[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

@Amit, the lack of backlighting of power-window buttons holds true for the Swift also. The front RHS power-window button is backlighted. That's all. The other power-window buttons, the central-lock button and the lock-windows button don't have any backlighting. Very very troublesome at night, when I have passengers.

It's the same with my OPTRA LT too.

Though It doesn't rattle a bit after four years.

[ballkey]

Well another data point here:

- The rattles are there. No doubt about them, Maruti just cold-shouldered swift owners on this one. No amount of loud complaining has gotten any benefit.
- The ride quality sucks. MTC buses have much more pliant suspensions.
- Some plastic parts are suspect - especially the interior door handles, bumper clamps, etc. Cardboard sheets would hold up better than the swift's bumpers.
- Rear visibility is poor. the flanks too.
Having said that, the engine, clutch, brakes and gearbox are still a breeze, and I cant think of a comparable car in this price range. My car's done 35k so far, in 2 years. There's still a rush when I downshift and bury the go-pedal. It's a Petrol Vxi, and the FE aint too bad either.

A trip to a damping expert could fix the rattling issues; some folks in the forum have mentioned about that.

Different people want different things from their cars; for some, quality means great NVH, tough build quality, classy interiors etc. For other folks, it could be just bullet-proof reliability, adequate performance and acceptable FE. In the end, you get what you pay for.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by amit

And no matter what Maruti or anyone says. The EPS is faulty. No doubts about it.

Hey Amit, haven't I heard of that one before?
A little off topic.. I'd posted my response to your question on the EPS in a WagonR. Do you really find EPS that bad even in other Maruti brands?
I guess the best way is to drive another car with EPS, like a NHC or a i10 and then conclude it Maruti EPS is to blame.

[amit]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Do you really find EPS that bad even in other Maruti brands?

Yes.

I guess the best way is to drive another car with EPS, like a NHC or a i10 and then conclude it Maruti EPS is to blame.

Drove 2 Wagon R's and one Zen Estilo. Also drove a demo SX4 at S.K.Maruti with the Maruti service engineer. All the cars drove exactly like my car.

Now I know why Maruti gave ABS and Airbags!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by amit

Now I know why Maruti gave ABS and Airbags!

That is a good one!

I guess the acid test on concluding your opinion is to drive an NHC or an i10, what do you say?

[aerohit]

I think the G13 engine is utterly un-refined and outdated by todays standards + bad fuel mileage. Swift just cannot be driven with AC on.

I am OK with quality. Not too bad or Good.

The seats in Swift are too thick and have too much spong in them. Bad for posture.
The seats could be thinner = more leg space and room inside.

When the window is down, the Swift door side have hollow space that collects dust. I am talking about the hollow area that stretches from side mirror all the way to center pillar. This is bad design.


Warning - Do not take high speed formula-1 curves on Swift/SX4. You might lose your rear end grip. The rear suspension is NOT independent. Additionally, the ground clearance is also high. Not sure if the rear shocks are softer.

A fine car for normal day to day driving though.

[rkbharat]

I had feedback on the same on lots of colleagues and all of them are very happy with EPS. In last 2 months I test drove, Swift, dZire, SX4 and found nothing strange. Infact I found them more comfortable than the hydraulic PS of my Indica. Last week we took the delivery of Wagon-R of one of my friend and in that also I found EPS perfect.

I am just curious to know about what is your experience that make you feel it so bad. Like it doe'nt work, it works badly, its too off aligned, its vagues, its not a PS at all. its controls more than you, its not providing you the feedback etc etc etc

Originally Posted by amit

Yes.

Drove 2 Wagon R's and one Zen Estilo. Also drove a demo SX4 at S.K.Maruti with the Maruti service engineer. All the cars drove exactly like my car.

Now I know why Maruti gave ABS and Airbags!

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

It's the same with my OPTRA LT too.

Though It doesn't rattle a bit after four years.

I completely agree, i dont know why Indian have this aversion to Chevy compared to Jap and Koreans. Trust me they are one of the best wrt quality (all aspects) when it comes to Indian manufacturers.

Notchy gear shift is something which will go off once run in proper, thats the only gripe i can come with. Not only from Rudra's car which cannot be used for any comparison by us but after driving Tavera and the new Matiz which a friend has, he is a car wrecker if you ask me. He does only the regular maintanence and his Tavera has done some 80k kms. Only major expense was the tyres so far.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by amit

Yes.



Drove 2 Wagon R's and one Zen Estilo. Also drove a demo SX4 at S.K.Maruti with the Maruti service engineer. All the cars drove exactly like my car.

That could be because they are all cars. You see they are not Palio

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I guess the acid test on concluding your opinion is to drive an NHC or an i10, what do you say?

Driven all three. Swift, NHC and I10. The EPS should make the steering lighter and that happens more in NHC and I10 than in Swift.

Amit indeed has a point.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by ballkey

- The ride quality sucks. MTC buses have much more pliant suspensions.

With respect to the Swift, the handling strength of the car results in poor ride quality. There has to be some compromise somewhere. If you ask me, i prefer better handling over ride quality.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

With respect to the Swift, the handling strength of the car results in poor ride quality. There has to be some compromise somewhere. If you ask me, i prefer better handling over ride quality.

How many times do you hit the track? Why not a compromise b/w ride and handling instead of just handling. A normal maruti customer isnt even bothered about handling... doesnt even know what it is!

By the way the generalization that quality has taken a nose dive is correct but I wouldnt term it poor. The insides of Swift and SX4 are reasonable quality but rattles are a sore point and need to be taken care off.

[ballkey]

ben,

Handling is nice to have - but several cars have hit the sweet spot between handling and ride quality. your iKon comes to mind. The thuds and crrrunches that come from the swift are cringeworthy.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

How many times do you hit the track? Why not a compromise b/w ride and handling instead of just handling. A normal maruti customer isnt even bothered about handling... doesnt even know what it is!

Personally, i dont feel that the ride quality on the Swift is as bad as its made out to be. And handling isnt always meant just for the track. For someone who does frequent (or even occassional) highway trips, handling becomes paramount, specially when it come to predicting how the car will behave. On city roads alone, i agree ride quality is very important.

[rkbharat]

But there is difference between faulty and less effective as compared to others..

Originally Posted by penpavan

Driven all three. Swift, NHC and I10. The EPS should make the steering lighter and that happens more in NHC and I10 than in Swift.

Amit indeed has a point.