[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

Oh and I definitely love the way it looks!

Attachment 2626769

Congratulations on your purchase and wish you happy miles all along.

I saw a white one just a few moments back just out of washing center and boy and it looks spectacular. I must say way better than the 2'nd n 3'nd gen.

[DCEite]

Congratulations RoadMonkey on your new acquisition. The new Swift in that white color looks smashing !

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

The K series 1.2 BS4 was fun, however the BS6 one is not. The Z series engine needs to be experienced and not just looked down upon based on the specs on paper. It will surprise and delight you with a grin.

You are right, but its not actually the BS4/BS6. It was due to the "Dual VTVT" which was introduced by Maruti in the new Baleno/Fronx/Previous gen Swift. The Dual VTVT made the car more fuel efficient (and more powerful on paper with 90 ps) but at the cost of mid range performance.

There is still a "single VTVT" car in Maruti's lineup, the Ignis. And do drive it once, its a little rocket in mid and top range. I feel the Ignis was supposed to be the natural successor to the Ritz, but alas Maruti has neglected it in terms of upgrades, but at least it still comes with the previously tuned single VTVT (82 PS) stonker of an engine.

[fhdowntheline]

Ok, I just took delivery of my Swift ZXI Plus AGS yesterday. This comes after a month or so of pondering over the fact that I made a mistake in buying a manual hatchback. For the past month or two, using the manual in Pune city proper has been torturous to say the least. I actually started having knee pain in the left knee. It doesnt help that the Tiago's clutch pedal (all pedals in general) are a bit raised than usual. My family's plea to go for an AT back then (2 years ago) were not heeded to. The choices within my budget back then were all AMT cars. But its only now and at the cost of a few lac that I feel that its better to have AMT than MT for a city like Pune, which I will explain. So-warning that it will be a bit of a long post.

Once the germ of the idea was implanted about going for an AT option, I looked around thinking, this is 2024. Surely there must be decent choices within a 9-10 lac budget. Sure there were- AMT and EV. For the longest time, I debated whether to finally take the EV plunge. In this context, the first car I looked at was the MG Comet.

MG Comet:
Positives
1) Looks the part - it is designed ground up as an EV (I think) and so it has that chic futuristic demeanour.
2) Very convenient for city - This is like a sophisticated golf cart. You can virtually park it anyplace where you need 2 large two wheelers. Its as simple as that.
3) Decent range of 150-170km.
Negatives
1) The biggest one was the 2nd row seating. It would be impossible to take parents around.
2) Drudgery involved in taking the primary car (Verna) out of the covered parking to the open parking to make way for EV charging very few days.
So while the car was cute, I couldn't take this up any further. Nevertheless, I looked at the next option - Tiago EV

Tiago EV
I looked at the options from the TML stable now. First up, I actually sat inside the new Punch EV and was shocked to see that I had virtually nil legroom with driver seat in my position. What they have done to achieve this, I cannot fathom. So the Punch EV was out of question. So looked at the Tiago EV. At least there was no space issue being virtually the same as the manual Tiago. But by this time, I was already having second thoughts about EV. Primary reason was the drudgery involved as mentioned above. The second was the need to "prepare" the car for any usage, the time for which takes multiple hours (i.e. charging). Your beater car should be one that you just sit down in, drive off, get the job done, no other fuss. EV cars do not fall within this ambit. Even if your beater car is low on fuel, it is still a matter of only 5-10 minutes at the nearest pump. Somehow the convenience of a ICE car still overrides everything else. So, it was back to the AMT world. The first one to be tested was the Exter.

Hyundai Exter
Positives
1) Feeling of good quality interiors.
2) Pale green color looks premium - it would have been my choice if I took this car.
3) Very comfortable, easy AMT although I must say that it holds on to D1 for a bit too long even on a level road.
4) Familiar instrument cluster (like the Verna) and controls.
Negatives
1) The car felt sluggish at higher speeds (above 50 kph).
2) The biggest issue was that the door sill is pretty thick and presents a challenge to the elderly while exiting the car.
I also briefly considered the NIOS - but I had the same problem as that of the Punch EV - lack of rear space with driver seat adjusted to my position. So the Hyundai's were out of the question.

Next stop- Maruti!

