Swift VDi ownership: A Running report

[GeekSrik]

2 months of wait, multiple changes of bookings from swift D to Sx4 and then different colours and then back to Swift D, I finally took delivery of the originally booked swift D, though in ozone blue colour. aruguably though arctic white moves faster in terms of colours (with due regards to jaggu), i decided to plunge for ozone blue for a few reasons. i liked the ozone blue when i took the TD earlier on, ozone was the only one available and here i had to take a choice on this fast. i wanted to disassociate myself from the dealer asap, so i said yes to this one!

tyres and alloys were my prime concern and since i was a novice, i could find out rates only with three places, prakash motors, auto fusion and sai iyengar, on time. of all these people i found sai iyengar the best in terms of attitude and urgency and mr.ashwin there was everready to help me out. there were lots and lots of alloys available in terms of design and i did not want to waste time over those. i knew i wanted five spoke ones, and i need michelin pilot tyres 195, 60, 50. so i chose lenso for the alloys. due to the heavy winds yesterday and tree falls, i was stuck at the traffic on mg road for over an hour and managed to reach sai only by 5:30, chose my alloys in about 15 mins and left to bimal to take delivery. bimal took one hour to complete all formalities. i had cancelled all accessories with bimal so that i can do it at peace outside later on, and at about 7pm, i headed back to sai's shop for the tyre change. both are less than 500m apart, so it wasnt a great deal to drive there. the traffic though was horrible and so distracting and a new car at my hands made me feel a bit jittery. in fact while taking delivery, by mistake i had taken off the hand brake and while speaking with wifey forgot about the leg brakes, car started rolling forwards from pavement onto road (with height difference). presence of mind and i pulled the hand brake just in time, else my front bumpers wouldve dented! phew.

finished fitting the alloys only by 8:30 and headed home tired at 9pm. end of a very busy day. i had no number plates yet, and with temp registration, and without tax receipt i had to just get the car home. today morning started off by a temple visit, and after puja, headed straight back to bimal to get my number plates. tax paid receipt is yet to be given, since sunday, will have it only tomorrow.

having said this much, now onto the car part. have covered about 40km so far. there has been much said about performance, test drives, niggles, rattles, everything on this forum, so i ll say what i liked and disliked about this car, now that its my own baby. for starters the roominess inside is so involving and nothing like what i have experienced so far. this car is like a cocoon shielding you from all the outside happenings. once you roll the windows up, its quiet except for the noise of the engine (the clitter clatter if you may put it that way). after seeing the palio 1.1 and 1.6 lately, i missed the comforting thud of the doors which i found and experienced after a long time in my swift today again! the interiors are black and grey, just soothing to the eye and just about what the tired driver wanted to calm him down. there are so many lights on the console, but thats what technology is all about isnt it?

on my way back home last night, i drove mostly at 40-60kmph and in fifth and fourth gears mostly, but at one point, put atleast 10 petrol cars to shame zipping off at 80kmph with added turbo. believe me what i said on the first day (test drive day) and what i say now is the same. you gotta drive this car on an empty stretch or highway to see how it really performs. the turbo kick is like an airplane taking off, for the sheer thrill if you step on the gas, its pure adrenalin rush after that! for the first time today morning, i put in about 15 litres of fuel at 500 bucks and the fuel meter showed half way through. jaggu, i could not go to the shell pump yesterday since it was real late! maybe next time. for now its just indian oil regular diesel.

the steering is an EPS and there is very little feedback on whats going on with the turns. this is one part i ll have to get used to. the visibility out of the stock mirrors (day/night one) is pathetic. i can hardly see whats in and around my car. so i put in the old 800 mirror i have posted photos of earlier onto this car too and now its reasonable though i m still left wanting. reversing and parking is a major headache and this can be attributed to low seating compared to the door height. the cocoon spoils visibility for parking and being experienced, i m parking like an idiot since yesterday! this is one place i miss my 800!

the a.c does bring the power down a tad bit, but then you always have the turbo. at level 1, it takes a few mins to cool down the entire cabin. the one thing i like here is that the front seats are higher than rear. but that is let down by the small rear windshield glass which doesnt show you a thing. there is a laptop socket 12v, which i am yet to use and test. there is no strict coin holder, the dash area is comfortable to stack a lot of things, the console box (storage area) sucks. no tilt steering, no 40/60 folding seats, no proper cubby holes, no defogger, no wiper even for rear, common maruti, havent you cut too much off the car???

the clutch is hard and i expect it to soften down a bit after some drives. the tyres are hard and i can feel bumps, though it doesnt hurt me or the rear occupants. i still have to install my stereo (old one), film, seat covers, central lock probably and a few other nick nacks, maybe parcel shelf, etc. one thing i was advised against is that i should not install a different horn for swift. jaggu whats your take on this? have you installed a new horn? the horn installtion looks to be very cumbersome as its somewhere deep inside the bumper area.

so am i happy with the car? heck yes!! and very much. atleast i can laugh my way to the bank with the fuel bills. visibility is not top class and parking is a serious headache. i know there are parking sensors and all that, but i have no clue how much it would cost and what it would look like.

this is a long term report, so expect more updates from me. i ll leave you with some good photos of my car! enjoy.





