Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:)

Dcargod · 19th August 2011, 19:21

Around a week ago, the weather was all rainy and humid. It was so very depressing. But there was a ray of light, a silver lining, i.e. the news of the launch of the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift. This launch was long overdue and was eating into my patience. So the ‘pakka’ news of its launch early this week kept me happy.

Finally on the 17th of August, the new chariot finally arrived. That was one day when I was stuck to the internet, reading up on anything and everything I could find on her. A prompt call to my friend @Indraneel Roy followed and a test drive plan was in place, which was today, the 19th of August. Another call was made to the saleslady at Machino Tecno Sales LTD, Alipore to book a test drive for the same day for the petrol Swift. We decided against testing the diesel as it was the same engine and hence, is a very familiar unit.

Finally……D Day arrives!! Indraneel drops down to my house and we head for the showroom together in the afternoon. Half an hour later, we find ourselves standing in front of the main entrance, inside which a white Swift was standing and attracting admirable gazes from the onlookers. We enter the showroom, and finally, I could sweep my hands over its beautiful lines. Here is what we make of the new Swift.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY
To the casual onlooker, the old and new Swift will look the same. But look more closely and you find the extended headlamps, the new grill and the V-shaped bonnet. The front bumpers are redesigned as well and houses a big air dam. The front looks sportier and sleeker than before.
Coming to the sides, the shoulder line is more prominent than before and gives the car a more angular look. The Swift, with such features and the steeply raked windscreen, looks shorter in height and the overall stance is very sporty.
The theme of the headlamps have been carried on to the tail lamps as well and the LED effect looks awesome. The rear windscreen is smaller than before and the tailgate has a high opening point. The rear bumper looks stubby and has a dedicated license plate housing between itself and the tailgate.
Build quality and rigidity of the frame has been substantially improved and the door closes with a nice ‘thunk’. High rigidity tensile steel plates have been used for the body, making the car stiffer, but lighter by 30 kg,

INTERIORS
Step inside and it is a completely different ball game. Just as the exteriors, nothing has been carried forward in the interiors. The dash and central console design is refreshingly upmarket with nice quality plastic, though they are all black and gloomy. The silver accents all around don’t do much to liven ‘em up either. The central console has a ‘waterfall’ theme and looks great. The quality of integration of the AC and the Audio system, which by the way plays USB as well, is superb. The instrument cluster has a premium feel to it and the central screen between the speedo and tacho displays everything like outside temperature, real time mileage, etc. The ambience when everything is lit up, is superb. The color combinations are red and orange for the instrument cluster and white on black for the dash items. The switchgear feels good to use as well.
The fabric quality of the seats is quite good and the front seats are way more comfy than the previous Swift, setting a benchmark. The rear seats are improved too with the increased leg, knee and elbow room, thanks to the increased length and width of the car. But still, you do get a feeling of being hemmed in due to the small rear windows.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
Seat belts fastened, we crank open the engine. The Swift’s K-Series petrol engine, now equipped with VVT, settles down to a noiseless idle, the stiff chassis paying dividends here in controlling NVH levels. The Swift is substantially more refined and doesn’t get intrusive even at the redline. The engine snarl is sporty though.
The clutch is light and well tuned. The Swift is eager off the line and upshifting to second is a quick affair. The bottom end is very responsive, making city driving a breeze. Press on and you will fall into a flat zone in the mid range. Acceleration at this point is linear. Once you cross 4000 RPM, the rev happy motor comes into tune and pulls enthusiastically to the redline. Top end performance is much better than before and caning the Swift has never been so much fun. The overall driving experience was a fun one.
The Swift has a real time mileage indicator, which was showing an average of 10.6 KMPL in the city with full load and AC on. The car has only covered 200 KM and is running on its first tank of fuel. So hopefully, it’ll go up by a fair margin.