I first enquired about the new Swift and was told that they did not have the AMT version from the 2024 lot for test drive. My Car arranged for the previous gen AMT Swift just so I could get a feel. I test drove it and liked what I felt. I then also took a test drive of the manual 2024 version. Quite frankly, I did not feel any issue with this whole 3 cylinder business. It has been unnecessarily highlighted in various reviews. Also to my personal surprise, the Swift was ok from my driver ergonomic perspective and left decent legroom in the rear for my parents. So some thing was better than the TML and Hyundais in terms of the interior layout.

I then also had a look at the Ignis, from the Nexa stables. I must confess that I have test driven the Ignis now umpteen times, and to my both pleasant surprise and chagrin, the positives and negatives have been unchanged. The engine is still smooth, the instrument cluster with the side buttons is simple and easy to use, the car is small and yet seats 4 adults comfortably with a good boot capacity. The biggest negative is that Maruti has made virtually zero changes in the car since it was launched, except for the addition of ESP. The third issue I felt was that the rear had an uncomfortable bounce even while being pussyfooted over small speed breakers. So net-net, my family said "go for the Swift and close the matter- its a new model, is comfortable and has 6 airbags -for what its worth".

With that in mind, I went ahead and booked the car. I got a very decent offer for the Tiago considering it was still new, and then it became even sweeter with a 15K discount from MSIL. We all know about the unsold inventory etc.

I decided to go in for the the Magma Grey, a different sort of colour. To me at least, it seems dirt friendly. The car was readily available in stock and I did not have any finance related formalities. So got the delivery done relatively quickly once the booking was done. The only delay was for a couple of days whereby MSIL was upgrading its system to reflect the new extended warranty. I have been offered 3+2 years or 140000 km. They do not have the highest (Solitaire) package in their system yet. I am told I can opt for it later as well.

Driving Experience

Its just been a day old, but I can already feel a certain comfort in driving the car. I had a huge amount of skepticism about AMT, but I kept my expectations in check and I now realize its not a bad deal at all in city traffic. The head nod is minimal, and downshifts are seamless. The Swift AMT gear knob is smooth- a bit too smooth I say. I like firm "notches" of the PRND type.

The seat comfort is very good and the car is spacious without feeling so. Another interesting personal observation is that the analog meters feel very relieving and soothing. The car also masks speeds well, which is surprising considering that much has been made about its drop in bhp figures.

The music system is easy to use, has decent sound output and the wireless Android Auto is seamless (so far).
The one negative I think is with respect to the central MID in the cluster. Some of its settings cannot be used on the fly- one needs to get into Ignition ON (before starting) mode and then use one of the knobs, long press it to open up sub-menus. The one thing I disabled was the turn by turn guidance from Google Maps. I don't need multiple views when I can glance at the fairly large 9in screen on the side. You cannot do this change while driving.

In a nutshell, the new Swift is not a scorcher. But it is a well equipped beater hatch which has good ride, decent handling and fabulous economy.

[TheSMG]

The new Swift is familiar, yet better. But most importantly, THE NEW SWIFT IS A LOT OF FUN!

Congratulations for your new ride. New Swift indeed looks gorgeous in the shade of white.

[bijims]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Ok, I just took delivery of my Swift ZXI Plus AGS yesterday.

Congrats on the new Swift, considering your usage scenario, the Swift is one of the best options you could get, even though it is an AMT, AMTs have improved a lot over the years and the head-nods have reduced considerably as well, Moreover when it comes to reliability, sales and service network, nothing comes close to Maruti at least in this hatchback segment and price point.

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by Miel

Congratulations on your spanking new purchase!
The car looks brilliantly sporty in white, with black grills and design elements.

Thank you! Yes it does. I had apprehensions about the bonnet line but IRL it blends in finely and the overall appearance is smart.

They do look pretty good! Hope you are not facing any tyre-well clearance issues on full load.

There is a major gap and the overall radius is exactly the same as factory spec tyres.

An interesting contrarian opinion that is, I must say! The BS6 1.2 K series 89 BHP engine in the Fronx, Baleno, Dzire and Wagon R 1.2 is for me the more peppier car out on the highway. In the previous gen Swift, out on the open road the additional 7 BHP somehow made it manic for me....

I never drove the prev gen swift but I feel that engine was fine on the highway above 2k rpm, not fine but rather fun, however there was a dull zone in between. The new engine has torque accessible lower down.

while the former K series 89 BHP makes me grin wide on the highways. But, driving styles matter and all opinions are important.

I wish you many happy miles in the new car!! Enjoy!!

Thanks again!

