[greenhorn]

a football (from some neighborhood kids) fell on a friend's swift's hood and it left a big dent!

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by F50

Another friend of mine owns a Swift and his parking lot is very cramped so he has to be careful while taking it out.

If plastic at less than 1 kmph can cause a dent, imagine a metal contact above 40 or 50 or 60 or even more!

Now that you have reminded me, has anyone tried parking the swift in a cramped parking space? Its the toughest car to park, you can't see a thing while reversing, most often than not you will miss a bike parked right behind your car because of that tall boot, makes it almost impossible to even notice little kids on their bicycles playing on the road.

Oh that happened to me too. Must have been doing around 3-4 kmph. Reversed into a car that wasn't there a few seconds ago (my mistake) and a big dent on the bumper. MASS guys had to re-heat the bumper, bring it back to shape and paint the whole bumper. Total cost to repair - 1.5k. At those speeds even a 800's plastic bumper would not have suffered a scratch. I have had bikes come into my baleno at around 40-50kmph and ended up with just a small scratch, never a dent. We all know that the baleno build quality isn't something to write home about, but after endless abuse on tracks, highways, no roads that car still doesn't make a squek (except for the engine ). When compared to the swift the baleno feels like it is built like a tank.

[Gangsta]

95% of the swifts in Delhi have bumper locks broken. Same bumper locks trait seen Sx4, Grand Vitara. I had seen a Grand Vitara's bumper out of shape from the locks and reminds me of swift and sx4. Same thing i had seen in Estilo.

[GeekSrik]

Ok before people pour in their woes with swift, let me tell you that for about 1.25 years of usage, I have about 1 scratch (not done my me or any other vehicle = perhaps done by miscreant lads walking near the car for fun). for 20000kms, and this much of driving in namma bengaluru, nothing to write about.

So Am i a careful driver? well i do drive fast, i even overtake by surprise (on the right sides and right times), but I dont do things which I am sure cannot be completed (the manouvres). With this kind of driving and about close to 9 years with cars, I do think its important that with any car you are aware of your surroundings more than anything else. I do have some tricks up my sleeve too. Like I dont allow a whole bunch of two wheelers to interleave me in stop and go traffic. I park my car real close to the right side kerb, and sometimes about 15 degree angular to prevent them from scratching my car from going past. Does it work? You betcha! It does so far

So in my opinion this thread can be closed and as someone else pointed out, this is not an issue with cars, its an issue with drivers (barring few cars where ground clearances are real low which cause scrapes here and there)

[Sowmya]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

a football (from some neighborhood kids) fell on a friend's swift's hood and it left a big dent!

A little human push from back side can left the car with a big dent at the back door :(

[kkdelhi]

Try this experiment on a Swift. I've had the occasion to do it several times on my parked Swift when someone else wants to take out his car.

Park the car in an open area, gear in neutral, handbrake down. Place your hands on the bumpers (front or rear, doesn't matter) and push hard. Before the car moves an inch, the bumpers have already caved in by an inch where you are pushing. It comes back as soon as you remove your hands no doubt, but that's the thickness I was talking about. IMHO, an M800's bumpers are stronger than this.

No offence meant to any Swift owners. Like I said earlier, I've owned Swift previously and found this to be the only ugly thing about the car.

[ethanhunt123]

This same "rebounding" ability will help save lives when someone collides with your car as the bumper will absorb a part of the crash energy. In M800, all the brunt will be taken by the object which collides with the car.

[vnabhi]

The flared rear wheel arches are the ones that are scratched in most Swifts. Mostly it is the rear left wheel arch. Drivers tend not to leave enough space for that projection in thick traffic.
This apart, a biker who is close to the front left door does not realize that he will scratch the rear wheel arch if he moves slower than the car when traffic starts moving at a signal.

[kkdelhi]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

...as the bumper will absorb a part of the crash energy...

Yes, and result in either a dent or a cut/scratch. No denying safety first, but the thread-starter wanted to know the reason behind scratches, dents, misaligned bumpers.

[aaggoswami]

The sheet metal utilized for the panels are thin, but we cannot raise finger about the safety. The chassis is better. The rattles are because of poor fit and finish. Generally I have seen that one rattle = the car is very bad is the way we think. Swift is not an unsafe car.

It is not prone to accidents. Rather the steering control is much better than many other cars. Its about the human being who is at control of the car. Swift is a car with poor fit and finish but strong chassis. Better suspension and handling that many other small cars.

And about the flared wheel arches, even the first mitsubishi lancer had them. Its just that judgment of people is not good with the car. Swift is as wide as Baleno.

There are no proper proof available that swift is unsafe or prone to accidents.
And I think its not accident, its crash.
Accident = A situation where you have no control.
Crash = A situation you could have avoided being in if you were cautious.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

. When compared to the swift the baleno feels like it is built like a tank.

Baleno is one of the better built cars.

[greenhorn]

gotta love the indica's plastic wheel arches. though ugly, they dont get bent!