RIDE, HANDLING AND BRAKING
The Swift set a benchmark in handling when it was launched. The new Swift takes the game way ahead. Zig-zagging through guardrails, we were impressed by the steering feedback and feel. There was no dead zone in the center and the steering feels well-weighted and accurate, miles ahead of the old one.
The earlier Swift had some body roll, and this almost has none. Flinging this car around corners will be a favorite pastime with its owners. The driver will get immense confidence behind the wheel. High speed stability is much improved and feels rock solid. The Swift has a new air of confidence unto itself.
The ride is substantially improved too. It no longer bounces about on broken surfaces and handles them with a new level of maturity. Low speed ride is a bit stiff, but everything flattens out when the speedo climbs. Bumps rarely set it offline and the Swift tracks dead straight. It is almost upto the Ford Fiesta level.
The brakes have been improved too. They are very easy to modulate and use. They boast of feel and bite. The grip from the tyres are superb too and the 15” alloys look stunning.

VERDICT
The Swift will now be under immense competition from the other hatches like Micra, Figo, i20, Jazz, etc. Hence it was crucial for Maruti to bring in this model in order to retain its position in the market.
The new Swift now does everything better than its predecessor. Its got better looks, good engines, improved ride and handling, economy and the brand image. In the new Swift, you get everything of the old Swift, plus more, thereby making the new Swift more Swift..

P.S. No exterior pics available because like me, many were waiting to get their hands on the new Swift.. So, didn't have enough time..

charthom · 19th August 2011, 22:59

Great news Mate. Nice post. The dash reminds of Kizashi. Wish the interiors were beige!! Thanks the TD and for bringing on the actual condition so fast. Much appreciated.

Vik0728 · 19th August 2011, 23:17

Clean and Crisp report Dcargod, more importantly Precise!!

Any idea or hints at price estimations??

anekho · 19th August 2011, 23:45

Thanks for the TD-report - well written, and it's getting me all excited!

I test drove the old K-series Swift and was thoroughly impressed with the engine+handling+gearbox setup - the new sounds even more awesome!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Any idea or hints at price estimations??

Check out this thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...unched-69.html

LXi Petrol: Rs. 4.22 lakhs
VXi Petrol: Rs. 4.76 lakhs
ZXi Petrol: Rs. 5.53 lakhs
LDi Diesel: Rs. 5.17 lakhs
VDi Diesel: Rs. 5.61 lakhs
ZDi Diesel: Rs. 6.38 lakhs

(Ex-Delhi)

vigsom · 20th August 2011, 09:59

Very crisp review,Mate

The new Swift will continue to rule the road so far as premium hatches go.

Remember,the first gen Swift was not selling at launch;the rest is history.

Maruti must keep their USP - viz. to price spares cometitively and make them available through their network of MGP delaers;

Thilak29 · 20th August 2011, 10:07

Thanks for the simple notes, I am waiting for official TBHP review!
I liked that you included Jazz as a competitor

Dcargod · 20th August 2011, 11:01

Thanks @all for the appreciation.. I was dying to test drive her and took the oppurtunity at the first chance..

But I do feel that the top-end variants, i.e. the ZXi and ZDi are overpriced at around 6 and 7 lakh respectively and push the Swift into the premium category..

revintup · 20th August 2011, 11:17

Wow!All new swift.

superb Interiors

6years back i was in the same enviable position,being amongst the first owners of the swift.Had people drooling and coming over to check the car for a long time.Its been a pleasure so far.Still feels brand new except small rattles (drowned by the stereo)

One small advise:I can see protective plastic still on.please remove it asap otherwise it will stick on to the panels and the gum never comes off even if you remove the plastic.

Saanil · 20th August 2011, 11:20

An ownership review so soon! Please do justice to this thread by posting some more pictures of exteriors, interiors. I became a huge fan of the centre console's waterfall theme from the moment I first saw them in Kizashi! It just looks fantastic. Also from the pictures the quality of the parts used seems to be nice. I have to say that the new swift's centre console is better than my Sx4's centre console.

Off topic - I think Sx4 should be refreshed with little exterior tweaks and a new waterfall centre console.

Dcargod · 20th August 2011, 11:32

Thanks folks.. But I don't have anymore pics to share as it was a demo car that I got for sometime owing to my friend at the showroom.. This is just a test drive and review posted in the wrong section..

