Maruti Suzuki looks all set to replace the Ignis with a repurposed Wagon R that will be sold through the company’s NEXA chain of premium outlets
While almost the entire car market suffers from a prolonged sales slowdown, the carmakers haven’t given up yet and have been regular with launching new products to revive the sales momentum.
Earlier this year, Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest-selling carmaker, launched the new-gen Wagon R, XL6 and S-Presso to conserve its sales performance. Next, the car company plans to launch the 2020 Maruti Nexa Wagon R to replace the slow-selling Ignis from its portfolio. Here are the top 5 things you need to know about the upcoming model –
1. Will Have A Refreshed Styling Package
The upcoming model won’t be the first-ever Maruti model from the Arena dealerships to make it to the Nexa umbrella. Earlier this year, the company launched a refreshed version of the Ertiga, which is called the XL6 and is sold exclusively at the company’s premium retail outlets.
Like the XL6, even the Wagon R for Nexa will feature several styling updates, the most prominent of which will be found on its front-end. At its front, the upcoming model should offer a multi-level lighting system, a bolder grille, reworked headlamps and a new bumper.
2. Will Be Sold Only With 1.2-litre Petrol Engine
The third-gen Maruti Wagon R, which was launched in January 2019, comes with two engine options – 1.0-litre petrol and 1.2-litre petrol. Out of these, the smaller engine is shared with the Alto K10, S-Presso and Celerio, while the bigger motor comes from models like the Swift and the Ignis.
The Maruti Wagon R for Nexa, however, will be available only with the bigger engine option, which means that the new model will share its 1.2-litre petrol engine with the outgoing Maruti Ignis. Also, this is the same engine that is also found under the hood of the Swift, Dzire and Baleno.
3. Will Be Available With Both 5-speed Manual and AMT
One of the biggest USPs of the Maruti Wagon R is that both its engine options are available with two transmission options – 5-speed manual and 5-speed AMT. While the Nexa version will be available only with the 1.2-litre engine, it will offer both manual and automatic choices. This should help the Wagon R-based model with tapping new markets.
4. Will BE Exclusive To Nexa Chain Of Premium Outlets
While the upcoming model will be based on the Maruti Wagon R, its sales will be only through the Nexa retail chain of outlets. The premium dealership chain of Maruti Suzuki currently sells models like the Ignis, Baleno, XL6, Ciaz and S-Cross.
Soon, the upcoming model will replace the Ignis to become the most affordable offering in it the carmaker’s range of premium vehicles. Like other models, the sale of the of Maruti Ignis will be restricted to the Nexa outlets.
5. Could Be Called XL5 Or Stingray
As is the case with the Maruti XL6, the Wagon R for the Nexa chain will not look exactly like its donor vehicle, which means it will have enough styling updates to have an identity of its own. In line with this, the Wagon R for the Nexa outlets could be called the XL5, which makes tremendous sense if you see how easy this moniker makes it for the new model to fit below the XL6.
Also, rumours abound that the carmaker could even take this opportunity to revive the Stingray brand. It may be noted that the last-gen Wagon R was sold for some time in the top-spec Stingray variant before getting discontinued owing to the low demand.
Rendering Image: IAB