Suzuki Celebrates 25 Years Of The Wagon R With Anniversary Edition

Suzuki may have hung up its car-sales hat in North America, but make no mistake about it: it’s still a big player back home in Japan, especially when it comes to small cars. And it’s celebrating a quarter century of one of its biggest sellers this year.

The Japanese automaker first introduced the Wagon R back in 1993, hitting the scene as one of the first tall kei cars to make the most of its small footprint. In the years since, it’s sold millions of them – 4.6, to be precise, in the Japanese Domestic Market alone.

In other words, it has sold over three and a half times as many Wagon Rs just in Japan than it did of all of its models in the nearly 30 years it competed in the US market. That makes this a rather important model for Suzuki, giving it good cause to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The Wagon R 25th Anniversary edition is actually being offered in three versions based on the Hybrid FX Limited, the Hybrid FZ Limited, and the Stingray Hybrid X trim levels. And they each get their own special touches, from the color of the instrument panel and fabric seat upholstery to the 14- or 15-inch alloys and the exterior trim.

What doesn’t change from one model to the next is the powertrain: all are powered by a 660-cc mild-hybrid system mated to a CVT and driving either the front or all four wheels. It’s a formula common to most JDM kei cars, and judging from the Wagon R’s unbridled success, we’d say it’s worked pretty well for Suzuki.