@Moderators: please shift this thread to the 'Official car reviews' section if deemed necessary..

emkay456 · 20th August 2011, 11:41

I visited Automotive Nerul yesterday to have a peek at the ZXI. Everything looks good except the reduction in boot space. Agree with Dcargod on his crips descriptions. One additional thing i found was that cheap rubber flaps covering the grilled duct below the wipers has been replaced by metal enclosings. Very useful in preventing the attack of rats/rodents. My Swift suffered on account of the rubber flaps eaten into by rats and they made the duct their abode, further damaging the A/c duct flap.

Ex Navi Mumbai OTR price of VXI is Rs. 5.22 L and ZXI around Rs.6.11

mayankjha1806 · 20th August 2011, 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saanil

An ownership review so soon! Please do justice to this thread by posting some more pictures of exteriors, interiors.

I dont think this is a ownership thread. @Dcargod, please confirm if you have already bought the Swift. As far as i have read its only a test drive report from @Dcargod.

I did saw the new swift on Sarjapur road on Wednesday and it looked nice, more refreshed. Awaiting official test drive report of Team BHP on the new Swift. Called up Pratham they are not giving test drives yet from home so looks like i need to pay a visit to the showroom to get that. Planning to do it post reading the TBHP review.

mkpiyengar · 20th August 2011, 12:42

Nice views mate.

This car has received rave reviews in terms of its handling and performance dynamics, for the European version when pitted against its rivals there.

Hope Suzuki keeps the enthusiastic driver happy with the new offering, bettering the earlier one.

Referring to our's friend's observation of reduced boot space, IMHO Suzuki was never one to offer good interior space in their entire collection, priority being easy to drive in city and fuel economy.

Cheers
MKP

sachinj12 · 20th August 2011, 13:17

Nice review man. To add to what you have already said, the Swift now comes with a 15" alloy instead of the 14" alloy and indicators on ORVM.

arindambasu13 · 20th August 2011, 13:35

Nice crisp review. I am planning to book the petrol and initial dilemma between petrol and diesel is slowly but surely disappearing as I hear more and more reports about the revv happy, smooth petrol snarling north of 4000 RPM- which is bound to be an enthusiasts delight.

