Recently I was given a new Suzuki Wagon R+ as a courtesy car by Suzuki dealer.
Although I don't have any problem with the car, few things surprises me!
The dash design (dials and temp/time display) resembles those of Vauxhall's (Corsa,Astra etc.) The rear gear shift uses a ring to push on left (rather than right below). I opened the bonnet, and there is no Suzuki mark on the 1.2 L engine! In fact "GM" marked stickers are everywhere! In fact, coolant cap instructions were written in English & German.
So, basically the car is Vauxhall Agila (at least engine & gearbox say so).
So, why does Suzuki sell a Vauxhall car in their own name?
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It's the other way around -- the Vauxhall Agila is a Suzuki Wagon-R.
These are built at Suzuki in Hungary I believe, but they include a lot of GM parts from the corporate bin as it's cheaper to put the cars together this way.
The 1.0l engine in the Corsa says GM on it, but it's a Suzuki design and build.
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It's the other way around -- the Vauxhall Agila is a Suzuki Wagon-R.
Seems so
A salesman on Suzuki dealership told me that to meet high demand of Swift, Suzuki will now offload Wangon R production entirely to Vauxhall.
No other Vauxhall car has fuel lid on kerb side, so it probably proves that it was originally designed by Suzuki. But again, gearbox is typically Vauxhall.
Also, the Wagon R list price is higher than that of Agila's.
Probably it's a win-win situation for both Vauxhall and Suzuki. Brand snobs will buy a Vauxhall and Jap car fans will go for Suzuki.
Though I wonder how many actually but the either model :)
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> But again, gearbox is typically Vauxhall.
This is a problem I have been having with this Daewoo as well, which also has a Vaux gearbox.
The number of times I've tried to put it in reverse bottom right....
Top left on a collar is just WRONG!!! And they make a nasty clicky noise when you take them out of reverse and into first again lol.
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Top left on a collar is just WRONG!!! And they make a nasty clicky noise when you take them out of reverse and into first again lol.
Not just a Vauxhall thing - Renault, VAG, newer Kia/Hyundais, and a lot of other cars with 6-speed boxes all have reverse in the "wrong" place. Like having the indicators on the "wrong" side, it only takes a little while to adapt.
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There's a steady market for these short-n-tall small cars. Elderly or infirm drivers like them because, being higher, its easier to slide in and out of the seats without bending.
As to branding, I suspect its more a case of brand loyalty than brand snobbery. Nobody buys a 1 litre box-on-wheels for image :-) But around my neck of the woods, one buyer will opt for the Agila because "McCarthy's garage have always been good to me" whereas the next will prefer the Wagon-R because "the only decent car is a Jap one".
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Though I wonder how many actually but the either model :)
A neighbour of mine the Suzuki version, so I'm familiar with it, but apart from that one, I can;t recall ever having seen another.
There is a new one (or two!) on the way:
tinyurl.com/2jqyac
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There is a new one (or two!) on the way: tinyurl.com/2jqyac
As much as I hate to admit, that doesn't look too bad! In fact I'd actually go out in public in one of them, unlike the current model!
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Brand snobs will buy a Vauxhall and Jap car fans will go for Suzuki.
LOL! Thats the first time I've heard someone say a brand snob would BUY a vauxhall over another make!! ;-)
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actually the snob value is in the suzuki over the vauxhall on this car
a few friends have them, and the ladies who lunch all prefer the suzuki, which shows in the resale values
the 1.0 version of the vauxhall must be really underpowered, but is available for only 4 K with a few thousand miles on it, and a few months old, mind they are apparently available for 5 K new from some dealers, the bigger engine in the vauxhall range or suzukis makes more sense
the suzuki is a good little car, having been ferried around many a time in one
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I don't think brand snobbery is in the vocabulary of someone who is prepared to drive around in a car modelled on Postman Pat's van.
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I haven't posted in years but had to log in to say.... GregSwain, you just made me spill my coffee all over the keyboard with that one-liner, i haven't laughed out that loud in ages!
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It's not new mine was called that by all at BT when I worked there.
The Suzuki was better spec'd than the Vauxhall originally as in it could have A/C as an option mine did. & also Suzuki did an auto which Vauxhall didn't. However Vauxhall offered ABS as an option which I wasn't fussed about. Then the Vauxhall & Suzuki versions were different, I think since around 03-04 they've become the same with Vauxhall running gear.
Mine was a 2000 model 1.3 Auto & A/C bought for £9150 & I thought it was great, the wife murdered it at 22000miles & 20 months the insurance paid out £6,600. It had a few issues on delivery all trivial & all fixed at first hit by dealer. The wife wouldn't have killed it if it had ABS as she locked it up on a corner & dumped it into a ditch. Inexperience & incompatence by her!
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