[white_vdi]

From the day I joined Team-Bhp I wanted to start either an initial report thread or a long term one. Wanted to share my experience. So here it goes! (pardon me plz for a really looooong story)

This thought of buying a Swift VDI gained momentum when my 30 months old Indigo LX started giving me problems on daily basis. It was a real bad nightmare. Got the front and rear struts changed twice, the clutch replaced twice, alternator repaired, thermostat changed and the list goes on and on….

Power steering oil leaked thrice in 5 days and I listed my car on carwale.com. Got response on the 1st day itself. Things worked out with that very person and I sold her off with all the ICE and at the price that he wanted to buy her (it was more than the market price of course. hehe). He took the car from my place at around 2 in the afternoon on 5th July and I was after my DSA to get me a new car at 2.05p.m.

That sad day Maruti was shut down for maintenance and was promised the delivery on 7th after the plant reopens. Booked a VDI with DD Motors, Competent and Marketing Times to get the delivery at the earliest. Days passed by weeks passed by and no word from anyone. Felt like killing my DSA for making false promises. Dad asked me if a wanted a verna but I dint want a 9lac car for going to college. After losing all my patience, on 21st July I told my dad I want a car today do whatever!! Couldn’t get a getz crdi anywhere. Finally went to Skoda for Fabia TDI Ambiente. My DSA arranged for a white one with SAI Automobiles. Dint even test drive the car and got her home even without paying anything. DSA knows us and the owner of SAI very well. Said "aap gadhi to le jao sir paise aate rahenge". i had pestered him sooo much. Dad drove her the next day and was shocked to hear the engine noise inside the cabin. After a big fight we returned the car.

Then on 7th August I got my white swift from Marketing Times, Rajouri Garden. Sourcing a VDI was tough so VDI ABS was out of question. Got mollah for alloys as bribe from dad for the delay and everything that happened. Got alloys 2 hours after delivery from BK Tyre Lajpat Nagar. Got Plati 15in wheels and Maxxis MA-Z1 195/55/15 tires (14k for 4 rims and 13k for 4 tires. got 5k for the stock tires and rims without the wheels caps)


ICE includes Pioneer F6050UB (9600 w/o B&W) with JBL 650C (4500 with B&W) in front and Sony 4-way coax (2500 with B&W) in the rear door. No damping but seriously needed. Bad quality door trims rattle without an amp also. And simple medium dark garware tints on all sides including front.




Also have upgraded to Osram Night Breaker bought through Ebay UK. A vast improvement over the stock bulbs.


Other small changes include a debadged rear, roots skoda type horn and silver painted center console and steering wheel.


Now almost 5 months after the delivery, she has done 11000kms and 3 services done. The ride has been pretty decent till now. And now about the journey so far.

It was a big big upgrade after the indigo and the first twist of the ignition switch made me realize that. The power was very much evident around 2000rpm. The front right door was rattling the moment I drove out of the showroom.
With these modern engineering machines and engines I really don’t believe in running-in (call me stupid but I don’t). Went to Karnal the 3rd day after delivery and did 140kmph runs and she was very well behaved. Within the 1st week got the 1000km service done from Galaxy Automobiles (Tilak Nagar). She had been returning around 15kmpl till then.

Then started the down side. The entire car was rattling and there was some tak tak sound from the front right side of the car. After opening the dashboard twice and 5 months, the fault was some clip supporting the windshield.


Apart from the rattles, the quality of plastic used inside the cabin is pathetic. It is substandard and no one can deny it. Even the sheet metal used is not that good. I can press it using 2 fingers. Really wish Maruti could work on it. Damn cost cutting!!!

The Drive
I go to Gurgaon everyday and I enjoy her a lot. Push her hard almost everyday and still manage to get more than 17kmpl. The turbo boost is very addictive I must say. Wider tires are must with this car. My 195/55/15 provide good confidence on corners and during hard braking within city. I highly recommend ABS though!! Braking is less for speed runs and highways i feel. Lacks confidence there.

Service Costs
Till now the service charges haven’t been much. Paid some 600 odd bucks for the 1st service that had oil change also and 2nd was for free. 3rd service was for Rs. 1421 including engine oil, oil filter and air filter change. Apart from that no money spent on anything. Alignment and balancing done every 5000kms.

FE
Initially started off with 15kmpl within city. After the 1st service increased to 17kmpl with a heavy foot on gas. Till 10000kms it was around 18kmpl with AC on 100% within city no matter how you drive her. After the 3rd service, did a trip to Haridwar and ripped her real hard. Got back home in one tank full and 7litre diesel still left. Just love the look on my friends faces when I tell them I fill her up for Rs. 1250 and she runs for 675+ kms. They are just sooo jealous of me for that!!

During the trip to Haridwar last week, the car was housing 5 adults and was packed with luggage. Packed with luggage means we had the entire boot stuffed without the parcel tray. Stuff under the front seats and also in the front left side leg space. I managed to reach 170kmph without much effort and she still had some power left. Infact I was looking forward and dint realize I was going that fast until I saw the speedo. Was concentrating hard on the road so could note the rpm. The UP highway has improved to some extent.

Another point to note during this trip was that the ride was very bumpy in the rear. Dad kept asking me to go alil slow on bumps but it just dint happen. Hope it was due to the extra luggage in the boot. Any comments guys?

I hope you are still reading!! That’s all for now I guess. Will keep posting updates.
Cheers and thanks for showing patience

[abhinav.gupta88]

Amazing report dude.
Loved reading it fully.

