[rider60]

all right, i admit i havent read the whole thread, i have only one thing to add here in this shoot out,

as both a ford (fiesta diesel) and maruthi(swift diesel) Owner, i can tell you this,

i have had two incidents which make me choose a car that is better built(fiesta) than one which is damn HOLLOW and FEEBLY built(swift),

one i had my swift parked and a girl (aged roughly around 10-12 yrs) hits the rear bumper with her bicycle at relatively slow speed and i had to get the bumper replaced because its hinges were broken.

and i have a fiesta which recently very recently suffered a hit to a PLASTIC BARRICADE at the speeds of 100+kmph because i had to avoid an idiot jumping on to the road, trying to stop a APSRTC bus on the other side of the road came running in with out looking on a NATIONAL highway and all i had suffered was a mis-shaped front right side fender, bonnnet and slightly dented front right door and the front bumber! had it been swift i would have been stranded on the highway! the accident would have been DEFINATELY much worse and i would have probably fallen in the ditch near by!i would hate to imagine things like that. its an shocking experience for me with my maa in the next seat but thats a story for another day~ and the car is still in the workshop...

based on these two personal incidents i would suggest everyone and anyone i know to pick a car with a better build quality than the marutis and the likes!

beneath all the power, the finesse and the gadgetry a car packs that leaves an aspirant choose those cars, its the build the strength of the car that matters when it calls for, you never know WHICH IDIOT OR DOG/ANIMAL(even on the highways) MIGHT JUMP ON TO THE ROAD AND YOU MIGHT HAVE TO FACE AN INCIDENT! so for this reason in this case definitely ford it is!

[ra'ul M]

Originally Posted by rider60

all right, i admit i havent read the whole thread, i have only one thing to add here in this shoot out,

as both a ford (fiesta diesel) and maruthi(swift diesel) Owner, i can tell you this,

i have had two incidents which make me choose a car that is better built(fiesta) than one which is damn HOLLOW and FEEBLY built(swift),

one i had my swift parked and a girl (aged roughly around 10-12 yrs) hits the rear bumper with her bicycle at relatively slow speed and i had to get the bumper replaced because its hinges were broken.

and i have a fiesta which recently very recently suffered a hit to a PLASTIC BARRICADE at the speeds of 100+kmph because i had to avoid an idiot jumping on to the road, trying to stop a APSRTC bus on the other side of the road came running in with out looking on a NATIONAL highway and all i had suffered was a mis-shaped front right side fender, bonnnet and slightly dented front right door and the front bumber! had it been swift i would have been stranded on the highway! the accident would have been DEFINATELY much worse and i would have probably fallen in the ditch near by!i would hate to imagine things like that. its an shocking experience for me with my maa in the next seat but thats a story for another day~ and the car is still in the workshop...

based on these two personal incidents i would suggest everyone and anyone i know to pick a car with a better build quality than the marutis and the likes!

beneath all the power, the finesse and the gadgetry a car packs that leaves an aspirant choose those cars, its the build the strength of the car that matters when it calls for, you never know WHICH IDIOT OR DOG/ANIMAL(even on the highways) MIGHT JUMP ON TO THE ROAD AND YOU MIGHT HAVE TO FACE AN INCIDENT! so for this reason in this case definitely ford it is!

Is the Swift really that badly built? I have had an experience myself with the Swift I was driving toppling 4 times @ 140kmph on a highway. Despite the crash the shell was intact and all 5 passengers were not hurt. It was lucky but made me believe that it has a great body shell at the least.
IMO the bumper could be pathetic, but both your experiences are quite different. The bumper on the Figo for instance is not very capable either.

