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Old 13th July 2012, 11:33   #1441
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

Swift though is a great car & gives some fantastic fuel mileages but just managed to notice something during my very short stint with the car. I did not find the car very comfortable for long distance cruising, I mean high FE is great but one really needs a very comfy car to fully make use of it!

Sitting in the front seat, my left knee keeps knocking with the central consol fall(tunnel). Seating is a bit low & visibility upfront isn't great. Ride quality is also nothing much to write about.

My car is just 15 days old, driven only 40kms & I already want to get rid of it. Now if I place it on sale, how much money would I stand to loose? The car has full Insurance, registration, warranty & no body damage(scratches,bumps).
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Old 13th July 2012, 13:47   #1442
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWD View Post
Swift though is a great car & gives some fantastic fuel mileages but just managed to notice something during my very short stint with the car. I did not find the car very comfortable for long distance cruising, I mean high FE is great but one really needs a very comfy car to fully make use of it!
Contrary to this, I find the Swift ergonomically quite sound as far as under-thigh support and hand controls, steering position, etc are concerned. Are you very tall? I myself am 6"1 and have been using the previous gen Swift happily for more than 6 years. Ergonomically, one of the best cars to use in the city and on the highway. In fact, ergonomics are part of the reason for me upgrading from Swift to Swift again. Trust me, it is only because you are new to the vehicle that you feel this way. Once your body gets used to the new driving position, there shouldn't be any pains or cramps.

The odometer is still at 40km, out of which I assume 10-20km are done by you? It is too short a distance to decide on comfort levels. Take a 100km drive on some highway, and do update this thread with your thoughts after the drive.

Quote:
Sitting in the front seat, my left knee keeps knocking with the central consol fall(tunnel). Seating is a bit low & visibility upfront isn't great. Ride quality is also nothing much to write about.
this left-knee-hitting-console issue was mentioned by GTO in the official review (check page 1 of this thread). I had to push back my seat completely to accommodate my height during the TD, and this leg-hitting-console wasn't an issue for me at all. Drivers who sit up close to the steering are more likely to face this. Try with a different seat position?

Ride quality is a bit harsher than competitors, that is the price paid for getting better handling , but in my opinion, it is way, way better than the ride quality of previous gen Swifts. Are you running the tyre on very high pressure? check that out. Some showrooms are notorious for over-inflating to ~38-40psi. That will have made the ride quality bone-jarring.

Quote:
My car is just 15 days old, driven only 40kms & I already want to get rid of it. Now if I place it on sale, how much money would I stand to loose? The car has full Insurance, registration, warranty & no body damage(scratches,bumps).
40kms is too less a distance to take such a drastic decision Sir. You stand to lose more than 1-1.5L in just depreciation. Also, if you bought the vehicle with a loan, you have to pay the full EMI total amount upfront + preclosure penalty. Financially, this is not a good decision in my opinion. The visibility and ergonomics difference is something you will get used to over a few weeks of driving. Do you think it is justified to sell the vehicle for such a trivial issue?

P.S - did you test drive the vehicle before buying?

Last edited by KarthikK : 13th July 2012 at 13:57.
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Old 13th July 2012, 14:38   #1443
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
I myself am 6"1 Ergonomically, one of the best cars to use in the city and on the highway. The odometer is still at 40km, out of which I assume 10-20km are done by you? It is too short a distance to decide on comfort levels
Im 6.1 ft too & drive with the seat adjusted fully backwards, still encounter the problem. Actually face the same in my Corolla too. Yup you are dead right on 10-20kms figure. I should drive the vehicle for some more time/distance before finally arriving at a conclusion.

Quote:
running the tyre on very high pressure? check that out. You stand to lose more than 1-1.5L in just depreciation. The visibility and ergonomics difference is something you will get used to over a few weeks of driving.
P.S - did you test drive the vehicle before buying?
I've still not checked the tyre pressure but suspected the same thing earlier too.

