Exclusive! New Maruti WagonR’s touch-screen system & speedometer console explained [VIDEO]
We are in Udaipur to drive the all-new Maruti WagonR that was launched recently. While there is an embargo on our reviews and opinions till the morning of 31st January, here is a quick video of how the speedometer console and the touchscreen audio interface looks like.
As seen in the video above, this is the top spec ZXI versions and only this trim gets a tachometer. Other lower variants do without that. The round theme of the analogue speedometer and digital second dial looks nice. The earlier WagonR did not offer such a comprehensive display. This one however has a lot of information on offer including gear indicator, clock, fuel level, two tripmeters, average fuel economy, instantaneous fuel economy and tank range. The back light also looks great.
The second feature shown in the video is the 17.78cm touch-screen interface that Maruti calls the SmartPlay set-up. This is only offered in the top end ZXI trim. Do note that the earlier WagonR did not have this feature. This supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and even Maruti’s SmartPlay studio app that also helps navigation with real time traffic updates. We have also tried to make you listen to the audio quality. Apart from this, the screen has a display for reverser parking sensors, no camera on this one. Lastly, we like the fuel economy display on the screen itself (picture below) that also shows fuel economy achieved for the last few trips.
The new WagonR is priced from Rs 4.19 lakh onwards and is available with both 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre engine options. The latter is the same unit that also powers the Baleno, Swift, Ignis and the Dzire. Both the engine options are offered with an optional AGS (automatic) gearbox. The new WagonR is based on the fifth generation Heartec platform and offers more space than ever before. It will lock horns with arch rival Hyundai Santro as well as other products like the Tata Tiago.
Maruti has yet to launch a CNG version of the vehicle but going forward, it will hit the market soon. The new WagonR will continue to be among the top 5 selling cars in the Indian car market. Do come back on 31st January to see our detailed review of this new tall boy hatchback.