Maruti Suzuki has announced the prices of the WagonR Flex Fuel in India, making it the country’s first mass-market passenger vehicle capable of running on higher ethanol blends. The hatchback is priced at Rs 7.24 lakh, ex-showroom and was recently showcased in production-ready form ahead of the price announcement.Based on the top-of-the-line WagonR ZXi+ variant, the new Flex Fuel model is designed to run on ethanol-gasoline blends ranging from E20 to E85. This means that the car can use fuel with up to 85 percent ethanol.Powering the WagonR Flex Fuel is Maruti Suzuki’s 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine. The engine produces 90 horsepower and 113.7 Nm of torque and is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Automatic gearbox is currently not available. At Rs 7.24 lakh, the WagonR Flex Fuel commands a premium of around Rs 85,000 over the standard WagonR ZXi+ 1.2-litre manual variant. However, Maruti Suzuki has clarified that the Flex Fuel version is currently offered only for commercial purposes and is not available for private buyers. The hatchback will be sold in both metallic and non-metallic color variants.Features include a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, steering wheel-mounted controls, six airbags, fog lamps, alloy wheels and power-adjustable as well as folding outside rear-view mirrors.To adapt the engine to the higher ethanol content, Maruti Suzuki incorporated several modifications including improved fuel injectors and fuel pumps, revised fuel lines, recalibrated ECU and an ethanol sensor.