I think i've seen your car once in khan market area ( not too sure)


P.S When is the Pete's coming?

[white_vdi]

abhinav i really cant recall going to khan market in my swift. might have been somebody else. anyways i know your "laal pari" and her number also. will catch you whenever i see her on road.
i remember how you got your vRs. that was some story mate!! you talking with you dad over the phone and informing him you found her. just like your gf saying yes. hehe

petes?? i will be completing my mba this month. lets see where i get placed first.

[Eddy]

Thats a nice one !! Where do you get your car serviced ? All three at Galaxy ?

[white_vdi]

thanks eddy!
yup all three at galaxy. know the owner real well so get everything done to satisfaction.

[phamilyman]

Nice report. Quite a twister of a story!

Although the FE seems definitely on the lower side!

[SumitB]

She looks beautiful.

Can you post some links for the HU of yours? Looks good. Is 9600/- a typo?

[white_vdi]

thanku guys!!

@ phamilyman : i am expecting alil increase after the 3rd service now. lets see how much does the tank last this time. anywhere above 18 and more than satisfied.

@ sumit : FH-P6050UB

my HU is without bluetooth. and 9600 without B&W is not a typo. its VFM at that price IMO.

[pras.oct25]

Your expecting an increase?? Looks like your all set to run that car all around india on a full tank of gas! Looks great buddy. Glad to see your enjoying. Though do drive safe. I do believe that ABS is a must on indian roads and highways. And ignorance from people laying roads is something that you should watch out for. They dig it up in all the wrong ways and sudden braking may cause skidding.
BTW you got a headlight upgrade done on your swift right. Upon the recommendation of a lot of people I got the philips extreme 60/55w for my verna recently cause I didnt want to get a higher wattage bulb to avoid them touching my electrical system. But I'm not overly satisfied though it does perform better then the crappy ones from hyundai. is it just that every random guy drives at night with poorly levelled headlights and excessive wattage so the wattage on my car barely matters in the city, or are they actually not that good?
you must have been in the verna, how do you compare the interiors of the swift vs the verna? I dont feel rattling in general. But I can feel my front console shudder a bit when even for a second or two i fail to shift down when I slow down. Is this natural with turbo charged diesels or should I have it checked up for some loose fitting or clipping?

[white_vdi]

@ pras.oct25 : people say the average should get up to 20kmpl. i am not that greedy though

i was also in a fix when choosing the headlight bulbs. my brother in uk was using night breaker and recommended them hence my decision. higher wattage bulbs if not aligned properly will cause problems no matter what you do. all you can do is flash your beam a couple of times and wait for him to understand your point. else you also put in on high beam till he passes you. it works for me!! philips must also be good am sure.

and about the interiors, i personally like verna from inside esp with Auto Climate Control and quality of material used is definitely superior in the verna. am yet to come across someone who complains of verna rattling. a little shudder is there with these heavy diesel motors. if you feel its more than usual then ask your workshop guys to tighten the bolts holding the dash in place.

[abhinav.gupta88]

Originally Posted by white_vdi

abhinav i really cant recall going to khan market in my swift. might have been somebody else. anyways i know your "laal pari" and her number also. will catch you whenever i see her on road.
i remember how you got your vRs. that was some story mate!! you talking with you dad over the phone and informing him you found her. just like your gf saying yes. hehe

petes?? i will be completing my mba this month. lets see where i get placed first.

Haha, whenever i think about it, i just smile my way down to the car and go for a ride

Nice.
Hoping to see the pete's soon

Maybe it was a similar swift. The rims were almost the same ( as far as i remember)

[pras.oct25]

Originally Posted by white_vdi

@ pras.oct25 : people say the average should get up to 20kmpl. i am not that greedy though

i was also in a fix when choosing the headlight bulbs. my brother in uk was using night breaker and recommended them hence my decision. higher wattage bulbs if not aligned properly will cause problems no matter what you do. all you can do is flash your beam a couple of times and wait for him to understand your point. else you also put in on high beam till he passes you. it works for me!! philips must also be good am sure.

and about the interiors, i personally like verna from inside esp with Auto Climate Control and quality of material used is definitely superior in the verna. am yet to come across someone who complains of verna rattling. a little shudder is there with these heavy diesel motors. if you feel its more than usual then ask your workshop guys to tighten the bolts holding the dash in place.

Yes i agree that the verna interiors actually look nice in the top end sx version. I enjoy sitting in my car. Though I feel the side panels are not that great and closing the boot door makes an almost weird hollow noise or something I cant really describe.
Its not a rattling. Its a shudder kind of thing. I dont think it has reached a rattling stage yet. Should have it checked though before it gets out of hand.
About the headlights everyone recommends 100/90. Somehow I kept having second thoughts about it, so I went with these. Let me see how they serve me over time.

[TOR]

Nice report there-how would you rate the Swift against the Fabia that you had for a short period?

[live2drive]

A very well compiled unbiased review of the swift. I quite like the rims on your car. Great choice.

[live2drive]

Originally Posted by pras.oct25

I dont feel rattling in general. But I can feel my front console shudder a bit when even for a second or two i fail to shift down when I slow down. Is this natural with turbo charged diesels or should I have it checked up for some loose fitting or clipping?

In diesels its quite normal at low RPM's.
The only rattle in my Verna can bee observed in the right ORVM. It has to be screwed up after a month or so. No rattles apart from that.