MODS: i intend to continue this thread as and when I drive more and more, so i hope you will consider this as the start of a long long term report

[vid6639]

Only one thing to say Geeksrik.

Congratulations. Finally. lol.

cheers enjoy her.

[Hellcat]

Excellent report Geeksrik, Swift looks nice in ozone blue, good choice of colour. Ashwin is a good friend and a great guy, I got my pilot precedas and alloys from him. Congratulations on the new car and drive safe.

Hellcat

[pogusingh]

Geek
I just want to say that I am very happy for you. Congratulations. They say all is well that ends well.

PS - Your alloys looks awesome with the ozone blue color

-POGU

[navdeep]

atlast you are through ... congrats !

[horsepower]

Congrats dude, Feel the addiction of swift diesel. You have got yummy alloys man. what size and price?

[faithless_1984]

Congrats GS....love the colour and the alloys.!

[NOTORIOUS]

congrates on new car, what about ICE man, i think it is compulsary

[abhibh]

OMG wat a review. atlast u got the car hehe.. Nice colour choice .

Great alloys too. Next time i am on a search for alloys i will ask you for sure

BTW how much u paid for alloys and tyres ???

Also i thought swift had tilt steering and defogger ugh maruti

[Zappo]

A very hearty congratulation nonetheless. You are going to enjoy this baby. Have fun GS.

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

MODS: i intend to continue this thread as and when I drive more and more, so i hope you will consider this as the start of a long long term report

Ok, so thats the logic. I started wondering as to why the heck have you posted a long term report for a car driven just 40kms. Lol.

I think mods can move it to a suitable thread for now and later it can be moved back here at an appropriate time. Otherwise it looks hilarious. A long term report IMO should be for a car that has covered at least 10000kms and or 1 years+.

[ravibhat]

Congrats Geek, good that you got the car, I suggest you buy central/remote lock from delaer itself 5000 rs its worth buying from dealer because its important installation, May be get it done from Madovi Motors.

Also you try first service @Mandovi or RNS Yeshwanthpur which seem to be good in bangalore right now.

I liked the alloys very nice.

All the best!

Regards,

Ravi.

[Dippy]

Your long wait is finally over. Congratulations on your new car. Hope to see updates on this thread about your ownership experience regularly

[humyum]

Congratulations brother.The colour and the alloys combination look damn neat

[BUSA]

Hey Geek a very hearty congratulations from my side, finally you got the best car of the rest, this engine is better then the SX4's anyday.

there is no strict coin holder

If you are a non smoker then the ashtray is your coin holder

no tilt steering, no 40/60 folding seats, no proper cubby holes, no defogger, no wiper even for rear, common maruti, havent you cut too much off the car???

You bet Geek, this is the height of cost cutting i would say.

central lock probably and a few other nick nacks

Central Locking is there in your car.

one thing i was advised against is that i should not install a different horn for swift. jaggu whats your take on this? have you installed a new horn? the horn installtion looks to be very cumbersome as its somewhere deep inside the bumper area.

Who ever said that? I must say the Swift horn is pathetic, i have installed windtone horn successfully in my VDi. There is no space so the installer went about the installation thru the left tyre and installed it behind the front bumper(left side) and the diesel already has a horn relay whereas the petrol doesnot. Highly recomended you go in for a after market horn and trust me whoever advised you not to knows nothing about horns. Will cost you around Rs. 500

i know there are parking sensors and all that, but i have no clue how much it would cost and what it would look like.

Will cost you around Rs.3000, the rear windscreen doesnot let you see adequately so the mirrors are quite big on the sides. If you want you can go in for reverse cam with screen will cost you around Rs. 7000

You might also want to upgrade your headlamps, I did them on day one itself and its quite useful, will cost you around Rs. 1000, 400 for bulbs and 500 for relay and 100 for installation.

You car looks fabolous, the choice of alloys are very good and i love the colour.

If any doubts you have you can feel free to ask me Geek, i have been threw the same situation that you are going thru.

[zoomingbhat]

Congratulations brother.Awsome alloys and that colour looks cool in swift