[P.S.Grewal]

In the last four months I have unfortunately encountered the sad demise of two young souls in my close family circle . Both died in different car accidents and unfortunately both were driving Swift. The accident were so fatel that both of them died on the spot. First accident happened on 28 Feb and second happened around 15 days ago. The cars were damaged beyond recognition. But in both the cases car was traveling at the speed of 100+ Kmph. So I personally feel that the Boys driving the cars were more to be blamed rather than the car. I'll say with power comes responsibility. But the all new Swift has a more rigid body frame and will be much safer than the outgoing model. ABS is very very very important but with the new model option to get ABS on Vdi is no more available. That's why I am being forced to go in for VDI without ABS as ZDI is way beyond my budget.

[ra'ul M]

Originally Posted by P.S.Grewal

That's why I am being forced to go in for VDI without ABS as ZDI is way beyond my budget.

Same here. But my drive consists of a fair bit of highway running so I am still a bit apprehensive. The test drive would make it clearer.

[rider60]

Originally Posted by ra'ul M

Is the Swift really that badly built? I have had an experience myself with the Swift I was driving toppling 4 times @ 140kmph on a highway. Despite the crash the shell was intact and all 5 passengers were not hurt. It was lucky but made me believe that it has a great body shell at the least.
IMO the bumper could be pathetic, but both your experiences are quite different. The bumper on the Figo for instance is not very capable either.

you see my point was that if it was the swift that faced the accident which happened to the fiesta i am sure i would be safe too~except may be for a few injuries, no doubt the shell is strong to take/absorb the impact and save lives.

BUT the negative part would be i would be stranded on the highway, agonized in psychological pain/trauma and face a hell a lot of music at home as an after party present for atleast a few days, and a huge bill to fix up the car (even with insurance), and the car's value gone for a toss in the second hand car market!

All right let me brief you as to how the accident happened, the guy jumps in from the left side of the road, I swing the car right at the same time I slammed the brakes, and they locked on and the car first drifts to the right, to control the fishtail I had to release the brakes and steered the car to the left to avoid the concrete divider on my right. When I severed to the right in the nick of the moment I hit the plastic barricade, and before I realized, I had instinctively severed left and front right wheel had a part/piece of barricade beneath it, I did a couple more of right left severing and brought the car to a halt on the extreme left of the road. When I tried to open my door it was stuck so I got down from the other side and saw the part/piece was beneath the tyre and other part stuck between the door and the front right side fender. I removed it and drove off before a mob gathered.

now coming to the incident, there were 2-3 fish tails/drifts the car did before i came to a standstill so i would probably have fallen in the ditch nearby if was deprived of my front view (forget the handling characteristics of either car[swift or fiesta] here, at that moment when you just hit something at those speeds and you know the car is badly damaged you do lose your confidence to control the car at such trauma, ~ imagine the bonnet badly dented, probably obstructing your view a broken windshield and likes). Also when this happened to fiesta it dint even feel like i hit something that terrible, all that happened after i hit the plastic Barricade head on, it felt like i hit a big cardboard box and then the dancing happened but it resulted into a slightly dented bonnet, a scratched bumper, lower grille pushed into the radiator, the R-ORVM fell off, dented front right quarter panel and dented front door, got stuck in my right wheel and between the gap of front driver door and front right fender, a slightly bent radiator=NOT LEAKING or BROKEN and during the same,

"one wheel lost traction and i stopped the car with only three wheels on tarmac and one on plastic barricade".(the part in the double quotes is what i refer to as dancing). i was able to drive off the place without making a scene that is before a mob came up! and drove it home without issues, I was more concerned about me, my ma and my car than the idiot and further trouble at that point of time, and I am still mad at the half-brained idiot!.

Now imagine such a thing in a swift if you will it would have been far worse!


If you further want to know how a better built car can be a boon Just ask raveendra a fellow bhpian from Hyderabad, one of our team-bhp rides he hit a three and a half foot concrete milestone at say around 80kmph while decelerating/braking hard and took the milestone right at the centre of his car, it was a skoda laura he was driving, when it was unavoidable all he was thinking was the airbags would go off any minute and he was prepared, guess what, the stone fell almost 7-8feet further and his number plate alone was scratched, that apart, the two plastic caps adjacent to each fog lamp fell off and he drove back with a big grin on his face. The car was a damn tank and nothing happened man, now imagine such a sight with a swift!

