[petrohead]

I am terribly confused if i really need to go for a zxi. Since i think you must have gone through all my thoughts before booking the car, could you please help me out.

1. All the features attract me but some people say that swift has an 80s model esteem engine attached to it. In the long run on the road does the vehicle feel a lack of power ? Or an 80s feel ?

2. Is spending 1 lac more for the Z version. Is it worth the money (When compared with swifts) ?

4. Do you feel rubber band effect most of the time ?


Cheers!

PS: Admins, If i put the post on the wrong thread, please merge this on to another relevant thread. (Desperately needs answers!)

[Fountainheader]

petrohead,
Sorry for the delayed reply.

1: I am not sure about the 80s Esteem engine. But what other options do you have ? The car doesnt feel any lack of power on higher RPMs, but in the 1st and 2nd gear, its very sluggish. You could look at the DDiS for better performance.

2: The LXi is a totally useless model. You'd very well buy the A-Star ZXi instead of the Swift LXi. But over the VXi, the ZXi is a terrific VFM car.

The difference between the VXi (ABS) and the ZXi is around 60k. For that you get
- Alloys + better profile tyres
- Airbags
- Integrated stereo system
- Automatic climate control
- Rear deffoger/wiper/demister
- Steering mounted controls.. and some other frills too.

If you are not tight on a budget, I'd recommend the ZXi over the VXi. Plus there is some exclusivity left on the roads

You had a 3rd point too ?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by petrohead

I am terribly confused if i really need to go for a zxi.

Even if you discount all the frills that come with the Zxi, I would think that it is just worth for the safety features - ABS + airbags. If you can afford it, I would say go for it.

Originally Posted by petrohead

people say that swift has an 80s model esteem engine attached to it. In the long run on the road does the vehicle feel a lack of power ? Or an 80s feel ?

It is the Esteem's engine, but I dont know if it is from the 80s. And anyway old does not necessarily translate to bad.

There are atleast 2 angles to this :
1) What car do you drive currently ? A lot depends on that. If you drive an M800/Alto/Santro etc, chances are you won't find the Swift bad. But if you drive a decent C-segment sedan (even the Esteem) or anything higher on the pecking order, you will most probably find the Swift-P lacking. Eg. compared to my M800, I find it good, but compared to my Baleno, it is not even half as much fun.

2) What is your driving style ? Is it "redline each gear" kind of driving or normal driving where you want as minimal gear changes as possible and want to overtake on highways without too much downshifting ? If its the former, the Swift is game for it - it is fun to run each gear to the max.

But if your choice is the latter, you will find it lacking. In my experience, there is too much gear changes involved in city driving, overtaking on highways involves downshifting to 3rd gear and around 1000rpm the engine is pretty much dead.

With the Baleno, I putter around in Chennai traffic in 4th or even 5th which holds well till even a low 35-40kmph. And overtaking can be done in 5th gear or in some cases might need you to go to 4th, but nothing lower. And even at 1000rpm, the car is alive.

Originally Posted by petrohead

4. Do you feel rubber band effect most of the time ?

What is the rubber band effect ? Not sure I understood your query.

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

The difference between the VXi (ABS) and the ZXi is around 60k. For that you get
- Alloys + better profile tyres
- Airbags
- Integrated stereo system
- Automatic climate control
- Rear deffoger/wiper/demister
- Steering mounted controls.. and some other frills too.

Plus driver seat height adjuster also, I guess. I found it useful.

[Eddy]

The rubber band effect is present in the diesel version, but is nothing serious. Something that you will get used to after the initial couple of days.

[faithless_1984]

Posting this query here to avoid creating a new thread....

1: Suppose I pay the booking amount tomorrow (Rs 5000)

How much should one pay as the Booking amount for a Swift ddis ?
Went with a friend to get his car booked but the dealership quoted 50000rs as the booking amount which we refused but they insisted on it being the fixed amount.
Can they do that ?
Will go going to some other dealers tomorrow ,any suggestions ?

[abhinav.gupta88]

There is no minimum amount.
I remember my cousin booked a swift vxi for 15000 booking amount.
Try some other dealer.

[Fountainheader]

There is no hard and fast rule with regards to the booking. I mean all said and done, paying 5000 or 50000 while waiting for the car is all the same. From the way I look at it, dealers want to cash in for in-demand models and rake in some interest out of that amount.

I paid 5000 for the ZXi. The model was not ready and as per the dealer, they'd start producing ZXis only after the order is placed (Blames it on the lack of ABS!!). I'd advice you to check other dealers, all said and done, there is a MSIL dealership in every street no ?

[faithless_1984]

I mean all said and done, paying 5000 or 50000 while waiting for the car is all the same.

Its not just about the money ,the attitude was bad ,i mean they were behaving as if paying 50k was the only way to prove that we actually want to buy a car from them.

Try some other dealer.

Will be doing that tomorrow.


Thanks guys.

[Roy.S]

When I visited Garuda Autocraft (Bangalore) to inquire about the Swift Vxi in Dec '08, they were willing to take a booking for even Rs.1000. This may have been due to the fact that they had just started the Maruti dealership. But I'm pretty sure Rs 10-15k should be ok. A dealer cannot just fix a booking amount. You'd think they would be more flexible in these recessionary times.
My bank, however, insisted on a Rs 50k booking amount before they processed the loan.
Edit: A bad attitude is reason enough to drop the dealer. I just checked the Maruti website and there appear to be 29 dealers in Delhi. Take your pick.