19th August 2011, 19:21	#1
Dcargod Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 5 Thanked: 6 Times	Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Around a week ago, the weather was all rainy and humid. It was so very depressing. But there was a ray of light, a silver lining, i.e. the news of the launch of the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift. This launch was long overdue and was eating into my patience. So the ‘pakka’ news of its launch early this week kept me happy. Finally on the 17th of August, the new chariot finally arrived. That was one day when I was stuck to the internet, reading up on anything and everything I could find on her. A prompt call to my friend @Indraneel Roy followed and a test drive plan was in place, which was today, the 19th of August. Another call was made to the saleslady at Machino Tecno Sales LTD, Alipore to book a test drive for the same day for the petrol Swift. We decided against testing the diesel as it was the same engine and hence, is a very familiar unit. Finally……D Day arrives!! Indraneel drops down to my house and we head for the showroom together in the afternoon. Half an hour later, we find ourselves standing in front of the main entrance, inside which a white Swift was standing and attracting admirable gazes from the onlookers. We enter the showroom, and finally, I could sweep my hands over its beautiful lines. Here is what we make of the new Swift. DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY To the casual onlooker, the old and new Swift will look the same. But look more closely and you find the extended headlamps, the new grill and the V-shaped bonnet. The front bumpers are redesigned as well and houses a big air dam. The front looks sportier and sleeker than before. Coming to the sides, the shoulder line is more prominent than before and gives the car a more angular look. The Swift, with such features and the steeply raked windscreen, looks shorter in height and the overall stance is very sporty. The theme of the headlamps have been carried on to the tail lamps as well and the LED effect looks awesome. The rear windscreen is smaller than before and the tailgate has a high opening point. The rear bumper looks stubby and has a dedicated license plate housing between itself and the tailgate. Build quality and rigidity of the frame has been substantially improved and the door closes with a nice ‘thunk’. High rigidity tensile steel plates have been used for the body, making the car stiffer, but lighter by 30 kg, INTERIORS Step inside and it is a completely different ball game. Just as the exteriors, nothing has been carried forward in the interiors. The dash and central console design is refreshingly upmarket with nice quality plastic, though they are all black and gloomy. The silver accents all around don’t do much to liven ‘em up either. The central console has a ‘waterfall’ theme and looks great. The quality of integration of the AC and the Audio system, which by the way plays USB as well, is superb. The instrument cluster has a premium feel to it and the central screen between the speedo and tacho displays everything like outside temperature, real time mileage, etc. The ambience when everything is lit up, is superb. The color combinations are red and orange for the instrument cluster and white on black for the dash items. The switchgear feels good to use as well. The fabric quality of the seats is quite good and the front seats are way more comfy than the previous Swift, setting a benchmark. The rear seats are improved too with the increased leg, knee and elbow room, thanks to the increased length and width of the car. But still, you do get a feeling of being hemmed in due to the small rear windows. ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION Seat belts fastened, we crank open the engine. The Swift’s K-Series petrol engine, now equipped with VVT, settles down to a noiseless idle, the stiff chassis paying dividends here in controlling NVH levels. The Swift is substantially more refined and doesn’t get intrusive even at the redline. The engine snarl is sporty though. The clutch is light and well tuned. The Swift is eager off the line and upshifting to second is a quick affair. The bottom end is very responsive, making city driving a breeze. Press on and you will fall into a flat zone in the mid range. Acceleration at this point is linear. Once you cross 4000 RPM, the rev happy motor comes into tune and pulls enthusiastically to the redline. Top end performance is much better than before and caning the Swift has never been so much fun. The overall driving experience was a fun one. The Swift has a real time mileage indicator, which was showing an average of 10.6 KMPL in the city with full load and AC on. The car has only covered 200 KM and is running on its first tank of fuel. So hopefully, it’ll go up by a fair margin. RIDE, HANDLING AND BRAKING The Swift set a benchmark in handling when it was launched. The new Swift takes the game way ahead. Zig-zagging through guardrails, we were impressed by the steering feedback and feel. There was no dead zone in the center and the steering feels well-weighted and accurate, miles ahead of the old one. The earlier Swift had some body roll, and this almost has none. Flinging this car around corners will be a favorite pastime with its owners. The driver will get immense confidence behind the wheel. High speed stability is much improved and feels rock solid. The Swift has a new air of confidence unto itself. The ride is substantially improved too. It no longer bounces about on broken surfaces and handles them with a new level of maturity. Low speed ride is a bit stiff, but everything flattens out when the speedo climbs. Bumps rarely set it offline and the Swift tracks dead straight. It is almost upto the Ford Fiesta level. The brakes have been improved too. They are very easy to modulate and use. They boast of feel and bite. The grip from the tyres are superb too and the 15” alloys look stunning. VERDICT The Swift will now be under immense competition from the other hatches like Micra, Figo, i20, Jazz, etc. Hence it was crucial for Maruti to bring in this model in order to retain its position in the market. The new Swift now does everything better than its predecessor. Its got better looks, good engines, improved ride and handling, economy and the brand image. In the new Swift, you get everything of the old Swift, plus more, thereby making the new Swift more Swift.. P.S. No exterior pics available because like me, many were waiting to get their hands on the new Swift.. So, didn't have enough time..
	(6) Thanks

19th August 2011, 22:59	#2
charthom BHPian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cochin Posts: 652 Thanked: 270 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Great news Mate. Nice post. The dash reminds of Kizashi. Wish the interiors were beige!! Thanks the TD and for bringing on the actual condition so fast. Much appreciated. Last edited by charthom : 19th August 2011 at 23:05.
	(1) Thanks