Well sorry to disappoint you mate, but these are the facts, it might be the best seller and a very practical and awesome city car, but its built quality is still questionable! Yes I don’t think a figo’s bumper hit by a bicycle of a 12yr old at a relatively slow speed even at the hinge would leave it hanging! Heck I don’t think even a M800’s bumper would come off like that man I owned one in the past it is not this feeble. if such is the case i would get a polo or a fabia may be in the near future.

if this happened to swift i am pretty sure the impact would have been completely absorbed by the bumper, the feeble twin-rail behind it[yeaph this is a fact ask the A S S guys to open the front bumper of your swift and you will see how strong the protective rail behind it is!!!], the radiators, partly a few engine components and probably even the wind shield.

disclaimer:no offence meant, this is my personal first hand experience and something i decided for me, others are at their own liberty to do what they think is best for them. And i have decided no more tin cars for me. My primary point against swift here is its not a very strong car that is all and i learnt it the hard way. i believe the paint less rear bumper on my swift is the evidence enough for me, its my 5th bumper and the third one i dint get painted~waste of money.

[blorebuddy]

I own a 4 year old Swift VDi and 1 year old Figo. I am very happy with Figo, initially I was not.

What I like more in Figo compared to Swift
1. Sturdy/feels solid
2. Linear torque rather than the burst in swift
3. Handling - confidence in turns, smoother steering,
4. Ride quality
5. Quieter Cabin
6. Cabin Space and boot space
7. Good A/C in 40Deg + summers with 4/5 adults
8. Better view (front, corners) for the driver

What I did not like in figo compared to swift
1. Not having rear power windows
2. Customer service
3. If you switch off door gets unlocked
4. 5000Rs for a fog lamp
5. Front seat is not as good as swift

[blorebuddy]

Originally Posted by ruchirtnt

Mileage i suppose is also very good, if one is getting 19+ in city conditions, then it is really nice.
there might be very few cars with such mileage.

It is a marginal difference. May be a km or 2 per ltr on average

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by rider60

all right, i admit i havent read the whole thread, i have only one thing to add here in this shoot out,

as both a ford (fiesta diesel) and maruthi(swift diesel) Owner, i can tell you this,

i have had two incidents which make me choose a car that is better built(fiesta) than one which is damn HOLLOW and FEEBLY built(swift),

one i had my swift parked and a girl (aged roughly around 10-12 yrs) hits the rear bumper with her bicycle at relatively slow speed and i had to get the bumper replaced because its hinges were broken.

and i have a fiesta which recently very recently suffered a hit to a PLASTIC BARRICADE at the speeds of 100+kmph because i had to avoid an idiot jumping on to the road, trying to stop a APSRTC bus on the other side of the road came running in with out looking on a NATIONAL highway and all i had suffered was a mis-shaped front right side fender, bonnnet and slightly dented front right door and the front bumber! had it been swift i would have been stranded on the highway! the accident would have been DEFINATELY much worse and i would have probably fallen in the ditch near by!i would hate to imagine things like that. its an shocking experience for me with my maa in the next seat but thats a story for another day~ and the car is still in the workshop...

based on these two personal incidents i would suggest everyone and anyone i know to pick a car with a better build quality than the marutis and the likes!

beneath all the power, the finesse and the gadgetry a car packs that leaves an aspirant choose those cars, its the build the strength of the car that matters when it calls for, you never know WHICH IDIOT OR DOG/ANIMAL(even on the highways) MIGHT JUMP ON TO THE ROAD AND YOU MIGHT HAVE TO FACE AN INCIDENT! so for this reason in this case definitely ford it is!

