[Racer_X]

Hello Guys,

Got the delivery of BumbleBee (New Swift ZDI) on 31st August.

Posting the initial ownership review :

Hello Guys,
We own a M800 which is almost 16 years old and the latest Honda city (ANHC - manual) which is almost 2.5 years old. The thought of buying a new hatchback started with my father began to crib that it is difficult for him to drive around the Honda City (I use the company bus) and parking is also a big pain in the city area. The M800 though in pristine condition is our goods transport vehicle (trash, paper raddi, gardening equipment, etc.) and nothing else and my father finds it a pain to drive as it has no power steering.

We were always keen on buying a diesel vehicle with the escalating petrol prices and for me to use it for office whenever needed. By the way my office commute daily is around 60 odd kms and it is a real pinch to the pocket if I plan to use my Honda City. So we were all set with the mindset that we need a diesel vehicle and did consult few of my friends and relatives who had diesel hatchbacks as this was our first time to purchase a diesel vehicle.

The alternatives considered were:

Hyundai i20 CRDi

Skoda Fabia

Polo Highline

Hyundai i20 CRDi: Requested for a test drive on the Hyundai website and promptly received a call confirming that Kothari Hyundai guys would call up to arrange for the TD. The guys called me and took down my details and said they will send me a TD vehicle as per my convenience. Till date they have not followed up, but I keep getting an SMS from them that they have some Ganesh Festival offer. So we decided to drop the i20 idea all together.

Skoda Fabia: My dad is a big Skoda fan but after the enlightenment from Team BHP horror stories and my big melodrama on how it would hurt him in the long run and the terrible A.S.S Fabia was ruled out (Thankfully!!)

Polo Highline: I had already made up my mind that Polo would be the car after seeing the reviews and the German engineering and the dealer BU Bhandari being a good friend of my dad. But the TD of the car and the price changed everything. The car though it drives well, it is still a 3 pot and lacks that oomph factor. Also the kit with the Highline did not impress me. The maintenance and the service network also not being very good finally dropped it.

After all the considerations and the internet research and speaking to a lot of people who are Petrol Heads and have had a good experience with Swift and MSIL I convinced my dad that the Swift is the car we have to go with. Thankfully my mom and wifey also supported my decision and we finalized the Swift VDI since we had no idea about the new swift to be launched.

We got the news in Feb from my uncle in Belgaum who is a total Petrol Head that MSIL is coming up with a new model of swift and that we should wait till its launch. My dad is not the waiting types and was after my life to finalize the saying that MSIL will just make some cosmetic changes and will price it high.

After lot of convincing and coaxing finally went to Mahalaxmi Auto the Maruti dealer and booked the top end diesel of the Swift to be launched. They had no clue when the car would be launched or the price. We paid them the booking amount of 10k and the dealer being known to my dad promised us that we would get the first car in Pune after the launch.

Finally after waiting for 6 months and convincing my dad to stick to Swift we were informed by Mahalaxmi that we would get the delivery on 31st August. Made the final payment and the OTR in Pune was 7.17 lacs with the extended warranty included, no discounts and freebies whatsoever and did not push them as we were getting the car in record time after the launch, the latest I heard is that the ZDI has a waiting for 6 odd months . The basic accessories like mud flaps and foot mats are also not available for the new swift and would get them once the dealer gets it.

Here are a lot of snaps clicked over the 5 days of my ownership of the ANMS. Have already done 200 Kms on the odo and will post the drivers review in a couple of days.

First Darshan of "BumbleBee"







Final cleaning and vacuuming



Puja by home minister



To drive out all the bad Omen



Loved the Alloys!!



The keys are not attractive at all was expecting the matchbox style like skoda/ i20



Awesome Headlight!!



Fog lamps not that effective though



Killer Eyes!!



Heart of BumbleBee - DDiS



Nice side mirror with integrated indicator



Nice big and curvy tail!



The Backside!!