Other cars bumpers also flex, but dont suffer any damage. a matiz hit my car from behind once. and there was absolutely no visible damage apart from a bent number plate. we let the guy go. only when we reached home did we notice that the metal of the rear had caved in and the silencer had detatched.

similarly i t boned a santro, and his body panels had been pushed inwards. my HL and foglamps had broken, and metal bent to some extent, but my bumpers retained their shape, only one of the plastic wheel arches had broken their clamps.

In both cases, we changed the bumpers since they were covered by insurance anyway, but I've seen swifts suffer more damage from lesser collisions- partial or full deformation/breaking of the clamps

[white_vdi]

agreed that accidents are results of human errors. But you just cannot ignore the poooooor built quality of swift. the fenders, doors, boot, hood, bumpers and each and every part is just soo fragile that even the slightest of touch can leave a dent in them.
Please people at maruti go through this thread once. wake up you guys its high time!!!

[shibujp]

A lot of opinions on the forum point out that it's not the car but the driver that is prone to accidents and I would agree to it.

All cars have their characteristics and it's upto the driver to adapt his driving methods accordingly. It if was just the car then a good driver in a M800 would be a similar driver in a Ferrari without changing his or her reference points and getting used to the extra width, low clearance, power and general dynamics.

I've graduated from an M800 to a Swift and here are my observances:
- the 800 had almost not blind spots. You could reverse and change lanes by just a look at the rear view mirror and the wing mirrors. In my Swift I find myself looking over my shoulder as well.
- The wheel arches are fine. It's just finding a new reference point for clearance that you need to do. I learnt this the hard way. Once past the wing mirrors focus your attention on the crease that is inline with the handles in your wing mirrors. This crease and the arches are in the same line. You keep an extra inch and you'll be just fine.
- Reverse with care. Remember that the rear windshield is small and a stooping person can easily be hidden by the back of your car.
- The Swift is a powerful car. Once the turbo gets going it's fast period. However the brakes provided as OE leaves a little more to be desired. It decelerates much slower than it accelerates. Account for this.
- The Swift is heavy and braking maneuvers that I pulled off in the M800 would land me in grief especially on the puny OE tyres. The turbo in the diesel sometimes kicks into the sweet zone when you down shift. You expect engine braking and what you get is more acceleration. Account for it.
- Easily crumples bumpers and body parts do not mean it is unsafe. On the contrary the car is actually working hard to protect you and the people outside. I had an incident where I hit a cyclist when he decided to take a lark in the middle of the road. The guy fell on my bonnet which instantly dented absorbing the shock. The guy escaped with no injuries at all. A well placed punch later straightened out the bonnet. At the speeds on our roads our indifferent approach to safety is set to land us in grief.
- Ensure other drivers know exactly what you're going to do on the road. I've taken to using my indicators much more in the Swift to this end. There are still a lot of bikers who understand this as an invitation to zoom into the zone into which I'm turning.
- Cars have to be understood and their limitation taken into effect. Do this and the Swift will be just as accident prone as any other well driven car on the road.

Two steps to make the Swift esp the diesel, safer is better rubber and the ABS option. Any upgrade that improves braking is a good thing in my opinion.

My two cents.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[TOR]

Originally Posted by F50

Is the build quality of European Swifts and Indian Swifts the same? I dont think so.

The comparison was not between the European swift and the Indian swift-but between the European built Swift and the European built Santro(atoz)-the point being the santro would be riskier to crash in than the Swift.

Originally Posted by anachronix

PS: Kindly dont compare the Euro NCAP ratings for the MSIL cars. They dont even have the vague idea about safety for their cars!

The safety of any car would be dependent on the structural elements and the 'impact and crash absorbing zones' designed into the chassis.So would the same be different for the Indian Swift and the European swift.

Or is there any evidence that the Indian Swift Chassis/ monocoque is inferior built to that of the European one?

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

This same "rebounding" ability will help save lives when someone collides with your car as the bumper will absorb a part of the crash energy. In M800, all the brunt will be taken by the object which collides with the car.

Have ya tested in any other good "SEDANS"? BMW, Merc or something like that? I think they are much better people in safety measures. Do this rebounding thing with your thumb in those cars. lolz you wont find it.

First they have Thick Torsion beam > Covered with Thick Thermocol > Covered with Bumper Plastic. Plastic + Thermocol will absorb some kinda energy but not that you are expecting. Torsion Beam will save your engine bay for getting much damage during the impact.

lol talking of the crash. how much energy swift's bumper will absorb? It will break into pieces especially the locks are of too low quality that first the bumper will be ripped off from the locks, if the car hits a pedestrian and the pedestrian will then hit your radiator and the supporter. You cannot absorb such momentum with a thin plastic used in swift's bumper which you are expecting at any cost.

dude its not a F1 car in which pieces will absorb energy and fly away to save the driver. Here you are talking about saving the pedestrian. Pedestrian will hit your bumper and the plastic is so thin so that not much of the momentum will be absorbed.

Correct me if i'm wrong.