And yes I expected a similar story with the engines on the highway, but I found myself pleasantly surprised with the Z series on the highways as well. Within reasonable RPM without wanting to go nuts, this is super fun. Maybe it is in that mode also, yet to try. Yes the K series never lost its peppiness on the highways.

Originally Posted by DCEite

Congratulations RoadMonkey on your new acquisition. The new Swift in that white color looks smashing !

Thank you very much!

You are right, but its not actually the BS4/BS6. It was due to the "Dual VTVT" which was introduced by Maruti in the new Baleno/Fronx/Previous gen Swift. The Dual VTVT made the car more fuel efficient (and more powerful on paper with 90 ps) but at the cost of mid range performance.

There is still a "single VTVT" car in Maruti's lineup, the Ignis. And do drive it once, its a little rocket in mid and top range. I feel the Ignis was supposed to be the natural successor to the Ritz, but alas Maruti has neglected it in terms of upgrades, but at least it still comes with the previously tuned single VTVT (82 PS) stonker of an engine.

Thanks! I did not know that, I just felt something was amiss in the new engine. The Ignis is also a fun little car, I wish the rear light design was a bit better and the funky bits were toned down in the facelift but oh well. Ritz was also perceived as quirky and as Tata Punch shows, this segment was lacking a proper offering from MSIL. People prefer a boxy hatch over traditional hatch with 5-10mm extra ground clearance and a perception of mini SUV look. While a similar offering from Maruti will cannibalise Swift and Baleno sales, it'll still increase their overall sales.

[Phantom 510]

Congratulations!!! That's a lovely colour.

[Vijay T]

Congratulations.
Very beautiful & my favourite colour.
Wish you many pain free & joyous Pune rides.
AMT as you said it, is evolved over time.
My kiger AMT also has very less noticeable head nod.
If I don't tell, passengers do not notice at all.
3 cylinder vibrations also only at starting few seconds.
Swift has always been a darling of hatchback buyers for ages.
Keep motoring.

[munirian_bhp]

Congratulations on your wheels. Looks great for a new gen. Maruti Suzuki Swift. Looking forward for your review after 5-10K KMS.

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

Let me try to spread a little positivity about this fun little car and try to change the tone around here.

A little background, I'm a proud owner of a 2020 VW Polo 1.0 TSI AT.
!

Enjoy your new ride and wishing plenty of pleasant memories in it.

You seem to have slapped on some new alloys and tyres. Could you throw some light on that? The Swift was always a looker with a set of nice alloys and wider tyres.

I think your post highlights one of the aspects that Maruti needs to ensure that it does not lose to keep it's customers and that is the driving experience of it's engines. They were never about top speed, outsight acceleration and top speeds but the overall experience of these engines in everyday humdrum life was just so nice. I haven't driven the Swift yet but I see the same theme in most reviews...the talk about that "thing" is back. I remember that the old 1.5 engine was so much nicer to drive than the current bs6 1.5 variant.

Drive on,
Shibu

[harikrishnansp]

Originally Posted by Miel

An interesting contrarian opinion that is, I must say! The BS6 1.2 K series 89 BHP engine in the Fronx, Baleno, Dzire and Wagon R 1.2 is for me the more peppier car out on the highway. In the previous gen Swift, out on the open road the additional 7 BHP somehow made it manic for me. I have savored it in all those cars, except the Fronx - and every time it gave me a big smile, second only to the Honda 1.5 NA petrol. Maybe the Fronx's additional weight and bigger wheels are to blame for your verdict? Not sure.

But, I will give you this. In my book, the new Z series Swift is more peppier within city limits, lower speeds, and stop-go traffic, while the former K series 89 BHP makes me grin wide on the highways. But, driving styles matter and all opinions are important.

I wish you many happy miles in the new car!! Enjoy!!

Totally agree that the perception depends on driving style.

The K12C responds better to part-throttle inputs, it also have a much better bottom end. When you are driving at full throttle, it does not respond as well as the K12B. The K12B was just superb to any kind of throttle input.

I have almost felt that there is a flat spot between 2000-3500rpm in the K12C, post that, it just pulls to the redline, this is where you can have the fun. On the fronx, I felt that they have done a shorter gearing due to which the engine felt better than the previous gen Swift. It was a very short test drive to confirm though.

The Z series being designed from the ground up more recently compared to the 15+ year old k series engines helps here I think. Though, the figures doesn't look promising except the mileage. Have to drive it to find out, although I am sure that it would beat it's 3 cylindered NA competition hands down..!

