[pradyblr]

Notice to readers: This is my first ownership report on team-bhp. Any suggestions to better the content is always welcome.


Background:

At 6 years and 40,000 kms our Santro was showing signs of aging and we felt we need to have a change. The car is used by the wife on weekdays and by me on weekends. We hardly cover more than 1000 km in a month and hence we wanted our new car also to be a petrol.
Our requirements for a new car were

• Has to be a hatch. We are a small family, so space is not a constraint. Our driving is mostly in city.
• No beige interiors. No rationale for this. We just don’t like it.
• Has to be fun to drive.

Options Considered

Hyundai i20 - We were very happy with our santro. Not once did the car break down in its 6 years with us. Naturally our first choice was i20. Test drove petrol and the diesel versions. Of all the cars we test drove, i20 diesel was the best (well except for the infamous lack of steering feedback). We needed only petrol and unfortunately we felt i20 petrol is no fun to drive. (No offence meant to i20 owners in the forum, just our opionion)

VW Polo - Called up VW showroom and asked for test drive twice. Was never called back. Went to the show room on palace road. Was unceremoniously given the price list. No explanation about the car and no offer for test drive.
Cancelled plan for Polo then and there.
We did not consider any options other than i20 and the VW Polo.

Swift: Delivered on all our requirements. Coming from Santro, the Swift is a sea change especially for the driver. It is a pure drivers car (more on this a bit later) and good natured salesman from Mandovi Motors (Mr Girish) let me drive the car for 10+ kms.
He got the car 2 more times for test drive while we were finalizing.

Having chosen to go with Swift, we had to decide between Vxi and Zxi and after a detailed search on team-bhp decided to go for the Zxi version.

Showroom and Delivery Experience

We booked the car with Mandovi Motors, Cox Town, Bangalore (Zxi, white).
We were promised delivery within 3 weeks. When we went to the showroom to pay advance, there was a Dzire parked outside.
The wife felt the Dzire was 'cute' and wanted to buy that instead. We agreed that this be settled by a test drive. After a quick test drive & "No I want the Swift" - it was settled.

Within a week, got call from Girish that there are 3 cars readily available, all in white colour – our chosen colour. I had informed Mandovi that I would like to check the car in their stock yard before they send for registration. On 14th Sep, they called me, and drove to the stockyard with a friend. Selection was done from 3 cars available, cheque for rest of the amount was handed over, registration was done and delivery date set for 19th September.

On the D-day, at around 11 AM, got a call from Girish informing that the car is ready. Reached the show room along with wife and my friend. Girish explained all the features ( well I guess so, I was only thinking about driving the car ). Went through the team-bhp PDI checklist. Nothing wrong. Shook hands and drove off.





In summary, I rate Mandovi Motors, Cox Town 10/10 for my buying experience with them (did so in the after sales feedback form too). I found Girish to be very professional and customer-oriented. He was very patient and answered all queries and ensured all my requests were taken care of (for example no stickers on the car, Multiple PDI checks). As a token of our appreciation, we presented Girish with a small gift which we hope he is finding useful in is daily work.


Freebies, Discounts, On-road price:

Freebies: None asked and None received.

Discounts: Was offered discounts on under body coating and Teflon coating. I did not take it up.

I got insurance done from TATA- AIG ( 6k less than what Mandovi quoted). I checked with Mandovi if they would be willing to match the offer from TATA-AIG. They politely declined and hence I got it done from TATA-AIG.

Final On-Road price for the car was 7.06L.



Mods done

• After taking delivery, drove straight to Saravanan's Hercules tyres and got the tires changed to Yoko A-Drives 195/60/15.

• One week later, went to 3M Sanjay Nagar and got paint sealant and under body coating done.
  
  

• Got IND plates done from a local accessories shop.
  
  
  

Experience with the car so far:

At the time of writing this review, the car has completed 1500 kms including a long drive to Le Pakshi.

What I Like

• First thing that impresses about the car is the cabin. The snug fit seats, the black interiors, the awesome console, the chrome accent. It is just fantastic. The console looks fabulous at night.



• One of the features I desperately wanted in the car is the driver seat height adjust. It just provides wonderful visibility and driving comfort. I cannot comment about the back seat comfort as I am yet to travel in back seat.

• The ACC is a boon. I hate fiddling with the A/C for manually regulating the chillness. It does its job very well in Bangalore climate. Yet to test in harsh weather conditions though. The ACC also looks fabulous at night.



• The gear box is very nice. Love the sleek way in which the shift slots in.

• The ride quality is very good. The car is a pleasure to drive whether it is in city or in highways. As it is in the run-in period I am yet to push the car to higher rpms. The car keeps asking for more. The car feels very stable and solid at high speeds (well 85 is the top I have done so far) and the steering feedback is just awesome.

• I find the engine to be very refined and suspension to be the segment best. The car takes on good and bad roads with equal poise - Hats off to the engineers at Maruti.

