My new Swift LDI (woohoo!)

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Congrats Jaibir and after the upgrade its surely looking great. Have fun and drive safe and so planning any other mods? or will be waiting until the warranty period is over.

[partypest]

NIce car Dude!!! howz the performance of the swift diesel?

[PatienceWins]

Congrats. Its an excellent engine. Enjoy!!

[PatienceWins]

White swift looks cool with black alloys.

[jaibir]

Thanks for the compliments guys

@Souljah, am thinking of peteing it a few months down the line. need to be sure of managing the warranty issues properly though

Originally Posted by partypest

NIce car Dude!!! howz the performance of the swift diesel?

My impression after 150 odd kms of in-city driving is very positive. The low end performance is quite good - you dont need a lead foot for overtaking. That makes it a bit easier to drive in city than the petrol (I used to own that in Bangalore). I haven't really tried to push the engine so cant comment on top end performance. The one time i revved the engine a bit to get out of a tight spot, the car really took off pushing me back in my seat. I grin just thinking about what I'm going to experience once the car's run in and I can really begin to play

Will put out a full report e few weeks down the line once the run in done
I'll put

[revved_up]

Congrats on your car dude. Black alloys give it a killer look.
Just wondering , does the LDi now come with left ORVM as standard or did you got that fitted separately?

[jaibir]

Originally Posted by revved_up

Just wondering , does the LDi now come with left ORVM as standard or did you got that fitted separately?

The left ORVM is standard on the 2008 LDI

[jaibir]

The car is running fine so far with no real problems. It had developed a rattle in between but whatever was causing it got sorted out on its own. Took the FE measure on saturday (using the tankful method). Its giving 15 in city with 80% AC. Hadn't taken it out on the highway till that point so cant comment on the highway FE. I'm pretty happy with the in city figure.

I wanted to maximise the mileage run before the service. With that in mind, I did a drive down to Pune yesterday. It was pretty hard to keep the speeds under control on the expressway. I drove between 80-100 on the long straights. Even at a hundred, you can feel the headroom in the engine and it was quite hard not to go faster for overtaking etc. Mostly I kept her around the 80-90 mark in fifth. The handling on curves and while overtaking was quite good. I think the tyres do have a lot to do with that. Braking control at speed seemed quite good. However, I didnt do any sudden stops so cant somment on braking behaviour on those.

I havent measured the FE for the trip yet. Might not be able to do that as she's due to go for service later this week (the odo now stands around the 800 mark and the one month is up). Have booked a slot with Sai Service for Saturday morning. Will update the thread after that.

[jaibir]

I got the first service done this Saturday from Sai Service on the WE Highway at Andheri.

I didn't really have any major complaints. There was a slight noise from the front right wheel while braking. Also, the gear shift was still notchy. I wasnt sure whether 850 km was enough for the gearshift to smoothen. The service advisor suggested I wait for it to run some more and that it should smoothen by the 2k mark. I also asked them to fit the MGA keyless entry thing (Nippon).

I dropped the car off at 8.30. Was told it would be ready by 3.30. I waited around for the mechanic to check on the wheel. The service advisor had asked him to check the brake caliper. Turned out it needed greasing. I'm a complete noob at this kind of thing so dont know if that was what was causing it. As the sound hasnt returned, I'm assuming it was.

I was gallavanting around Andheri and Bandra all afternoon. I got a call at 3.30 saying the car was ready so headed soon after that. Got there at 4.30 but the car still wasnt ready (they were washing it ). Had to wait for another half an hour. Took it for a short test drive. The noise seemed to be gone and nothing seemed to have gotten worse. They'd fitted the locking thing and I tested to see if the lock unlock buttons were working. So I signed off and paid the bill. Apart from the central locking, they only charged me for the oil and additive plus some 12/- for some other consumable. They also wanted to put some additive in the gear oil but I told them not to as it wasnt running smoothly yet.

Overall, I wasnt too impressed with the experience - had generally been much more pleased with my service experience with Bimal in Bangalore with my last car. Whilst Sai did do the things I asked them to, it was clear that they dont really try to build a rapport with the customer. It showed in the extra waiting time after calling the customer and the fact that the service advisor didnt even bother to give his visiting card. Also, the test drive and billing was handled by a different service advisor altogether. In contrast, I was on a first name basis with my service advisor at Bimal. I prefer to build a rapport with the service advisor. That works well for both sides as both parties tend to be a little more accomodating. I guess I'll have to find another service station to do that.

That aside, the engine seems to have opened up a bit more after the service. The gearshift is still notchy, but apart from that I'm really enjoying the car. Unfortunately, I will be travelling for the next three weeks so the car is going to be just standing there. Will try to make up for it with a couple of extra Pune drives once I'm back

Also, I'll need to call the Nippon service engineer to fix the security system - currently the car locator button isnt working.

[liberal]

I had a horrible experience with Sai Service *** for my zen which I owned during 1999-2001. After the first free service I had stopped visiting them again. I found them to be untrustworthy and uncaring. My parents bought and service their SX4 (2008) at Autovista (showroom Bandra, workshop: Kalina) and it is good.

[jaibir]

Thanks for the tip liberal. I'll check out Autovista. I think a couple of guys in my office also use them.