My new Swift LDI (woohoo!)

[jaibir]

After weeks of thinking over the car and then trying to get a DDIS in short order, she's finally here.

Why this car?

My initial thoughts were to buy a basic car, the only two requirements being an a/c and a power steering in a budget of 3.5-4.0L OTR (rough cut - wasnt too particular on it). I wanted a hatch as it would mostly be two people in the car. Was willing to sacrifise the space of a boot for the ease of parking of a hatch.

My initial consideration set was: Alto, Wagon R, Santro, i10 and the Spark. After driving all of these, I found Wagon R to be the only one suited to my height and driving posture. Unfortunately, its a mind numbingly boring car to drive IMHO.

So I moved to the next level of hatches - UVA, Palio 1.6, Getz and Swift. Wasnt too keen on a Swift as I had already kept one for a year in Bangalore and thought it would be embarassing if my first and my second car were the same.

I rejected the UVA after a test drive - didnt like the feel of the car. The Getz had the same height/driving posture problem - although to a lesser degree than the Santro. Liked the Palio but was scared off by the FE and the spare costs and availability (things like bumpers, headlamps etc - which I expected to change a couple of times in the first year of driving).

So I was finally back to the Swift. Now the choice was between the petrol and diesel. Although my running doesnt strictly justify a diesel (1000-1200 km a month), two factors convinced me. First, I found its FTD factor to be better than the petrol. Second, I figured I would recover a large part of the initial investment through the resale value and the rest through running costs.

Waiting period and delivery

I decided on the car in the last week of December. I wanted the ABS version. I decided early on that if the wait for that was too much, I'd go for the LDI (wanted the car before March). Didn't really bother with the regular VDI - I'm a fairly spartan chap and didnt really see any attraction in the nice to have extras it offered.

Initially, I was trying to get the car early through someone my fiance' knows at MUL. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. So I scouted around the dealers in Mumbai around the middle of Jan to find out if any of them had a white Swift VDI with ABS or an LDI available ready delivery. Waiting period being committed on the ABS was still two months odd - too close to risk. On the 19th, I found out Sai Service had a set of 2008 LDI's they had just recieved. I immediately went down to the Andheri Sai Service and booked one.

The car was finally delivered yesterday after the loan and registration formalities . I'll post some pics later. Will also post a review of my experience with the folks at Sai in the dealership reviews section.

Tomorrow, I plan to upgrade the tyres and get the ICE install. Then I can really start enjoying myself.

@mods, please keep the thread open for some time. I'll post an initial ownership review once the run in is done.

[shuvd]

Congrats Jaibir. Nice choice indeed! When do you intend to Pete'fy your ride?

[jaibir]

Originally Posted by shuvd

Congrats Jaibir. Nice choice indeed! When do you intend to Pete'fy your ride?

that'll have to wait a few months. will think about it, once the car is properly run (5k kms or so). also need to first sort a workaround for warranty issues from the filter and CAI. the box itself can be removed at the time of service from what I understand

[akshay1234]

first get a tyre upgrade. please?

[jaibir]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

first get a tyre upgrade. please?

Thats first on the agenda, along with the ICE (see below). Planning to mount Yokohama or Micheline 185/70/R14's on stock rims.

Originally Posted by jaibir

Tomorrow, I plan to upgrade the tyres and get the ICE install. Then I can really start enjoying myself.

[snaronikar]

Congrats man. Good Choice. No point in paying the extra sum just for the sake of few extras. Enjoy the ride. If you are bent on ABS, you can get it installed in the dealer itelf for your LDI.

[BUSA]

Congrats Jaibir. Good choice.

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Congrats man. Good Choice. No point in paying the extra sum just for the sake of few extras. Enjoy the ride. If you are bent on ABS, you can get it installed in the dealer itelf for your LDI.

Its not possible to install ABS anywhere, except by pre ordering it at the time of booking the car, ie going for the option.

[ram_hyundai]

a fat shoes and a good ice would do for now.why dint you put up a picture.which color btb.plonk in maximum things for the money you have saved in choosing the ldi rather than the vdi.but can you go without an rpm meter.
ram

[jaibir]

the tachometer was about the only thing i saw as a real plus in the VDI - especially for a diesel. guess i'll learn without it. already tried getting the service guys at Sai to put an aftermarket one - predictably they refused. will try again once i know them a bit better.

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by jaibir

the tachometer was about the only thing i saw as a real plus in the VDI - especially for a diesel. guess i'll learn without it. already tried getting the service guys at Sai to put an aftermarket one - predictably they refused. will try again once i know them a bit better.

My suggestion would be to fit a aftermarket one. You will certainly get good tachos in aftermarkets. Authorised Dealerships will never tamper with these kind of things.

[horsepower]

Hi! Jaibir. Congrats dude for your Swift Ldi. Its a wow machine. Wear your seatbelt, so that your tied to your seat while accelerating. It can really blow you off.

Have Fun

[iraghava]

Congratulations Jaibir! Have fun with the new car!

Originally Posted by jaibir

Thats first on the agenda, along with the ICE (see below). Planning to mount Yokohama or Micheline 185/70/R14's on stock rims.

Good to know this is already planned. The most desperately/urgently needed upgrade on any Swift IMO.

[rippergeo]

Originally Posted by jaibir

that'll have to wait a few months. will think about it, once the car is properly run (5k kms or so). also need to first sort a workaround for warranty issues from the filter and CAI. the box itself can be removed at the time of service from what I understand

like you said, the box can be removed easily, and so can the CAI, of course its handy to have peter around offering to do it for me(the removing and refitting)

Originally Posted by jaibir

Thats first on the agenda, along with the ICE (see below). Planning to mount Yokohama or Micheline 185/70/R14's on stock rims.

nice numbers on the tyre size. but did you consider G3 potenzas from bridgestone. have got them on my peted swift and the performance is brilliant. but dont know enough about yokohamas amd michelins to compare.

Originally Posted by jaibir

the tachometer was about the only thing i saw as a real plus in the VDI - especially for a diesel. guess i'll learn without it. already tried getting the service guys at Sai to put an aftermarket one - predictably they refused. will try again once i know them a bit better.

the tachometer is the only reason I got the VDI. do get one fixed, its great fun to watch the needle dance. also, you can optimise your driving style to the engine capabilities better with the tacho.
it also helps with extracting the best FE. tacho is a must.

off topic
have you listened to Song 2 by Blur? its the perfect soundtrack for a Swift Diesel.Wooohooo

[prskumar]

Congrats Jaibir! Enjoy your new car and keep sharing your ownership reviews.

[P1tBull]

Congrats, Jaibir!! That engine you have is pretty powerful, so a couple of suggestions that I would like to repeat from the above are:
Upgrade the tyres asap.
Always make sure you (and your passengers) wear seatbelts.

Oh, and get the tacho. Its like counting down for takeoff when you are watching it