This kind of response coming from a Polo owner sounds promising, what if they had plonked the 1.0 boosterjet into the Swift..? Too much to ask for I think.

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by shibujp

You seem to have slapped on some new alloys and tyres. Could you throw some light on that? The Swift was always a looker with a set of nice alloys and wider tyres.

Yes it does. Mine is a VXi which came with 14 inch steel wheels and 165 section tyres. I wanted a flush look and looking at 185s on the top end, I thought it would take 195s well without them sticking out. I still think it is some alloy wheel level offset that makes them look that way. I had hoped for a better, more factory like look akin to my Polo.

Originally Posted by harikrishnansp

This kind of response coming from a Polo owner sounds promising, what if they had plonked the 1.0 boosterjet into the Swift..? Too much to ask for I think.

Keep in mind, I am enjoying the Swift as a Polo owner but in no way would I even think of comparing the two. The Polo TSI shall remain the gold standard of fun car for me, however, after having driven that I haven't enjoyed driving NA cars. Yes the NA K series and Honda's 1.5 are fun to revv the nuts out of, but most of the driving is done in 2-3k rpm so the Accessibility of torque lower down has made me a "Turbo convert".

The new Swift fares better than all the other 1.2 NA on the market that I test drove. The power, even if lower, is more accessible in normal driving conditions, making fun not just something you get to have once in a while on an open highway but rather on a daily basis! At a much liter level, but still, like I do in my Polo!

However, the 1.0 Turbo in a Swift with ~100kgs added to the body weight, stiffer suspension and slightly heavier steering would be the perfect fun yet practical warm hatch.

[harikrishnansp]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

Keep in mind, I am enjoying the Swift as a Polo owner but in no way would I even think of comparing the two. The Polo TSI shall remain the gold standard of fun car for me, however, after having driven that I haven't enjoyed driving NA cars. Yes the NA K series and Honda's 1.5 are fun to revv the nuts out of, but most of the driving is done in 2-3k rpm so the Accessibility of torque lower down has made a "Turbo convert".

The new Swift fares better than all the other 1.2 NA on the market that I test drove. The power, even if lower, is more accessible in normal driving conditions, making fun not just something you get to have once in a while on an open highway but rather on a daily basis! At a much liter level, but still, like I do in my Polo!

However, the 1.0 Turbo in a Swift with ~100kgs added to the body weight, stiffer suspension and slightly heavier steering would be the perfect fun yet practical warm hatch.

Being accustomed to the 1.0 TSI, I was pretty surprised by your review.

However, the reasons why you enjoyed the car are detailed out perfectly here.

[ItsMeTheCarBoi]

Wasn't a fan of the new Swift's rear by looking at the pics.

Then a Swift came right in front of my balcony . And it looked so much better! Guess you have to experience it in person to see how cool it looks!

Anyways, this new car had a HUGE dent on the door already !

Attaching pics of the car:

[fhdowntheline]

Just did a short Lonavala run in my new Swift ZXI+ AGS a while ago. I basically wanted to check how well the car rides on the highway. And I was pleasantly surprised by the car's dynamics, although the Team bhp official review also mentions the same. On a highway with light traffic, one is able to cross 80 kph with relative ease, with the RPM hovering around 2000 rpm in D5. Throughout the expressway, I maintained 80-90 kph, which I think is the sweet spot for hatchbacks in this category and the car maintained its poise very well indeed. It doesnt feel light and flimsy at all. The steering weighs well, and the car carries through corners without nervousness. On the straight stretches, one is able to out-accelerate heavy vehicles albeit with a slight head nod when the car drops from D5 to D4. It is not a deal breaker by any means. But one has to keep expectations in check. It is not a scorcher, and if you get bogged down in your lane with a slow vehicle ahead, then you have to be careful to judge how you can overtake in the right lane keeping sufficient gap from vehicles behind you. All this is in "D" mode of course, you can do a Manual shift and try to expedite the process, but it wont be as smooth like a DCT or a proper manual gearbox. In my view, if you are not in a hurry, it should be perfectly fine.

The real kicker in this entire episode was an almost unreal fuel efficiency of 26.1 KPL during a 118km drive. Who needs a hybrid with this kind of efficiency ?

Overall, I am beginning to like what I see in the new Swift AGS. The car is a fuss-free urban commuter, with the legs to do longer stretches efficiently. Yes, there is the AGS but then it is not a huge deal breaker and definitely helps the limbs . I have kept my expectations in check since my car no 2 is almost at the other end of the enjoyment spectrum !