Maruti Suzuki Swift

 

SWIFT

One of the most diversified, cool, and oldest hatchbacks in India. Yes, you got it right none other than the Maruti Suzuki Swift. This car definitely deserves being called a gamechanger for obvious reasons that even kids know. Now this version has come up with a whole new body design and looks more like a Japanese car now. Many things make this the highest selling car in the country since the launch of its first generation. Sporty looks, nice handling and a peppy diesel engine are some of the factors. Not to forget about the Maruti’s after sales service and easily repairable cars. Maruti’s cars still stand upto the company hit dialogue “Kitna Deti Hai” with the best offering mileage in every segment.

Let’s talk more about the latest version and know about how it has changed from the previous versions of this iconic hatchback.

Exterior-At the first glance, this car is completely different from the older version of it. It has got a much-sophisticated appeal now. The platform on which thus car is built onto is also new which is borrowed from the newer Baleno & dZire. Starting from the front, we get to see all new grill which is now bigger and goes from the hood down till the end of the bumper. With new Projector headlight setup more visibility at night is offered. The bumper gives a sporty appeal to the vehicle.

The side profile is plain, simple but yet very trendy. First thing you will notice that there is no rear door handle. But it is situated near the rear window on the black portion of the c-pillar just like the old Ritz. Blacked out treatment on the A, B and C pillar gives the roof a floating feel. The ORVMs get indicator strips on them. Coming down to the wheels, we get 15” clean silver alloy wheels (Diamond cut wheels are also an option).

Rear of the vehicle is more-sharp and looks futuristic. Tail lamps just appear to be bought from the Etios Liva but when we go close, they seem to have LED lights. It doesn’t get rear fog lamps. We get to see the Swift badging but the model is not mentioned on the back. We get rear parking sensors but the reverse parking camera is still missing.

Interior-When we get into the car, it feels very small in there because of the all-black theme. But that all black theme definitely gives you the sporty feel. The seats feel very laid down giving you the proper bucket seats feel. They don’t hold you enough around the corners but are manageable. There are no electrically adjustable seats. Car comes with keyless entry functionality (top model only) which lets you enter your car just by pressing a button on the door handle. So, there is no key hole inside because of the Engine Start/Stop button.

On the driver’s side, we get a manual Instrument cluster but there is a multifunction display in the center to display info about the car. It shows fuel consumption, trip, range etc. There is a new thing that speedometer and tachometer readings now start from bottom instead from a point near -45°. The steering is the most likable part on this car. It gets a flat bottom treatment along with the controls for Instrument cluster and Music. Unfortunately only tilt adjustment is allowed. The AC vents are a bit awkward because the center ones are round and the edge ones are rectangular in shape. At the center console, there is a 7 inch touch screen which we can see on the Brezza and Baleno. Audio quality is decent. Below it there are controls for the AC. It gets automatic climate control feature which has been revised from the previous generation and is much better now.

This Swift’s wheelbase has been increased by 20mm and is wider by 40 mm. So, the rear row has a decent amount of legroom. Under thigh support for rear passengers is still a problem but 3 persons can fit in easily. There is plenty of head room to offer thanks to its high held roof at the front.

The boot space has been increased to 268L and now with 40:60 splitting rear seats, this space is more practical to use. Car has 2 airbags and ABS as standard across all the models, becoming more safer than the previous generation. Swift has got a very practical and minimalistic interior design, which is nice for a day-to-day commuter.

Driving-As soon as you press the engine start button, you will notice that the engine is same as it was in the previous generation model. We here will talk about the petrol automatic. Yes, there is an automatic transmission this time on offer. The engine is time tested, reliable and loves to revved at higher rpms. This engine has got some serious power when the rpm is ranging between 1500—3500rpm. So, this engine has a strong low-mid range which is very much useful in day-to-day traffic. When revved at higher rpms i.e., around 6000 it does become vocal but thanks to the automatic transmission which upshifts automatically and very ‘swiftly’. The power figure of this engine is, 89bhp of power at 6000 rpm with 113nm of torque at about 4400rpm.

You all know about how fast-moving car was a Swift manual, but let’s talk about the new addition which is an automatic transmission. This transmission feels nice and responsive. It merely takes a while to shift gears, though you might notice gear changes while upshifting but downshifting is such a charm for this transmission. It makes so easy to overtake, all you need is downshift and disappear. This transmission will work best for in-city traffic and a bit of highway cruising. The new Swift also got cruise control this time which is a nice touch. You can’t expect the performance as offered by the DSG on the Polo GT, but far day-to-day commute, it is easy and fun to drive at the same time. Saying that if you are an enthusiast, you should go for the manual one only.

The cornering capabilities are on an okayish side because of not so stiff suspension setup. But handling of this car is so fluid that you can maneuver with much ease. There is not so much or good feedback to the steering but for in city driving, it is adequate and perfect. This engine offers a stunning 24kmpl mileage which is a big selling factor of this car.  The ride quality is overall very much improved as compared to the previous model, but still it isn’t much great as was expected from such an icon.

Conclusion-In India, Swift has a monopoly in the hatchback segment and many enthusiastic drivers buy it to get that engaging drive feel. That feel is still live with the new model and now this time with much more new features, safety equipment, good looking car, new colors, nice interior and what not. This all makes Swift much more practical to buy. We cannot miss Maruti’s service network and resale value. There are many promising things that will attract the buyers towards it. This buy is a perfect blend of a weekend explorer and an office commuter.