Maruti WagonR Flex Fuel Launched: Rs 86,000 Costlier Than E20 Petrol Version
Maruti Suzuki had recently unveiled the first-ever production version of the WagonR Flex Fuel in the market. The tall-boy hatchback has now been officially launched. It has been launched at a starting price of Rs 7.24 lakh, ex-showroom. The Flex Fuel version is based on the top-end ZXI+ variant, and it is actually Rs 86,000 more expensive than the regular E20 version that is currently on sale.
The WagonR Bioflex, as Maruti likes to call it, is available in metallic and non-metallic paint options. The E20 version of the WagonR ZXI+ is priced at Rs 6.38 lakh, ex-showroom, and the newly launched E85 version costs Rs 7.24 lakh, ex-showroom.
Although Maruti has launched the E85 WagonR, they are yet to unveil details related to the engine and its efficiency. Maruti also announced that they would initially be offering the E85 variant for the commercial sector only. The WagonR Tour H3 currently costs Rs 4.99 lakh for the petrol MT and Rs 5.89 lakh, ex-showroom, for the CNG version. When you compare it with the new Bioflex version, it is Rs 1.35 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh more expensive.
One advantage that people would get with the Bioflex version is the engine. The H3 version is currently based on the lower-spec variant, which uses a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine that generates 69 PS and 89 Nm of torque. In the Flex Fuel version, you would get the bigger 1.2-litre K12N-series four-cylinder engine that generates 91 PS and 114 Nm in the E20 version. The power and torque figures for the E85 version have also not been revealed.
The E85 version of the WagonR is actually Rs 86,000 more expensive than the regular E20 version. The regular E20 version of the WagonR has a claimed fuel efficiency of 23.56 kmpl for the manual and 24.43 kmpl for the AMT version.
Maruti has not yet revealed the official ARAI figures for the E85 version, but we know that it is going to be lower than the E20. A fuel-efficiency test conducted by Autocar on the Gixxer SF 250 revealed that the bike was 24.40 percent less efficient with E85 when compared to E20. We expect to see similar results in the case of the WagonR Bioflex version too.
If the WagonR Flex Fuel is not efficient, then the lower price of E85 does not make sense, as the customer will have to spend more money on refuelling to keep the car running when compared to a customer with an E20-compliant vehicle. The low efficiency, along with the higher price tag, does not make the WagonR Flex Fuel a value-for-money product.
The cost per kilometre for the E85 WagonR is going to be slightly higher than the E20 despite it being priced below regular petrol. Because E85 has a significantly lower energy density, the 24.40 percent drop in mileage completely wipes out the Rs 20-per-litre price advantage at the pump.
Because the running cost of the E85 vehicle is higher than that of the E20 vehicle, you are unlikely to reach break-even. Instead of recovering the initial Rs 86,000 premium, the gap between the E85 and E20 cars will only widen as you drive. In order to reach break-even, the price of E85 needs to come down even further to compensate for the lower fuel efficiency.
Why we said that the WagonR bioflex is not a viable option under current circumstances is because the numbers say so. Maruti has not officially revealed the fuel efficiency number for the E85 version and for the time being we will rely on the numbers that were put out by Autocar as part of their Gixxer SF 250 fuel efficiency test.
In the test it was revealed that the E85 fuel was around 24.40 percent less efficient than E20. The ARAI figures for WagonR 1.2 MT is 23.56 kmpl. Based on this number the efficiency numbers for the E85 version should be around 17.9 kmpl.
Now let’s calculate the running cost of each versions. The E20 version will have a running cost of Rs 4.33 per km while the Flex fuel version of the WagonR will have a running cost of Rs 4.61 per km. This is a difference of 0.28 paise per km. It may look like a very small difference initially but in the longer run that minor difference is going to cost the customer more.
Because of this higher running cost, the customers would actually end up spending more on fuel and won’t even be able to recover the upfront cost difference of Rs 86,000. It is mathematically impossible under the current fuel prices.
If the E85 fuel has to make sense to the buyers financially, the government should actually decrease the price of E85 fuel even more. In fact if they want to match the running cost of the WagonR E85 with the E20 variant, the price of the E85 fuel should be around Rs 77. This would save a customer from losing extra per km when compared to E20.
If the E85 is priced around Rs 70 per litre, the running cost would come down to around Rs 3.93 per km and in order to recover the additional Rs 86,000 that you paid over the E20, you would have to drive the WagonR for around 2.15 lakh kms. It is because of these reasons why we believe the WagonR E85 of the BioFlex variant doesn’t make sense as the customers are not saving any money by buying this version.