The Suzuki Wagon R in China
The Suzuki Wagon R was manufactured in China by the Changhe-Suzuki joint venture. Production started in 2004 and ended in 2016. A 12-year production run! Within that time, the joint venture launched various other Wagon R variants, like a long-wheelbase version and one with a modernized front. However, production of the original never stopped.
After 2016, the Wagon R continued under the Change name. Change launched various variants again, including an EV and a van version. Production ended in 2022 when the Changhe brand was discontinued. The Chinese name for the Wagon R was 北斗星, Běidǒuxīng, Big Dipper.
Body kits
This kind of body kit was quite common in the early 2000s, sold by small repair shops for little money, and installed while you were waiting. It is very special to see a body-kitted car like this in the wild in 2022. Most are trashed, crashed, or crushed. The yellow color is not factory-original. But it looks great on the Wagon R.
The roof rack with the side tent. It has four LED searchlights. The W Work window sticker refers to a Japanese wheelmaker.
The third-side window with stickers of hip clothing brands for adventure-ish folks.
The interior was brilliant! Real-black leather seats! It also has a drifting-style steering wheel and gear lever, extra storage shelves in front of the front passenger, pillows, and a lucky charm dangling from the rearview mirror.
The roof spoiler is original! The shiny tailgate handle, however, is not.
There is a Japanese Wagon R sticker on the rear window, and it has a big exhaust pip on the right side of the bumper.
Specifications
The China-spec Suzuki Wagon R was available with 1.0, 1.1, and 1.4-liter gasoline engines. The output of the 1.4 was 95 hp (70 kW) and 112 Nm. The motor was mated to a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT. The Wagon R’s curb weight was only 900 kg, so the top speed was a decent 156 km/h.
The Wagon R was a perfectly capable car, cheap to buy and cheap to run. The price hovered around 50.000 yuan for most of the time. Chinese people lived it and it sold like crazy. For young folks, the Wagon R attained a cult status, influenced by the Japanese tuning scene.
This Wagon R gets a lot of love, and that is great to see. Let’s hope it stays around for a while, as a memory of the good Suzuki days of old. Today, Suzuki is no longer available in China. The brand pulled out in 2018 after it lost all of its market share to the booming Chinese brands.