- Advertisement -The Maruti Suzuki WagonR Flex Fuel has made headlines.
The regular version runs on regular E20 petrol (20% ethanol) that you fill up today.
But this Flex Fuel WagonR is currently only available to commercial buyers.
Moreover, Maruti hasn’t revealed the prices for the Flex Fuel WagonR yet.
The prices for the regular WagonR range between Rs 5.85 lakh and Rs 8.17 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).
Maruti has launched India’s first flex-fuel car, and it has become the talk of the town. But here’s what nobody’s telling you. At least, not yet.
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The Maruti Suzuki WagonR Flex Fuel has made headlines. Several publications reported on the model and E85 fuel. And if you are someone who is planning to buy a WagonR in the next few weeks, you might be wondering about should you instead of for the Flex Fuel version instead of the regular petrol, right? In this article, we’ll clear up your confusion –
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About The WagonR Flex Fuel
Talking straight, it’s just the WagonR with a modified 1.2-litre K12N engine that can now run on E85 fuel, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol. The regular version runs on regular E20 petrol (20% ethanol) that you fill up today. Apart from the modified engine, this new version is identical to the standard WagonR – same touchscreen, same cabin, same dimensions. Everything that’s changed is all under the hood: new fuel injectors, a new fuel pump, upgraded fuel lines and a recalibrated ECU.
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The government has also started E85 fuel at the pumps, priced at Rs 82.12 per litre in Delhi. Now, this price is exactly Rs 20 lower than the E20 petrol sold today in that state. The lower price might sound good, but there is a lot to it –
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Things Nobody Says
From past few days, everyone has glossed over the excitement, saying “India’s first flex-fuel car”. But this Flex Fuel WagonR is currently only available to commercial buyers. If you’re a regular car buyer reading this, you literally cannot buy one right now.
Moreover, at present, the fuel is barely available. In the first phase, E85 has been made available at 48 outlets nationwide. Moreover, all these first-phase rollouts are planned in the Delhi-NCR and the Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridors. Now, if you live in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Jaipur, or Chandigarh, there is no E85 near you.
Secondly, the fuel efficiency hit is real. The E85-compliant vehicle can be expected to be about 25-35 percent less than E20-compatible models. So, even though the E85 is cheaper than the E20 petrol, you will need significantly more of it per kilometre.
To give a rough estimate, if we say you drive 1,500km per month, the monthly fuel cost for the standard WagonR 1.2 petrol with 20 kmpl mileage will come to around Rs 7,650.
Compared to the E85, which is priced at Rs 82 per litre, the efficiency will drop to roughly 14-15kmpl, and the monthly fuel cost will eventually rise to Rs 8,786. That said, instead of resulting in more savings, you would pay more per month for E85 at today’s price. Now, for this to actually work out in your favour, the government would need to set a price gap of nearly Rs 35-40 over regular E20 petrol.
For example, in Brazil, which has adopted E100, the price gap between the regular petrol and the E85 is nearly 40 percent. However, in India, the gap is currently just 20 per cent.
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So, Should You Really Buy The E85 WagonR?
If you ask us, honestly, the fleet owners operating in the Delhi-NCR or the Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridor, with a run of nearly 5,000 km to 8,000 km per month, could see some modest savings. However, the math doesn’t yet work out for private car buyers. Their limited monthly run might eventually burn more money than it saves.
Moreover, Maruti hasn’t revealed the prices for the Flex Fuel WagonR yet. The prices for the regular WagonR range between Rs 5.85 lakh and Rs 8.17 lakh (on-road, Mumbai). The Flex Fuel version is expected to cost Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh more than the current E20 petrol. Moreover, Maruti generally offers some discounts on the WagonR, so you could actually save thousands on the current model instead of waiting, which will eventually cost you more.
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The Bigger Picture
Now, if you are still confused and stressed about what could happen in the future. Speaking honestly, India’s flex-fuel ecosystem is at day 1. Currently, the fuel network isn’t everywhere, the price advantage isn’t there, and the private buying model isn’t there. That said, this kind of technology might see a boom in the coming 2-3 years. And when it happens, we will be the first ones to tell you to switch. But for the private owners now, having a flex-fuel model will still be like a white elephant parked in their garage.
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