Faults:

New front disks under warranty at 60,000 km.

Gearshift cable broke at 78,000 km.

Water leak into trunk from roof seam (several times).

Tyres at 93,000 km & 171,000 km (winter tyres all year).

Exhaust bracket welded at 178,000 km.

Sills rusted so patched at 192,000 km.

Handbrake cable freezes on if used in freezing conditions.

Rear brake shoes rust to drums if handbrake left on when wet.

General Comments:

Tiny outside & HUGE inside!

High seating position.

Airy & light inside.

Excellent visibility all round.

Good visibility for rear passengers too.

BRILLIANT fold-flat rear seats.

Big square trunk (for car size) & underseat storage.

It looks & drives like new at 200,000 km.

Criticisms:

A lot of people don't like the appearance.

Inadequate rear suspension travel.

Only 4 seat belts when room for 5 people.

Rear lamps unprotected in bumper (has not been a problem yet).

Several bulbs are very difficult to replace.

Rear screen & lighting controls badly placed & not illuminated.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong for me, although the car was recalled by the manufacturer for its front-end suspension, which was replaced very quickly by the dealership.

General Comments:

I adore my Wagon R+. I use it to haul my three kids back and forth to school with their huge book bags in tow, as well as doing errands on the weekends or small trips around our region. Despite my husband having a larger comfy Volvo, we often opt for the Suzuki because it is so zippy. We live near a historic medieval town and my car just purrs right through all of its streets and is so easy to park. And when I take the car onto the auto route for a weekly 150 km round trip, the car handles the speed limit of 130kpm with no problem. I can easily overtake other cars when I need to and have never felt the slightest hesitation in the motor when I buzz down the on-ramp.

I like the visibility the height of the car affords. It is nice to be above all of the other small cars on the road. I am a driver who enjoys the very upright seat position--I think over-reclined drivers should be barred from the roads.

The Wagon R has all sorts of nooks to put things in, although even I admit I would like a tad more space in the spare tire compartment to keep my safety triangle box. But the boot easily takes a load of groceries lined up behind the seat.

The car seems solid and safe for my purposes. There are airbags and five three-point safety belts and good brakes.

I have been noticing more Suzuki Wagon R+ s on the road lately as well as the similar Opel version. I think that it is catching on here in France now that people realize just how deceptively spacious this car is. And for the price I paid, the options I got (air conditioning, automatic transmission, fog lights, metallic paint, roof rack, CD player,) it is a hard car to beat.