• New WagonR gets touchscreen infotainment unit, audio controls on steering wheel
• Cabin is a dual-tone black-beige affair; doesn’t get adjustable headrests at the front or rear
• New WagonR will get a 4-cylinder engine; might displace 1.2-litres by volume
• Expect entry-level prices to be around Rs 4.15 lakh

Maruti Suzuki is set to launch the new-generation WagonR hatchback in India on 23 January, 2019. The new WagonR is going to get a major exterior and interior makeover and these images are our best shot yet at showing you how it will look inside-out.

In our previous spy story, we showed you how it will look from the outside, so this time we’ll get straight to the interior.

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As you can see in the image, the WagonR gets a dual-tone beige-black cabin, like before. The dashboard design is new and there’s a touchscreen infotainment unit in the middle, but the layout isn’t very different from the outgoing model. So you will continue to get an upper glovebox in the new WagonR as well and there will be storage space ahead of the gear lever too. Like before, the aircon vents on the extreme ends are circular while the ones in the middle are not.

The steering wheel now gets audio controls and is a straight lift from the Ignis. But in the WagonR’s case, there won’t be leather wrapping in the top variant. This image also gives us a peek at the WagonR’s instrument cluster, which seems to be part digital unit now (the small circle to the right of the speedo might give out trip info, fuel efficiency and fuel level details). There’s a manual headlamp leveller on the right side of the steering wheel on the dashboard. On the left are air con controls. Even the top-spec WagonR won’t get automatic climate control.

The outgoing WagonR gets adjustable headrests but the new one will get fixed ones both at the front and the rear. Adjustable headrests at the rear usually offer better support than fixed ones. This variant gets rear parking sensors and since it gets a touchscreen infotainment system, we expect it to pack a rear parking camera as well.

The view of the cabin from the side reveals that the top-spec WagonR will get all-four power windows and electrically adjustable ORVMs. There appears to be two levers on the side of the driver’s seat, so there seems to be height adjustment on offer too, which is not available on the outgoing WagonR. Like the older WagonR, this one also gets manual day/night IRVM. The steering wheel might be adjustable for rake as well, like on the older model.

The top-spec WagonR VXi+, which was previously known as the Stingray, used to get alloy wheels as well, but the new model seems to have skipped it altogether. It’s interesting to note here that the new WagonR doesn’t get roof rails, which were on offer before.

Since it’s the first time that the top variant of the WagonR has been spied, we get to see the fog lamps and turn indicators on ORVMs as well. However, the new WagonR will only get halogen headlamps and there are no LED DRLs.

The new WagonR is expected to be based on the Heartect platform, the one on which cars like the Swift and Ignis are also built on. With this, we expect the WagonR to be more spacious on the inside while being just as big as the older model on the outside. But apart from the new platform, the other big mechanical change will be the engine, which will be a 4-cylinder unit this time around, as can be seen in the image. At present, the WagonR is powered by a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder engine that puts out a maximum power of 68PS and a peak torque of 90Nm. The same engine is also available with CNG option as well and is shared with the Alto K10.

The new 4-cylinder engine might be the same unit as the one that powers the Ignis and the Swift. Both these cars get a 1.2-litre petrol engine that makes a maximum power of 83PS and a peak torque of 113Nm. It remains to be seen if it’s the same engine, and in the same state of tune, that will now power the new WagonR as well. Maruti Suzuki Dzire Tour, which also gets the 1.2-litre petrol engine, comes with a CNG option. So we expect Maruti Suzuki to offer a CNG version of the new WagonR as well.

The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission on the new WagonR. But like the outgoing model, expect an AMT gearbox to be on offer in the newer version as well.

Currently, the WagonR is priced from Rs 4.15 lakh to Rs 5.39 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). We do not expect a major hike in the entry-level price of the new model. It rivals the Hyundai Santro, Datsun GOand Tata Tiago in India and will continue to do so with the new generation model as well.

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