I just want to add one point over here. The cost paid for a Fiesta is different than the cost paid for the FIGO. Can not be taken for granted that just because it is a FORD it has all the good things that a Fiesta can offer will be the same in the FIGO (I mean build quality standards, material quality standards etc)

If maruti comes up with a 7-10lakh rupees sedan which becomes a hit like fiesta because they would have addressed the issues with build quality and all other things, we just take it for granted that because this sedan has a maruti badge it has extermely poor build quality.

IMHO today's car market is having such a strong competation, you get materials and features for the price you pay. So in noways you will get all the good things of the Fiesta on the FIGO just because its a FORD. yes the Figo is better build when compared to a few cars in its segment but again FIGO has its on set off issues when we read figo ownership threads.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by P.S.Grewal

In the last four months I have unfortunately encountered the sad demise of two young souls in my close family circle . Both died in different car accidents and unfortunately both were driving Swift. The accident were so fatel that both of them died on the spot. First accident happened on 28 Feb and second happened around 15 days ago. The cars were damaged beyond recognition. But in both the cases car was traveling at the speed of 100+ Kmph. So I personally feel that the Boys driving the cars were more to be blamed rather than the car. I'll say with power comes responsibility. But the all new Swift has a more rigid body frame and will be much safer than the outgoing model. ABS is very very very important but with the new model option to get ABS on Vdi is no more available. That's why I am being forced to go in for VDI without ABS as ZDI is way beyond my budget.

Extermely sorry to hear about the 2 accidents.
Please do not buy a car without ABS and Airbags. If the Swift ZDI is too expensive look at the Figo top end or atleast pick up the Ritz VDI with ABS. Ritz has each and every nut and bolt same under the hood and change tyres to 185/70 R14 you'll be happy with handling too. Space without doubt is pity good in the ritz.Looks are your personal choice.

All the best. Drive safe.

[ra'ul M]

Originally Posted by rider60

disclaimer:no offence meant, this is my personal first hand experience and something i decided for me, others are at their own liberty to do what they think is best for them. And i have decided no more tin cars for me. My primary point against swift here is its not a very strong car that is all and i learnt it the hard way. i believe the paint less rear bumper on my swift is the evidence enough for me, its my 5th bumper and the third one i dint get painted~waste of money.

No offence taken mate
I know Swift is not well built to say the least and I had vowed never to ride in that car after my accident, but in hindsight I did realize that its shell is quite strong and the crumple zones do their job in case of a massive accident. But yes, the Swift does not hold too well against small hits like the one you mentioned. I hope it changes with the new one.

[mxx]

I dont own any of these, but I have driven both (driven swift more than figo).
I find Figo better in every aspect -except looks, looks being subjective, not discussing that here.
Figo has a better engine-decent power and low turbo lag, handling which is most important if I am evaluating a car. Further looking from car-affording aam aadmi perspective, figo has better space, for passengers and luggage. And also decent equipment list in figo- which if not more will be comparable to new swift. From owners, I understand that the swift has more rattles and likes and it starts early during ownership.

[rider60]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

I just want to add one point over here. The cost paid for a Fiesta is different than the cost paid for the FIGO. Can not be taken for granted that just because it is a FORD it has all the good things that a Fiesta can offer will be the same in the FIGO (I mean build quality standards, material quality standards etc)

If maruti comes up with a 7-10lakh rupees sedan which becomes a hit like fiesta because they would have addressed the issues with build quality and all other things, we just take it for granted that because this sedan has a maruti badge it has extermely poor build quality.

IMHO today's car market is having such a strong competation, you get materials and features for the price you pay. So in noways you will get all the good things of the Fiesta on the FIGO just because its a FORD. yes the Figo is better build when compared to a few cars in its segment but again FIGO has its on set off issues when we read figo ownership threads.

my point was this (below)!

