Filed under: Economy, Wagons/Estates, Japan, Suzuki
Suzuki releases new Wagon R, Wagon R Stingray
Click above for a hi-res gallery of the new Suzuki Wagon R Stingray
As of today, Suzuki has a new Wagon R on the market in Japan. It's joined by a new Wagon R Stingray variant (above) as well, and the duo will set about filling the shoes of their bestselling predecessors. The new Wagon Rs don't lose their signature boxiness, but they wear all-new sheetmetal and sit on a longer wheelbase. The standard Wagon R gets a friendly face with large, tall headlamps, while the sportier-themed Wagon R Stingray gets a chrome grille strip that runs between its thinner, horizontal lamps.
The rest follows the standard kei-car formula. Darker, more masculine colors characterize the Stingray, while the Wagon R clearly includes women in its target audience, sporting a color palette loaded with the lighter solids and pastels. Normally-aspirated and turbocharged 660cc engines are offered, mated to either 4- or 5-speed automatics or a CVT, depending on trim level. The turbocharged Stingray with CVT even gets paddle shifters to give drivers complete control over the 64 ponies corraled underhood. A snazzier, dark interior with some nifty lighting is also available in the Stingray.
Suzuki hopes to sell 18,000 new Wagon Rs every month, and if the previous generation showed us anything, we can expect to see a variety of spinoff models over time.
Gallery: 2009 Suzuki Wagon R
Gallery: 2009 Suzuki Wagon R Stingray
[Source: Suzuki]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Virginia Wolf 4:36PM (9/25/2008)
This would sell like crazy in USA. All the Xb people would buy it.
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pyccki 9:24PM (9/25/2008)
ok, so like ten people would buy it?
BoneHeadOtto 4:52PM (9/25/2008)
I love the look but obviously 64 hp aint gonna cut it in the states. Especially without a manual option. But scion and the like need to incorporate some of this cool interior lighting in their "'hip" cars.
Virginia Wolf 4:54PM (9/25/2008)
Aren't manuals in only 10% of all vehicles sold? If that.
Michael 5:01PM (9/25/2008)
He probably just meant that it's easier to get the required performance out of really weak engines with a manual transmission, not that it would sell better with one (though I'd buy it).
I already have to plan freeway merges sometimes in my car. To do the same with half the power and not half the weight (most likely)? Not pleasant.
The car looks awesome though.
Temple 7:25PM (9/25/2008)
64hp is limited due to meet "kei" car designation (really low tax bracket); if they ever export it, hopefully they'll put in a 1-liter+ engine in it. Which is probably cheaper to make then a 660cc-turbo engine.
John P. 4:41PM (9/25/2008)
I'd buy it.
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Mehdi Cheddadi 4:43PM (9/25/2008)
Forget Xb people, anyone would want that stingray if it was released here and less than 10K$
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Torrent 4:49PM (9/25/2008)
wtf?
I like it....... And those rims are nice for a small car.
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vijay 4:51PM (9/25/2008)
this looks cool now! when can i expect this in the market for sale?
http://dabberdesign.com
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Holden Miecranc 5:12PM (9/25/2008)
The market for rolling toasters is going to get awfully crowded very fast, with the addition of the Soul, et al to US showrooms. Seeing as Toyota only sells all about 43,000 units a year of these things, it's not like the midsize market where multiple manufacturers are selling a quarter million plus units. There are only so many youth dollars available and now, with tightening creditlines, those dollars are going to be harder to extract.
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dinnercoat 5:41PM (9/25/2008)
64hp? Yikes. Hope the thing weighs under 2,400 lbs if it wants to have any hope of being even remotely capable of getting out of its own way.
Other than that, I don't see the low hp figure being a problem so long as it brings with it high fuel economy (40s-50s mpg hwy).
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bduddy 6:58PM (9/25/2008)
2400 lbs? I doubt it weights much more than half of that. This is Japan, remember, and they haven't bought in to the whole weight=safety and weight="cool" myths.
JF 5:46PM (9/25/2008)
I like it. A much better replacement to the original xB than the ugly lift-kit Soul
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ImSteevin 6:19PM (9/25/2008)
whats up smart fortwo/xB?
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blackimp 10:06PM (9/25/2008)
That sumbitch is UGLY! Maybe I'm just an old 37 year-old. I asked my 14 year-old daughter though and she agrees (that that thing is fugly, not that I'm old). To each his own.
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Gary 11:31PM (9/25/2008)
Suzuki Stingray? Sounds as right as "Corvette Type R".
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tragedy 12:22AM (9/26/2008)
I used to have an '03 Wagon-R RR Turbo. They're fun little cars. At 160 yen per liter, they're worth it.
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Roan 2:37AM (9/26/2008)
It looks allot like the DAIHATSU MATERIA. Carbon copy infact.
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Level 5 8:07AM (9/26/2008)
Funny that you mention that, especially with all the other Scion xB comments on here since the Materia and xB share a platform. Still, it's quite cute, and I'm sure with the 1G xB's 1.5L sipper it would do quite nicely here.