• The ground clearance is very good (even for tackling the infamous speed breakers of Bangalore).

• There is absolutely no noise in cabin.

• Kitna deta hai!! Very high fuel efficiency. The car is currently giving 14-15 in city and 18 on highway. We use only Shell petrol in all our vehicles.

• Electrically Adjustable OVRMS – I use it extensively for reverse parking. The quality of plastics for the controls is questionable though. Remains to be seen how long these controls will last. The OVRMs themselves are quite big and gives good coverage of the scene behind.
There is no auto fold function as in i20.

• The car has stunning side and front profiles. I love the side profile the most. The stock alloy pattern enhances the look of the car. I am not a big fan of the rear profile though.

What could be improved:

• Car feels under powered when I down shift to second gear and want to accelerate. It could be because the second gear is quite tall.

• Audio quality of the stock music system - It is not bad at all for a stock music system. Both of us being music buffs, I can see an upgrade coming pretty soon.

• No Bluetooth option - My wife sometimes converts the car into office .

• Lack of cubby holes in the centre console. There is not even a handy place to keep sun glasses

• Quality of plastic used for OVRM control – it is pretty bad and I think it will give way soon.

• Noise level of the stock MRF ZVTV rubber. The tyre noise has disappeared after shifting to Yokos.

• Bootspace and Bootspace design – The bootspace is not a problem for me but the design of the boot is. Because of the height of the boot, it takes quite some effort to load things in to boot.

• The fog lights are not good. One needs to step outside and check to know whether they are on or not. Quite a far cry from the ones on my dad’s zen estillo.

• The horn pad takes a bit of getting used to. I wish this had been like in the Santro.

First Service Experience:

The Babe, as we like to call her, went for her first service on 15th October with 865 kms on the odometer. I had one small issue to be fixed - The left rear mud flap was hanging loose as some nut had come off.

The car was serviced at Mandovi Motors Hennur service branch. The car was picked up at 11 AM and dropped off with the issue fixed to our satisfaction at 4PM.

And yes Maruti charged us Rs 31 for a couple of nuts and bolts !!


Niggle: I do not know if this is an issue.
Every morning when I start the car and drive at slow speed and apply brake a 'tak tak' sound comes from the front brakes. It comes only the first time I apply brakes and never happens later. When I checked with Mandovi Service center they said it is normal.

Is this supposed to be normal?

[rajshenoy]

I liked the way you wrote the details. surely show you love your cars. I am sure you are going to love the Yokos. i have been a happy swifter from last 10K kms or so with Yokos. they go anywhere, good roads, bad roads and no roads

We dont see many petrol car buyers now a days and not many reviews. wish you good luck with the new car

[arindambasu13]

Congrats on the VVT Swift. I too purchased mine in January this year, and its Torque Blue in colour. I changed my tires to Yoko A drives with the same profile as yours too. Mine is a VXI though. Its an absolute pleasure to drive, and you will find that as you clock more kms, the car becomes smoother and smoother to drive. The gearbox becomes an absolute joy, much more than how you would feel it to be now.

The noise from the brakes comes on my car too, upon a cold start quite often. However, once the car heats up, within 2-3 kms of driving the noise disappears. No other problems with the brakes as such.

[pradkumar]

Hi,

I was checking with Sai Service in Pune. I plan to buy a Dzire AT. The service advisor said if I'm willing to pay 3k for seat parts and another 1.5k for labour, the driver's seat height adjust can be fitted.

Pradeep

Originally Posted by pradyblr

One of the features I desperately wanted in the car is the driver seat height adjust. It just provides wonderful visibility and driving comfort. I cannot comment about the back seat comfort as I am yet to travel in back seat.

[Accius]

Hi. Nicely written review. I am falling for the swift's waterfall console styling. It looks just gorgeous and gels well with all black interiors of the car. I love all black interiors and hence fell for Beat LT. Surprised to hear that you are getting a great fuel efficiency figure of 14-15 in city on a fairly new car. I am driving my beat petrol from past one year(5000+ kms) and get a fuel efficiency of maximum 12 in city.

[pradyblr]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I liked the way you wrote the details. surely show you love your cars. I am sure you are going to love the Yokos. i have been a happy swifter from last 10K kms or so with Yokos. they go anywhere, good roads, bad roads and no roads

We dont see many petrol car buyers now a days and not many reviews. wish you good luck with the new car

rajshenoy: Thank you. Nothing beats the raw power of a petrol engine for me :-)

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Congrats on the VVT Swift. I too purchased mine in January this year, and its Torque Blue in colour.

The noise from the brakes comes on my car too, upon a cold start quite often. However, once the car heats up, within 2-3 kms of driving the noise disappears. No other problems with the brakes as such.

arindambasu13: Thank you. The torque blue is a loverly color. Thanks for confirming the behavior of brakes.