Watch this space!! Will Post the interior pics soon!!

200 KMS Review:

Guys I have done 200 KMS in 4 odd days!! Can't stop driving!! Maybe that is the Diesel effect!!

My initial impressions after driving:

1. Excellent NVH hardly seems like a Diesel from inside. Only after you get out of the car that you realize it’s a diesel.

2. Excellent ride quality and also very confident handling. But not great at cornering but I have not pushed her too much till now.

3. Steering feel is awesome better than the earlier Swift and is very responsive at high speeds. Turning radius seems short after you look at length. The steering feels really thin and small in size and could have been a little meatier.

4. The all black interiors are class apart and do not give a hint of cheap plastics. Nice regular polish is what will make it look even better.

5. The AC is Powerful and I simply love ACC which works like a charm. The ICE is excellent with adequate Bass, Treble and great equalizer. The 4 speakers and 2 tweeters are really good & loud.

6. No claustrophobia in the rear seats. Really spacious for a tall guy. But this great leg room has ended in compromising the boot space. The boot is deeper and would take some effort to load the luggage as one would have to lift it high and then place it inside. Not really bothered about the space as it would easily fit two bags for the weekend outing.

7. The driving position of the new swift is higher than the old swift. The visibility is great with height adjustment on the driver's seat and ORVM are nice with wide reach. The switch for adjusting is really nice. Just twist the round knob on armrest towards left or right and then move the small knob as joystick which would adjust the ORVM is excellent and very easy. But it looks like the small knob is very delicate and can break, but it’s just a feeling only time will tell but I loved the design. The clutch, brake and accelerator are evenly spaced but dead pedal is missing.

8. There are lots of pockets to keep stuff and the glove box is not too bad either. There is a can/bottle holder near the left AC vent which comes out after a slight push inwards and hides in when not needed. Not too sure if this is going to keep the contents cool though the placement is bang opposite the vent.

9. The position of the horn is in the center with the controls for the audio system. The controls are not that comfortable to use as ANHC but maybe I need to get used to them.

10. Coming to the Engine, have to admit that the Acceleration is linear yet progressive and get a neat kick at around 2000 rpm.The sheer maddening torque of the old swift diesel might be incomparable but it’s more of the progressive kinds. The clutch seems quite light compared to the older swift and the car was overall quite effortless to drive at the same time quite peppy and really roars once the turbo kicks in. It’s a pretty rev friendly car and reaches 4000 rpm without any issues. Would have loved to have a more powerful turbo kick but I guess that is because the FE is going to be good.

11. The suspension is neat and takes the bumps pretty well.

12. The brakes are really good and I have not felt any insecurity of jamming as I read in some posts. The ABS and the boosters are doing their job well. Kudos to MSIL for improving on this front.

13. Coming to the Seating the front seats are a driver’s delight with the right support for the back and thighs. The rear seats are better than the old Swift but not that bothered as I would not be sitting back ever. The rear seats collapse to accommodate if you are planning to carry extra luggage, but it would have been better if they could be folded independently.

Few interior pics.. More to follow..

Starting from the back..

Decent boot but loading is going to be a problem with the height of the bumper



Nice slot for closing the hatch, but there is a problem while visiting Malls/multiplex/office during security checks as there is no lever to open from inside.



On folding there is lot of space but split folding would have been better



Nice lamp inside the boot



Impressive black interiors giving executive hatch feel



Loved the central console!!



Head light beam adjusting dial and Alarm switch



Power windows switches, OVRM controller and central lock button.
Lacks the back light illumination though.



Nice chrome plated door opener



Audio system and ACC





Neat Vents!



Clear Dials with MID



Steering control for audio system with a mute button



Retractable Bottle/Can holder



No dead pedal!



BumbleBee Top View



BumbleBee @ Night

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Hello Guys,

Got the delivery of BumbleBee (New Swift ZDI) yesterday. Will post pics and initial review by EOD.