Originally Posted by ra'ul M

No offence taken mate
I know Swift is not well built to say the least and I had vowed never to ride in that car after my accident, but in hindsight I did realize that its shell is quite strong and the crumple zones do their job in case of a massive accident. But yes, the Swift does not hold too well against small hits like the one you mentioned. I hope it changes with the new one.

@ ra'ul M thank you for understanding my point.

@crazy4cars it wasnt a neck to neck comparison of fiesta vs swift, just a moment of my imagination where i thought had it been swift that couldnt take a hit from a bicycle! thats all.

more over, if price and quality is taken into account, swiftVDI ABS Vs FIGO titanium, figo still is a better built car, at least after this mishap i want better control, safety,snob/resale value over the power the car provides.
if you take this important aspect into account its is figo over swift. in my previous post i got a little excited and said FORD instead of figo that might have been the reason for your sedan comparison point apologies if thats what was conveyed.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by rider60

my point was this (below)!



@ ra'ul M thank you for understanding my point.

@crazy4cars it wasnt a neck to neck comparison of fiesta vs swift, just a moment of my imagination where i thought had it been swift that couldnt take a hit from a bicycle! thats all.

more over, if price and quality is taken into account, swiftVDI ABS Vs FIGO titanium, figo still is a better built car, at least after this mishap i want better control, safety,snob/resale value over the power the car provides.
if you take this important aspect into account its is figo over swift. in my previous post i got a little excited and said FORD instead of figo that might have been the reason for your sedan comparison point apologies if thats what was conveyed.

no worries buddy, Ford is one company which has more margins that MSIL on new cars for sure. they have acheived economies of scale in the FIGO by sharing a lot of parts with other higher margin cars like the fiesta classic etc.

End of the day, there is many things the fiesta will have in better build quality which the figo is missing to an extent else they will not be able to provide the figo at this price range.

the major cost cutting in the figo is 1.4 old 1997 common rail technology. produces just 68 bhp and some XXX NM torque which is way lesser than the FIAT 1.3 MJD , 1248 CC DDIS with 75BHP and 190NM of torque. Suzuki pays a very hefty amount for this engine which we must not forget. Maruti is one such company for whom the margins are around 40-50k on small cars and about 70k in the swift and ritz segment. Unlike ford and other players who make a whopping profits by doing cost cutting like no rear power windows, no usb in the audio player and provide the old 1.4 engine which is just BS3 compliant, once the BS5 emission norms kick in god knows wat will ford to with its FIGO and Fiesta Classic. Take honda for example, 1.62 lakhs price cut on the Jazz.. is honda out of their minds to think consumers will accept that by parts localization cost can be reduced to such a great extent? its all that they were making hefty profits before,which now they realize they have to go in the FIGO foot steps.

Note : I'm not against the FIGO in any way. its just that i feel people are misleading by saying buy this car just because its a FORD. since the sedans of FORD have been good for their customers, doesnt mean the same things will be there in the FIGO too. We need to understand FORD has done cost control by providing an older engine on it and many more factors need to be considered before we declare the FIGO the king or the best car in its segement.

I still say FIGO is value for money product without doubt but not a product on which you can swear on by saying this is the best car in its segment just because its a FORD and below 6.5 for the top end model.

[rider60]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

no worries buddy, Ford is one company which has more margins that MSIL on new cars for sure. they have acheived economies of scale in the FIGO by sharing a lot of parts with other higher margin cars like the fiesta classic etc.

End of the day, there is many things the fiesta will have in better build quality which the figo is missing to an extent else they will not be able to provide the figo at this price range.

the major cost cutting in the figo is 1.4 old 1997 common rail technology. produces just 68 bhp and some XXX NM torque which is way lesser than the FIAT 1.3 MJD , 1248 CC DDIS with 75BHP and 190NM of torque. Suzuki pays a very hefty amount for this engine which we must not forget. Maruti is one such company for whom the margins are around 40-50k on small cars and about 70k in the swift and ritz segment. Unlike ford and other players who make a whopping profits by doing cost cutting like no rear power windows, no usb in the audio player and provide the old 1.4 engine which is just BS3 compliant, once the BS5 emission norms kick in god knows wat will ford to with its FIGO and Fiesta Classic. Take honda for example, 1.62 lakhs price cut on the Jazz.. is honda out of their minds to think consumers will accept that by parts localization cost can be reduced to such a great extent? its all that they were making hefty profits before,which now they realize they have to go in the FIGO foot steps.

