I remember the Wagon R+ of yore, mainly because my first car was the original Wagon R without the plus (but it has its own plus points). That 1993 Suzuki is a distant, long-lost sibling of the 2014 Solio.
The 1.2-litre, multiple-compartment bento box on wheels you see here began life years ago as the 1-litre Wagon R Solio, before it went solo as a standalone model and let the “Wagon R” moniker return quietly to Japan’s sub-660cc kei-class segment, where the brilliant little box of a car was born in the first place.
Similar brilliance, littleness and boxiness characterise the new Solio, making it a unique proposition in Singapore.
The Solio has a smaller footprint than the Swift, but stands even taller than the Grand Vitara. It’s slab-sided and rides on skinny 15-inch wheels, but sports a sizeable spoiler atop the tailgate in a silly attempt to look sporty. The four long stampings on its roof have a certain “Jurong factory” charm, but the surprisingly stylish nose with its bright lights (xenon main beams and multi-reflector fogs) have a certain “Holland Village” flair.
All the “Villagers” can be seen clearly from inside the Solio, thanks to its “fish tank” windows (that include additional glass panes at the A-pillars) and well-sized mirrors. But there’s a nagging question on my mind: Am I looking at them from the Solio or are they laughing at me in the Solio?
Better not pick my nose or pop a pimple, then. I could stretch my arms overhead instead, thanks to the abundant headroom. I could wear a toque or turban, no problem. The roominess behind is even more abundant – two adults could cross their feet without kicking the front seats, swing their arms without hitting each other, or do some yoga on the go.
Those 50:50 split seats can change their posture, too, with 10-step fore-aft adjustment and seven angles of seatback rake. One lift of a lever and one seat folds away, lift the other lever and the other seat folds away; collapse the front passenger seat, too, if needed – creating a passable panel van that’s available in decidedly uncommercial colours such as Blue Pearl, Phoenix Red and Urban Brown.
With the rear seats up and pushed all the way back for maximum legroom, the boot becomes just a bit bigger than the glovebox. But there’s an underboot organiser, plus numerous storage points within the cabin. And there are pockets aplenty, cubbyholes galore, trays and drink holders, plus a “takeout” basket parked underneath the front passenger seat squab. The Solio interior has more than enough nooks for your notebooks and countless crannies for your candies.
Not so sweet – almost bitter – is the tackiness in places. The sunglass holder feels as cheap as the $5 shades you buy at a pasar malam, the small drawer adjacent to the steering column is shoddy and the pull-out cupholders feel as flimsy as the disposable styrofoam cups they’re meant to hold. Speaking of styrofoam, the underboot organiser mentioned earlier is actually made of the crumbly white stuff. Would plain black plastic have cost too much in this case?
Maybe the Suzuki factory had to save the money to equip the Solio with powered sliding doors. Admittedly, it was money well saved/spent. Opening/closing them is convenient – thumb a button on the key fob, press a switch on the driver’s side of the dashboard, or just tug the relevant door handle (external or internal). Making entry/exit even easier are the assist grips on the inside of the B-pillars.
In case you’re wondering, yes, the Solio can be driven with the rear doorways open, which makes it a suitable vehicle for car-to-car tracking photography, with dramatic low angles and all.
Too bad there wasn’t enough money (or necessity) to equip the tailgate with powered operation, too. It opens high and big enough to serve as a canopy, but the vertically challenged might find it difficult to reach the edge of the hatch and pull it to close.
Driving the Solio, on the other hand, is not difficult at all, regardless of the driver’s physique. He gets a leather-wrapped steering wheel, but he can only vary its (very limited) angle and not its distance from the dash. There’s some more leather on the left armrest, but the soft cowhide contrasts sharply with the hard plastic on the right-side armrest.
Upon ignition, the needles of the speedo and tacho swing across the meters before they settle at “0” and idling-revs respectively. But a Swift Sport this is not – it isn’t swift and it ain’t sporty. Economy and road courtesy are the Solio’s priorities, as evidenced by the in-dash display showing “HELLO” when the engine is started and stating the “ECO” score when the engine is stopped.
My best “score” was 12km per litre, over a three-day 250km test drive. That’s some way off the claimed 18.9km per litre, but I drove the Solio with gusto and it carried a full load of four people at some points. 
The 1.2-litre 4-cylinder works willingly, but starts to sound unhappy from 3000rpm upwards. It’s happier pottering about town between 30km/h and 60km/h. It’s less happy rushing from 60km/h to 120km/h, but it can reach and maintain an 80km/h cruise without much unhappiness.
The continuously variable transmission (CVT) doesn’t like to rush, either, but it has an S button to keep the revs higher. Not much higher, though, with the crank speed never exceeding 5500rpm even with the throttle pedal pushed to the floor. Incidentally, the colour of the light ring around the speedometer varies from dark blue (for “brutal”) to light blue, turquoise or green (for “gentle”) depending on the throttle input and rpm level. It reminds the driver to take it slow in the Solio and save petrol.
With the engine having less power than the air-conditioning and about as little torque as a cordless screwdriver from Tokyu Hands, going slow in the Solio comes naturally. Not that slow, however, is the car’s manoeuvrability in an urban environment jam-packed with big buildings and small streets.
The steering is light and the turning circle is tight, so U-turns and three-point turns are really easy. The body is narrow at just over 1.6m in width and its side mirrors can be power-folded/unfolded, so slotting the Solio into empty spaces (parking, traffic and whatnot) is really easy, too.
Less easy to accept is the ride quality. Over patchy roads, it’s noisy, or bumpy, or shaky, and occasionally noisy-bumpy-shaky all at the same time. Wind turbulence isn’t an issue, though, and neither is handling. The Solio looks like it could topple sideways in the first fast corner it encounters, but it actually holds on and the softly screeching tyres take it through.
Of course, practical people won’t be driving the Solio like an Evo. Instead, they’ll be doing practical things with the Solio and saying arigato to Suzuki for giving them the roomy and stupendously user-friendly bento box on wheels.
DRIVETRAIN
TYPE Inline-4, 16-valves
CAPACITY 1242cc
BORE X STROKE 73mm x 74.2mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 11:1
MAX POWER 91bhp at 6000rpm
MAX TORQUE 118Nm at 4800rpm
POWER TO WEIGHT 87.1bhp per tonne
GEARBOX CVT
DRIVEN WHEELS Front
PERFORMANCE
0-100KM/H 13.5 seconds
TOP SPEED 155km/h
CONSUMPTION 18.9km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 127g/km
SUSPENSION
FRONT MacPherson struts, coil springs
REAR Trailing links, coil springs
BRAKES
FRONT / REAR Ventilated discs / Drums
TYRES
TYPE Yokohama BluEarth
SIZE 165/60 R15
SAFETY
AIRBAGS 4
TRACTION CONTROL ABS
MEASUREMENTS
LENGTH 3710mm
WIDTH 1620mm
HEIGHT 1765mm
WHEELBASE 2450mm
KERB WEIGHT 1045kg
TURNING CIRCLE 10m
BUYING IT
PRICE INCL. COE $99,900 (after $10k CEVS rebate)
WARRANTY 5 years/unlimited km
WE SAY
+ Ridiculous roominess, powered sliding doors, economical driving, “Muji” utility
– Ridiculous boxiness, unpowered tailgate, numbing dullness on the move, mediocre ride