Congrats!!!!! Wishing you 100000s of trouble free miles of safe drives.
I never took to liking the Swift diesel due to the lack of airbags, but now I don't really mind it.

Now hurry up and post the pics quick!!!!
Drive safe.

[bblost]

Mods note: Thread moved to Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports. Thanks for sharing.

[sachinj12]

Congrats on your new acquisition! Awaiting a detailed review, especially this pitted against the old Swift if possible. Drive safe, once again, congrats on the oil burner.

[RemingtonSteele]

Congrats Mate!!!
The car really looks tad crisp n' fresh
The teasers are good but we need MORE n' More pics. Please post lots of interior pics of this new Swift. The big headlamps and tail lamps certainly add diffeent character to this SWIFT.
Loved the alloys as well.

Wish you many many safe miles in this beauty.

[goandude]

RAcerX Congratulations. Since there is no official TBHP review of the ANMS. Would like to see one from you ASAP. Clock some miles and then get down to it. Drive safe. Love the alloys.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Racerx: Congrats on the acquisition of Bumblebee. Looks sexy in white. Those headlamps are HUGE! Almost extending to the ORVM's. One of the best hatch's out there in the market.
Do let us know if you feel any difference in the drive feel of this vis-à-vis the older model.
More pics are a must. Specifically of the interiors. The plastic quality seems to have improved, can you confirm?

Drive safe! Congrats once again.

[ghodlur]

RacerX,

The Bumblebee looks good in white. Congratulations on the car. The alloys do look good on the car. So how did you manage to get the car so quickly which others are struggling to? Any secret weapon on hand, mind sharing some tips.

Thanks for the pics, waiting desperately for the interior pics too and loads of them.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[flyingkolors]

That's a nice teaser RacerX. The new Swift is looking really hot. And I personally like the alloys too though there have been mixed opinions about them.

Waiting for the initial driving experiences, comparison to the old Swift, interior pics and more and more high resolution pictures. :-)

Wishing you many more happy miles. Drive safe!

[simply_sunny001]

anyways, many congrats Racer X, happy mile munching.

Is there any disparity in waiting list based on color too? As i remember previously the waiting times of white were less than other color in case Swift.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Hello Guys,

Got the delivery of BumbleBee (New Swift ZDI) on 31st August.

Congrats on your purchase. All I can say is that i am drooling all over your car....err sorry my laptop. It looks awesome.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

We own a M800 which is almost 16 years old The M800 though in pristine condition is our goods transport vehicle (trash, paper raddi, gardening equipment, etc.) and nothing else and my father finds it a pain to drive as it has no power steering.

We also own M800,13 years old and are thinking to replace it/complement it with a Swift ZDI soon.

A detail report awaited,eagerly. I am sure you must be busy with your BumbleBee,yet do find some time for us.

Lastly, enjoy your ride. Best wishes

[W.A.G.7]

Congrats on the first new ANSS from Pune! Looking forward to your experience, I think ANSS reviews will start pouring in soon. And yes, waiting for the interior pics. Looks way better than the old outgoing swift. My only grouse is that the huge space in the rear bumper for the number plate looks oddball. But that's nitpicking... It's a great car after all !

[Scorcher]

Seeing the thread title, I was expecting a yellow car

Congrats on the car, mate. The car looks lovely in white. The already curvy lady got curvier. Drive safe, Have fun!

[Frontosa]

Hearty congratulations, please post interior pics as well as drive report and impressions

[gautamkhadse]

First of all congrats .

I love the front of the new swift , not a big fan of the rear , too curvy IMHO . Have heard a lot about the weight reduction in the new swift . If you've had an experience driving the old swift , is the weight eduction evident ? Also , like a few others pointed out , we'd like to see some interior pics .

I'd like to see the mileage figures in the long run . I've heard teh waiting periods have now gone up to about 6 months . Congrats on being one of the early birds .