Maruti Suzuki India is quite heavily impacted in the recent past months with its market share in passenger cars segment showing a sharp fall. To keep Maruti going strong, it needs to keep evolving with the needs of the market, considering which Marti Suzuki India has decided to unveil its two smallest engine (660 CC Engine) cars at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. The cars will be unveiled and exhibited to gain public’s reaction and views on these cars. These two small cars which will break covers for the first time in India are Suzuki MR Wagon and Suzuki Palette.
image – Suzuki Palette Small Car
These cars are placed with high quality interiors and gadgetry in Japan and are placed above the Alto. These cars may take a few years of Indianization, testing and changes before Maruti finally launches one of these two small 660 fuel efficient cars in India. Both cars are powered by a 660 CC Suzuki MPFI Petrol Engine. The two engines have minor variations and output characteristics, but both engines offer 20+ KMPL of mileage per litre of petrol which can be further increased by re-tuning the engines for even better efficiency. The two cars – Suzuki MR Wagon and Suzuki Palette look quite similar, have similar dimensions, but offer different interiors, exterior fascia and different set of features which will again undergo major changes before making an Indian version out of these cars.
Suzuki Palette Small Car Pictures, Features and Details
image- Suzuki Palette Small Car Exteriors
Suzuki Palette is a compact station wagon with regular hinge style front doors and sliding read doors like we find on a Maruti EECO. The car has a very small engine compartment and most of the space has been provided on the interiors. The Japanese version of the Palette is a 5 or 4 seater with small luggage space behind the rear seat. The Interiors are light toned beige with good quality of plastics and interiors.
image- Suzuki Palette Small Car Interiors
The Japanese variant comes with CVT automatic transmission option only. The car is very compact in dimension and since the rear seat are placed quite aback, there is plenty of legroom inside the cabin for both front and rear passengers. Like the Maruti Wagon R, it is also a tall boy design and offers plenty of headroom and feeling of space on the inside.
image- Suzuki Palette Small Car Interiors
On the engine front, Palette is powered by KA6 MPFI Petrol engine from Suzuki which is 658 CC in displacement with optional turbocharger which comes with the top end variants only. It produces a max power of 54 BHP without turbocharged engine and 64 BHP with a turbocharged version, the max torque delivered by these engines is 64 Nm and 97 Nm respectively. The weight of the car across different variants is between 920 Kg to 1000 Kg. The engine is coupled to a Continuously Varying Automatic Transmission (CVT) for hassle free city driving experience.
image- Suzuki Palette Small Car Interiors
For good maneuverability it offers a small turning radius of 4.2 m only with compact exterior dimensions measuring 3395 mm in length, 1475 mm in width and 1745 mm in height. The fuel economy as per Japanese test standards is up to 22.5 KMPL on petrol.
Suzuki MR Wagon Small Car Pictures, Features and Details
image – Suzuki MR Wagon Exteriors
The MR Wagon not only sounds familiar but also looks familiar to the Maruti Wagon R, although it’s a very different car from Wagon R, but the designing is quite similar. Unlike the Suzuki Palette, it has all four conventional hinged doors and no sliding doors. It has a slightly different interiors, interior quality and looks much less premium compared to the Palette.
image – Suzuki MR Wagon Exteriors
It can seat four average adults in comfort and comes with comparatively simpler looking interiors and lesser feature. It is also quite spacious on the interiors and comfortable for 5 adults, however, the MR Wagon offers lesser space for rear passengers and more space for the luggage behind the rear seat. Unlike Beige interiors of the Palette, MR Wagon features grey and black interiors which looks quite familiar like the Indian Wagon R.
image – Suzuki MR Wagon Interiors
On the engine front, MR Wagon is powered by a R06A Engine which is also 658 CC in displacement but has slightly different characteristics. It also offers 54 BHP and 64 BHP of max power; 64Nm and 97 Nm of torque without and with turbocharger respectively. The MR Wagon weights about 100 Kg lesser than the Palette with weight going up to 880 Kg only.The fuel efficiency of MR Wagon is up to 25.5 KMPL as per Japanese test standards.
image – Suzuki MR Wagon Interiors
image – Suzuki MR Wagon Interiors
Both the Palette and MR Wagon have what it takes to attract Indian spectators towards Maruti Suzuki stall at the Auto Expo 2012, but the most crucial factor which will decide the overall fate of these cars in India will be the pricing of these cars when the production version is rolled out. As per preliminary reports, these cars maybe priced above Alto, which is beyond the segment of Tata Nano, Hyundai Eon base variants etc. Only time will unwrap the puzzle, we are keeping an eye on the same and will bring any new updates on this front. Stay tuned for more updates by liking our official Facebook Page and by signing up for our free email newsletter.
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