Maruti showed its Wagon R flex fuel prototype at the 2023 Auto Expo and it gave us an opportunity to have a sneak peek. Flex fuel is an important aspect of how India lowers its fuel bills and also an alternative to electric mobility which is also still in its infancy. The Wagon R flex fuel was shown as a prototype but could be the production-spec version as well.
The Wagon R flex fuel uses any ethanol petrol blend between 20 percent E20 and 85 percent E85. This means the engine will work with any blend of petrol and ethanol ranging from 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline to lower.
The engine is a 1.2l petrol which makes 89 bhp and 113Nm while having a 5-speed manual gearbox. Most likely the flex-fuel version, for now, will have a manual gearbox only through an AMT cannot be ruled out. The benefits of flex-fuel means that it would be cheaper than petrol and also would be greener too. The engine has been upgraded to meet the flex fuel requirements and also improve the engine endurance. The engine fuel injectors and fuel pumps have also been upgraded.
Compared to a standard gasoline Wagon R, the flex fuel Wagon R has emissions cut by 79 percent while performance is largely the same as the petrol Wagon R. All Maruti cars would be E20 compliant by March of this year while this car in its production-spec form would be introduced by 2025.
While cars with flex-fuel engines would be more expensive than conventional gasoline-engined cars, the fuel would be cheaper and be kinder to the environment. The car shown at the Auto Expo 2023 had green highlights and the production-spec car could have a different paint job as well.
The interior and equipment levels are largely the same hence, the Wagon R flex fuel will get idle start/stop and more features while it might get a new upholstery. We might expect the Wagon R flex fuel to start from Rs 6 lakh plus.
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