Maruti Suzuki WagonR has been the top selling car for MSIL since its advent and around 17 lakh units of the vehicle have been sold till date. The car is available with a manual transmission till date but in a bid to cash in the popularity of AMT gearboxes, Maruti has launched WagonR and WagonR Stingray with auto gear shifter (AGS) technology.
WagonR AMT is the third car in the Maruti’s AMT arsenal with other two being Alto K10 and Celerio. The AGS aka AMT gearbox will be available on Vxi trim of both these cars. The Stingray was launched in 2013 which is nothing but a cosmetically tweaked version of WagonR to add some excitement to its portfolio.
What is Auto gear shift (AGS) technology?
Auto Gear Shift also known as Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) is said to be paired with an Intelligent Shift Control Actuator that robotically execute clutch and shift operations. AGS merges the controller and actuator and directly accumulates them in the transmission to unite the working components. This allows synchronized control over the clutch and engine for flatten gear changes. With the help of AGS technology the shifting time is also reduced as compared to conventional automatic transmissions.
Both the vehicles continue to draw power from a same 1.0l 3-cylinder K 10 petrol engine that churns out 67bhp power@6200rpm and 90Nm of peak torque@3500rpm. The fuel efficiency for both AGS powered variants also remains same at 20.51KMPL, identical to manual variants.
Safety element is one of the most important points in buying decision of a vehicle and Maruti has realized its importance as WagonR and WagonR stingray now comes with Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and dual airbags as an option across all variants.
In terms of features, WagonR AMT comes with manual AC, power steering wheel with tilt function, power windows, adjustable ORVMs, adjustable ORVMs, keyless entry and many more.
Prices for the 2015 Maruti WagonR and Stingray are as follows: (Ex- Showroom Delhi)
- Wagon R Vxi AMT – Rs. 4.76 lakhs
- Wagon R Vxi AMT (O) – Rs. 5.09 lakhs
WagonR Stingray
- WagonR Stingray Vxi AMT – Rs. 4.98 lakhs
- WagonR Stingray VXI AMT (O) – Rs. 5.31 lakhs
Speaking on the launch of new variants, Mr. R.S. Kalsi, Executive Director Marketing and Sales, MSIL said, “WagonR is one of the strongest brands in the Indian car market and it has been one of the top five selling cars in the country. WagonR will be the third brand from our portfolio to get the acclaimed Auto Gear Shift technology. By introducing the AGS in a popular car like WagonR, we aim to democratize the AGS technology so that more customers can enjoy the convenience of automatic gear shift without compromising on fuel efficiency and at an attractive price.”
