The History Of Nissan MOCO


The Suzuki MR Wagon is a kei car with a mini MPV body, seating four, manufactured by Suzuki for the Japanese market only, and also marketed in Japan by Nissan as Nissan Moco under an OEM agreement. The model debuted in 2001, and since 2006 it is in its second generation (as of 2007). It was launched in India by Maruti Suzuki as Maruti Zen Estilo in 2006.

Mazda is currently in talk about launching a rebated version of the MR Wagon as the Wagon Z.

The first generation model went on sale on December 4, 2001, featuring Suzuki's K6A kei car engine, in either naturally-aspirated (40kW / 54hp) or turbocharged (44kW / 60hp) versions, available with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. In all versions, the transmission was a 4-speed transmission with column shift. A hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle based on the first-generation MR Wagon was presented in 2005, using technology co-developed with General Motors.

The Nissan Moco version was presented as a concept car on the 35th Tokyo Motor Show in 2001 and only went on sale on April 10, 2002. The basic engine, drive and transmission choices were the same as for the Suzuki. The major difference between the Nissan and Suzuki versions was the Nissan's "wing" grille resembling that of contemporary Nissan Primera P12. The sales of the Nissan version stabilized at about 3000-4000 units a month, actually exceeding MR Wagon's sales.The first generation model went on sale in India in 2006 as the Zen Estilo. The Zen Estilo however, is powered by a 1.1L MPFI engine that also powers the Wagon in Indian market.

The First Generation is currently sold in India as "Maruti Zen Estillo", which replaced the very popular model "Zen" which was based on the "Alto" sold in other south Asian countries. This transition has brought about a steady decline in sales for this model.

The model's second generation was previewed at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show in 2005, where a concept called Mom's Personal Wagon was presented, with many features intended to be useful for a mother driving her children, including food trays, a front bench seat and pillarless suicide doors on the left side (which is the curb side in Japan). None of those would eventually make it to the actual new MR Wagon, which went on sale on January 20 (Moco on February 1) the following year, while on the other hand the model features the new keyless entry and start system. The engine, drive and shifter choice remained the same, with the same availability in both brand versions, but the gear selector is now mounted on the central console. Again, the cars are almost identical in outside appearance, but have different front ends, with Moco displaying similarities with the Nissan March K12.




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