huge novelty at that time for this segment), but Maruti later dropped the Stingray moniker and sold it as just the top-spec variant of the hatchback.
The Stringray was positioned as a more premium variant of the hatchback.
Third-generation (2019-present day)
The third-gen Wagon R adopted the Heartect platform, sharing it with a host of other cars from Maruti’s stable. It grew larger still, and by this time, it was completely unrelated to the Wagon R sold in Japan. This was also the first time the Wagon got two engine options – the base K10B 1.0-litre petrol engine, carried over from its predecessor, and a new 82hp, K12M 1.2-litre petrol engine. A factory-fitted CNG kit, however, was only made available with the 1.0-litre engine.
The last update came in 2022 to comply with emission norms.
A small update was introduced in February 2022 to comply with the latest emissions regulations – both engines were updated with Dualjet tech and an idle start/stop system, and the car also got a very minor cosmetic job.
Earlier in June this year, Maruti even crossed the 1 million sales milestone mark with the third-generation Wagon R in India. Maruti also claims that the Wagon R is the highest-selling CNG model in India, with 6.6 lakh CNG units sold to date.
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