WagonR, one of India’s largest selling cars, has got auto gear shift technology. The auto gear shift transmission will be available in VXi variants of both Wagon R classic and Stingray.
In addition, driver and co-driver airbags and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) will be offered as an option across all variants, including the base variants of WagonR and Stingray, said Maruti Suzuki.
“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,” said R S Kalsi, Executive Director Marketing & Sales, MSIL.
WagonR has been successful as it is one of the cheapest cars in India that can accommodate relatively tall people. Its smaller cousin, the Alto, is notorious for its cramped insides.
WagonR will be the third brand from Maruti Suzuki to get the its Auto Gear Shift technology.
Auto Gear shift is currently offered in Celerio and Alto K10.
“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.”
Unlike real auto-transmission, auto gear shift does not offer ‘continuously variable’ gears. Instead, gears continue to be discrete like in manual transmission. The only, and main advantage of auto gear shift is that the driver does not have to remember to shift the gear.
In CVT or continuously variable transmission, there are no discrete ‘jumps’ between gears. In fact, the concept of gears itself loses relevance in CVTs.
The company claims a mileage of 20.51 km per liter — same as the manual transmission — for the auto gear shift versions.
Maruti has been struggling of late in the Indian market, partly due to its enormous market share. The company, a unit of Japan’s Suzuki, has been launching higher-end models such as the new Balena and S Cross in an attempt to prevent its brand from being ‘common’.
The company will also offer dual airbags and anti-lock braking in WagonR.
Auto Gear Shift also known as Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) is equipped with an Intelligent Shift Control Actuator that automatically performs clutch and shift operations.
Auto Gear Shift combines the actuator and controller and directly mounts them in the transmission in order to unify the working components. This permits synchronized control over the clutch and engine for smoother gear changes. The shifting time is also shortened as compared to conventional automatic transmissions.