Originally Posted by pradkumar

Hi,

I was checking with Sai Service in Pune. I plan to buy a Dzire AT. The service advisor said if I'm willing to pay 3k for seat parts and another 1.5k for labour, the driver's seat height adjust can be fitted.

Pradeep

pradkumar: Swift Zxi comes by default with driver seat height adjustment.
I would not think that would be any different in DZire?

Originally Posted by Accius

Hi. Nicely written review. I am falling for the swift's waterfall console styling. It looks just gorgeous and gels well with all black interiors of the car. I love all black interiors and hence fell for Beat LT. Surprised to hear that you are getting a great fuel efficiency figure of 14-15 in city on a fairly new car. I am driving my beat petrol from past one year(5000+ kms) and get a fuel efficiency of maximum 12 in city.

Accius: May be it has do with sedate driving too. We get 13-14 km/litre on our Santro too.

[VishnuNarayanan]

Hello Pradyblr,
Congrats on your new Swift ZXi
Nicely written up review !
I would term Swift ZXi as a practical mans sensible choice.
Wishing you happy and safe miles with your new ride
Drive Safe

[pradkumar]

I think I got you wrong. You have the Zxi that comes default with seat height adjustment. I thought you had a lower version. Sorry for creating some confusion.

I'm planning to buy the VXi AT and that does not come with seat height adjuster.

Pradeep

Originally Posted by pradyblr

pradkumar: Swift Zxi comes by default with driver seat height adjustment.
I would not think that would be any different in DZire?

[pradyblr]

pradkumar: no worries mate. What I meant in my review was I absolutely love the seat adjust feature because of which I get a superb driving position.

Congrats on your Dzire Vxi AT btw!!. When are you getting delivery of the same?

[MutantX]

Originally Posted by pradyblr

pradkumar: no worries mate. What I meant in my review was I absolutely love the seat adjust feature because of which I get a superb driving position.

Congrats on your Dzire Vxi AT btw!!. When are you getting delivery of the same?

Congrats on the new car prady. I got my self a SWIFT Vxi, Nov-2011. It has almost a year and the car has been wonderful. I had some issues with slow speed braking, but after the ECU fix - the issue is resolved. I get good mileage of 14 kmpl within the city and around 18 kmpl in the highway which I think is excellent. My car is due to 3rd service.

[pradyblr]

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

Hello Pradyblr,
I would term Swift ZXi as a practical mans sensible choice.
Drive Safe

Thank you so much VishnuNarayanan. Your tag line for Swift is something Maruti might like to use for boosting sales of petrol versions!!

Originally Posted by MutantX

Congrats on the new car prady. I got my self a SWIFT Vxi, Nov-2011. It has almost a year and the car has been wonderful. I had some issues with slow speed braking, but after the ECU fix - the issue is resolved. I get good mileage of 14 kmpl within the city and around 18 kmpl in the highway which I think is excellent. My car is due to 3rd service.

MutantX: Thank you. The new swift gives tremendous mileage indeed. Hope it stays that way!!
Is the issue with your slow speed same as what I mentioned above or was it the infamous breaks getting jammed up issue which was fixed by the ECU fix?

[Alive2Drive]

Congrats on owning a fantastic car.

Happy Mile crunching! Do you plan any mods with reference to ICE. How is the sound quality of the OE head unit?

[pradyblr]

Originally Posted by Alive2Drive

Congrats on owning a fantastic car.

Happy Mile crunching! Do you plan any mods with reference to ICE. How is the sound quality of the OE head unit?

Thank you Alive2Drive. The stock audio quality is not bad for stock audio.
My guess, when I open the side panels I would find some weird unknown company speakers. Planning to get an upgrade done.


Update:

Today I got MGA body cover for the swift from Mandovi (a desperate attempt to keeps neighborhood kids from using the bonnet as writing board) . It was a pleasant surprise to note that the cover has a place holder for the antenna. I have read ownership reviews where this was noted as an issue. Looks like Maruti has taken the feedback. Kudos Maruti!!!

[devil_klm]

Originally Posted by pradyblr

Today I got MGA body cover for the swift from Mandovi (a desperate attempt to keeps neighborhood kids from using the bonnet as writing board) . It was a pleasant surprise to note that the cover has a place holder for the antenna. I have read ownership reviews where this was noted as an issue. Looks like Maruti has taken the feedback. Kudos Maruti!!!

Congrats pradyblr. Wishing you happy miles ahead.
Me too bought the maruti body cover. Unluckily i washed it once and it lost the thick coating inside and became like a transparent cloth. So even it is getting dirty, just dust it with a cloth don't wash it.

[pradyblr]

Originally Posted by devil_klm

Congrats pradyblr. Wishing you happy miles ahead.
Me too bought the maruti body cover. Unluckily i washed it once and it lost the thick coating inside and became like a transparent cloth. So even it is getting dirty, just dust it with a cloth don't wash it.

devil_klm: Thank you. Special thanks for the heads up for the cover!!!
Potentially the same situation can happen in rain too right? (My car is parked on the street).