19th August 2011, 23:17	#3
Vik0728 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,061 Thanked: 3,281 Times View My Garage	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Clean and Crisp report Dcargod, more importantly Precise!! Any idea or hints at price estimations??
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 09:59	#5
vigsom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NSEW Posts: 3,768 Thanked: 25,490 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Very crisp review,Mate The new Swift will continue to rule the road so far as premium hatches go. Remember,the first gen Swift was not selling at launch;the rest is history. Maruti must keep their USP - viz. to price spares cometitively and make them available through their network of MGP delaers;
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 10:07	#6
Thilak29 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: KA21 Posts: 926 Thanked: 3,495 Times View My Garage	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Thanks for the simple notes, I am waiting for official TBHP review! I liked that you included Jazz as a competitor
	() Thanks

20th August 2011, 11:01	#7
Dcargod Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 5 Thanked: 6 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Thanks @all for the appreciation.. I was dying to test drive her and took the oppurtunity at the first chance.. But I do feel that the top-end variants, i.e. the ZXi and ZDi are overpriced at around 6 and 7 lakh respectively and push the Swift into the premium category..
	() Thanks

20th August 2011, 11:17	#8
revintup BHPian Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ktym Posts: 432 Thanked: 460 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Wow!All new swift. superb Interiors 6years back i was in the same enviable position,being amongst the first owners of the swift.Had people drooling and coming over to check the car for a long time.Its been a pleasure so far.Still feels brand new except small rattles (drowned by the stereo) One small advise:I can see protective plastic still on.please remove it asap otherwise it will stick on to the panels and the gum never comes off even if you remove the plastic. Last edited by revintup : 20th August 2011 at 11:20.
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 11:20	#9
Saanil BHPian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 444 Thanked: 387 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) An ownership review so soon! Please do justice to this thread by posting some more pictures of exteriors, interiors. I became a huge fan of the centre console's waterfall theme from the moment I first saw them in Kizashi! It just looks fantastic. Also from the pictures the quality of the parts used seems to be nice. I have to say that the new swift's centre console is better than my Sx4's centre console. Off topic - I think Sx4 should be refreshed with little exterior tweaks and a new waterfall centre console.
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 11:32	#10
Dcargod Newbie Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 5 Thanked: 6 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Thanks folks.. But I don't have anymore pics to share as it was a demo car that I got for sometime owing to my friend at the showroom.. This is just a test drive and review posted in the wrong section.. @Moderators: please shift this thread to the 'Official car reviews' section if deemed necessary..
	() Thanks

20th August 2011, 11:41	#11
emkay456 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 388 Thanked: 7 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) I visited Automotive Nerul yesterday to have a peek at the ZXI. Everything looks good except the reduction in boot space. Agree with Dcargod on his crips descriptions. One additional thing i found was that cheap rubber flaps covering the grilled duct below the wipers has been replaced by metal enclosings. Very useful in preventing the attack of rats/rodents. My Swift suffered on account of the rubber flaps eaten into by rats and they made the duct their abode, further damaging the A/c duct flap. Ex Navi Mumbai OTR price of VXI is Rs. 5.22 L and ZXI around Rs.6.11
	() Thanks

20th August 2011, 12:42	#13
mkpiyengar BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 331 Thanked: 143 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Nice views mate. This car has received rave reviews in terms of its handling and performance dynamics, for the European version when pitted against its rivals there. Hope Suzuki keeps the enthusiastic driver happy with the new offering, bettering the earlier one. Referring to our's friend's observation of reduced boot space, IMHO Suzuki was never one to offer good interior space in their entire collection, priority being easy to drive in city and fuel economy. Cheers MKP
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 13:17	#14
sachinj12 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,187 Thanked: 168 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Nice review man. To add to what you have already said, the Swift now comes with a 15" alloy instead of the 14" alloy and indicators on ORVM.
	(1) Thanks

20th August 2011, 13:35	#15
arindambasu13 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,582 Thanked: 2,450 Times	Re: Samba with the All-new Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi, K-series!!:) Nice crisp review. I am planning to book the petrol and initial dilemma between petrol and diesel is slowly but surely disappearing as I hear more and more reports about the revv happy, smooth petrol snarling north of 4000 RPM- which is bound to be an enthusiasts delight.
	(1) Thanks