[motorworks]

Mid term ownership review of my Swift DZIRE VDI at 39,000kms.

Model--2008
Color--Sovereign Blue {Navy}

How I arrived at the decision to buy the dzire VDI:-

My requirement was simple. I wanted the swift diesel and nothing else. It was in Jan 2008 that I decided to buy my first car and the decison to buy the swift diesel was probably made the moment I test drove one somewhere in the mid of 2007. Anways, there was a long waiting period for the diesel version and hence I decided to book one well in advance so that it would arrive just in time for my Marriage. So I went ahead booked a swift-sunlight copper color in Jan'08 and was promised a delivery by May'08, which was perfectly ok with me. Then there were rumours of a sedan version being launched. And when the launch did take place, I was in a dilemma. The dzire was more practical, at just about 80k extra. The OTR of swift vdi was about 5.8Lakhs and the dzire was about 6.6Lakhs. I was finally convinced by my wifer{ my fiance then} that we should pick the dzire. So I converted my booking to the dzire and then faced a one month torture by Sagar, Jayanagr, Bangalore who kept changing the delivery date. After some heated arguments, I finally got my car by May-end 08 and was in time for my Marriage one month later.

Initial impressions:-

I had learnt to drive in my Dad's sierra turbo and I had not driven other cars much, may be the odd santro, or the ikon or an alto. And I always liked the sierra turbo for its sporty nature, and the driving position. So the dzire was easy to get along with. The diesel engine is great, which Im sure all of you know by now. So the initial impressions were good, easy to drive, easy to park and low on fuel expenses. So all in all I had bought a fantastic first car at a great price.

Glitches:-

1) First and foremost is the braking. The car's braking is not good enough. I had bought the VDI version without ABS, since there was not an option of ABS in the very first week of booking, especially if the car was required within a month. Atleast twice my wheels have got locked in wet conditions and I have ended up just missing a truck and a divider. Also there is this strange cranky noise, like a metal rubbing against something every time I braked. After few visits to the maruti service center, I was not convinced. The service guys kept attributing this to the engine weight for some reason. H/ever, maruti's service is good, so once they knew that I wasnt satisfied, they replaced the brake shoes free of cost at about 8k.
The noise didnt stop completely, but may on a uphill or downslope journey, the noise still occurs randomly. I have ended up changing my brake shoes once again at 30k and also changed my brake drums.
So this is a major grouse. The brakes are not very confidence inspiring when you are at high speeds, say 120 and above. But for city driving and highway driving below 100kmph, they are ok.

2) Horns--This is the most frustrating thing in my car. Only one horn works all the while. The dzire has twin horns placed behind each of the two fog lamps and somehow one goes dead within 24hrs of servicing. I'm kind of tired of this now, so I'm learning to live with a two-wheeler like horn. May be I will switch to a single powerful horn at my next service at 40k.

3) The JK tyres are pathetic. Maruti should have atleast provided 185/70/14 instead of 165s. Anyways, Im planning to move on to Michelins or yokos once I complete 42k.

Maintenance:-

Except by service bill at 30k, where I had spent some 6k, the earlier service bills were about 3-4k and has been quite easy on my wallet.

What I love about the car:-

The driving position is great, you dont sit too low and is just correct. The engine is a superb piece. I have touched 160kmph quite a few times in the highways. The gear box is so slick and feels very rally-like. The boot is a plus point on every long journey{ which I do every 4-5 month}.

Comparos:-

My Dad owns a Logan diesel and my brother owns a punto diesel, you see diesel runs in my family. All three are somewhat in the same price range.
The Logan is a better family car, and my dad feels easier to get in and get out of the Logan than the dzire and the punto. For slightly well built or tall people, getting in to the dzire / punto can be quite a task.. The logan also seats 5 comfortably, while the dzire and the punto do so but with less comfort. H/ever the logan feels very utilitarian. The engine noise is much higher and there is somehow that plushnness missing.Its very fuel efficient though, but not by much when you compare the dzire. My dad gets about 18-20kpl, whereas I get about 17-19kpl.
So the logan is good, but not better than the dzire over all.