Note : I'm not against the FIGO in any way. its just that i feel people are misleading by saying buy this car just because its a FORD. since the sedans of FORD have been good for their customers, doesnt mean the same things will be there in the FIGO too. We need to understand FORD has done cost control by providing an older engine on it and many more factors need to be considered before we declare the FIGO the king or the best car in its segement.

I still say FIGO is value for money product without doubt but not a product on which you can swear on by saying this is the best car in its segment just because its a FORD and below 6.5 for the top end model.

in the first place this is a swift vs figo thread, now the point i raised was with respect to only build of the car, not performance or cost cutting.

the deal between suzuki and fiat is no acceptable reason to deliver such a feeble car in the first place. and inspite of selling m800s and likes with couple of decades old technology by maruti, people accepted them for the value that was offered. and in this case, there is a better car~albeit car with a better built quality than swift which is figo. and probably few other positive points it has over swift.

no one said figo is the best car in the segment, i dont think that can be said because it doesnt tick all the boxes like for instance it does have its negatives too like lack of consistent service or lack of out right power in the car and so on.

also can you please elaborate on how people are being mislead into buying figo i would be happy to learn its flaws instead of just a general statement. [EDIT: even if its a decade old engine, its a reliable work horse with low cost of maintenance which we love dont we? so what else apart from that?]

in a department that was more important to me and for my kind of use it might be the best car for me, but may not be to every body else! for others this might be only a city car or for a smaller family say they might not need so much space and might want better power. so you see no one said figo is the best in the segment. i only said figo has better build probably because its a ford, but its not like ~ definitely because it is a ford.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by rider60

also can you please elaborate on how people are being mislead into buying figo i would be happy to learn its flaws instead of just a general statement. [EDIT: even if its a decade old engine, its a reliable work horse with low cost of maintenance which we love dont we? so what else apart from that?]

.

I'm not saying your misleading

Okie let me tell you what i meant. At my work place or with friends who are just casual people around unaware about a few facts below are the conversations that i hear, this is what i feel is wrong.

MR X : dude buy the ford figo, its a FORD, build like a tank, its very cheap.( Thinking he gets all the goodies build quality of the expensive ford sedans in a VFM product the FIGO)
MR Y : thanks buddy, i prefer the swift, its got better looks, better FE and cheaper to maintain and good service network.
MR X : how can you buy a maruti dude such a cheap company?? See the Ford it looks classy (Boss is not aware this a generation old design, just talking in the air just because its a FORD and total dis respect for MSIL)

Now coming to your point of a 10 year old work horse. Buddy to be right its not 10 years, 2011-1997 its about 14 years.
okie its a good engine, even the M800 has a good MPFI engine 800CC, why do we prefer the alto engine more? it has got more BHP, more torque and better FE being the same 800CC. this was just an example.

What i'm saying FIGO has a very old engine which we must acknowledge, it produces less power 68 BHP and less torque, if people decide to keep the car for a long period of time they must consider all these things for sure.

Incase the Ford had the 1.3 Fiat under its hood, awesome without doubt it would have been the king by now.

Also to add i saw a MSIL esteem D yesterday, again it was fitted with a decade old engine when it was launched, i have no clue from where MSIL got this diesel engine, oh my god, with 6-7 years you cant imagine how much this engine has aged. An Abby would sound sweeter than that esteem.

Alright Sorry to go a little off topic, voted for the swift vs the figo, end of story