both gens have a difference of 10 hp which may not seem a lot but thats the all the difference which makes the acceleration difference of city 2005<corolla 9th gen<corolla 10th gen<current city (all 1.3)
we've been using 9th gens since 2002 i've driven all variants and have a 9th gen 2.0d Saloon at the moment yet I dare say that wagon r is faster.
expecting sharp handling with the wheelbase, height, soft suspension setup and track size of wagon r isn't wise considering a corolla or city comes with bigger and wider wheels and a lower stance. you can compare its handling with santro or jdm kei cars of similar height.
I don't own a wagon r only driven it sometimes. Atm we've 3 Toyotas and I've made 2 of my friends switch to Toyota because of the kinda roads we have to drive daily on so it isn't like that I'm favoring a WR cause I own one.