The punto on the other hand, is an excellent hatchback. It feels very plush, doors shut with a thud. The dash / interiors/ features are great. But the engine is not tuned like the swift and due to the additional weight it lacks that 'punch' of the swift diesel. Also the gear box is not in the league of the swift. The space too is just like the swift and no better.
The re-sale values and service levels of fiat are a draw back too.

Even today, when I look around, there is no diesel sedan that I can buy at about 6-7 lakh OTR apart from the dzire. I dont consider the Manza as its not to my liking. Its too huge and the fit/finish is not great either.
I had got an offer of 5.8 Lakhs some two months ago for my car, but there was nothing that i could buy if I sold it apart from the manza/punto/logan in my budget. So I decided to stick to the DZIRE for another 2 yrs, may be till I clock about 70k.
All in all, a great first car, which has never let me down.

[DMehta]

Congratulations! That is a good car you have there. I faced similar issues with my twin horn which the provided. Got it repaired twice but it would get spoiled pretty soon. Got an aftermarket powerful 'Skoda' type horn and it has never disappointed me. I suggest you do the same. Apart from that, did you face any rattling issues?
Mine is a total rattlebox, apart from that she runs like a dream. Planning to get the doors damped soon.

[motorworks]

Hey, thanks for your feedback. i will look at a new horn.
With regard to rattling, it is quite audible in bad roads, but on the good ones it is ok. How do you plan to go about with the damping? Please let me know too.

[goandude]

as far as the poor brakes are concerned you could opt for a new break booster design for the dzire, as many on this forum have done, with good benefit to the breaking performance.
secondly, a change to better rubber would increase the bite of the tyres on the road

[motorworks]

ok, I have a question. The swift diesel's rpm is redlined at 5000. So does it mean than you can push in gear accelaration till it touches the redline? For example, I may need to change from 3rd to 4th gear when I hit about 60 or 70, but it would not mean that the needle would have hit the redline? I hope I making sense?

[TOR]

Riding the torque curve is the way to drive a diesel car. The Dzires diesel engine produces max torque at 2000 RPM, so there is hardly any point in revving the cars engine till 5000.

[motorworks]

Thanks for the clarification TOR....

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Only one horn works all the while. May be I will switch to a single powerful horn at my next service at 40k.

The stock Padmini horns sound nice but the hi tone horn packs up in a year ; you could try adjusting the screw behind to make it work.Better still go in for a pair of Roots Windtone which sound like the Optra's

[dezrskb]

I have a Dzire Vdi Silky silver which is 2 yr/23K Kms old now. No major issues as such till now. I had done extensive research on this forum before buying the car. One thing which many advised was to change the OEM tyres immediately after delivery which I did (to Yokohama A drive 185/70/R14s). I got a good exchange price too as the tyre shop owner saw that car had been delivered few hours back. So I dont know what the drive is like with OEM tyres or braking issues. But I had no stability / breaking / cornering issues, even at high speeds with Yokos. (In fact, i didnt feel confident and felt like floating when drove the test drive vehicle with OEM tyres at >100Kms speed)
I did face one issue though. I think within 3-4 months, once when driving, just after changing a gear and removing my foot from clutch, the engine switched off, dashboard lights came on (no warning / malfunction lights though)- just like when you turn the key to "ON" position before starting the engine. The power steering went off. I negotiated car off the road and just turned the key and engine started and then behaved normally. Took it to service centre next day, they did some tuning. But i remember it happening few times later too(about 5-6 times over last 2 yrs). But it promptly starts again anyway. Mileage is fantastic (20+ on highways and about 18 in city with AC On all the time by tankful to tankful). Battery was told to have drained at 20K Kms service and was told to be known issue with some. Replaced at own cost. Few rattles here and there. But opening the whole dashboard to hunt for some small sound didnt sound practical to me-so left alone.
In summary - No major Issues till now and very happy with the car. I want to ask other Dzire owners -
1. Problem of engine switching off like I mentioned above- happened to anybody? how was it solved?
2. Did anybody else lose their battery within 2 years?