Yes depreciation will be an issue but do you think it would be so high? I though ~ 15-20 k loss should do it!

I did TD the vehicle before deciding but the decision itself went through a very-very confusing phase & the end decision was more to do with diesel cars becoming expensive rumour.

If I retain the car, I might just change the rims & tyres to Alloys & fatter rubber. Any suggestions on these.

Another thing I would have to get is an ICE & suggestions are more than welcome because Im almost a novice on this. I'll a minimal budget for a single din HU, Oval speakers, Woofer in a box in the boot & an Amp. HU should have front Aux-in & Usb, also a radio.

What would be the ideal tyre up-size. Guess Im terribly OT here!
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Old 13th July 2012, 18:48   #1444
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

^^ @AWD

Considering the waiting period of the Swifts, you may get lucky with finding a good deal selling the car. Why don't you give it a try in the second hand car market?

That said, my two cents
1) As others have said, please drive for a few more kms.

2) Check the tyre pressure as advised by KarthikK. Ride quality for me was very bad . Checked the air pressure and it was 50 psi

3) The ride quality at least in the front is pretty good when you consider the previous gen Swift .

4) Not sure whether you have driven 1.3 MJDs earlier, the turbo lag also takes some time to get used and is annoying initially. Once you learn the knack of it, it is really fun.

5) Guess your model is VDI (considering you mention single din music system and seat hight being low). In that case,

a) For upsizing you could go with 185/70 R14 with Michelin XM1/Yoko A/C drives/ Bridgstone Turanza ER60. Or alternatively, go to 15 inch alloys with 185/65 R15 or 195/60 R15. Ride quality will be slightly lower in R15 due to lower profile of the tyres though. I have 195/60 Yoko a Drives on stock ZDi alloys and am pretty much happy with the ride quality.

b) Try to see with MASS if you can get the ZDI seat fitted on your car which comes with height adjustment.

Check the modification section of the forum. There are specific threads on Swift for both ICE and Tyre options.

Last edited by Sridhar K : 13th July 2012 at 18:56.
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Old 14th July 2012, 16:24   #1445
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sridhar K View Post
Check the tyre pressure as advised by KarthikK. Ride quality for me was very bad . Checked the air pressure and it was 50 psi
Spot on, got the air pressure checked today. Turned out 42psi! Front was corrected to 36 & rear to 33psi.

Quote:
turbo lag also takes some time to get used and is annoying initially
Yes encountering turbo lag, gear changes from 2nd to 3rd are very frequent. Car doesnt pull cleanly in 3rd from slow speeds, fair bit of knocking.

Quote:
15 inch alloys with 185/65 R15 or 195/60 R15
I'll prefer the tyre size that comes standard in Zdi, guess its 185/65/15.

Quote:
ZDI seat fitted on your car which comes with height adjustment
How cools that, will ask for this next time I visit the agency.



Btw was at the dealership today for those blue colored marks removal, etc. Were easily removed with clot & polish. While at the dealership, an issue cropped up, the blower started to make noise. Electrician was called & he diagnosed the culprit to be something being sucked into the blower which was making noise.

He opened the blower & a birds feather was lying inside. That removed, noise corrected. How this thing got inside is a weird story, never happened in any of my cars through a driving cylce of a combined ~4Lakh Kms. He said that stuff gets sucked in from the top of the bonnet, just around the place where wipers rest. This raised some serious issues in my mind about the quality of work Maruti has carried out in the Swift.
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Old 14th July 2012, 20:50   #1446
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

Posting on behalf of a friend of mine who also bought a Swift diesel. The car is ~ 10 days old but has scratch marks on the dashboard. This was there during delivery itself, which somehow they missed to make out, maybe due to overt polishing techniques by the dealer or some other reasons.

Now what all options do they have, can the scratch marks be removed from the dashboard? These marks are on the top of the dashboard over the instrument cluster part. Other option would be asking the dealer to change the dash to a new one. Would the dealer agree for the 2nd option & how viable/easy is it?
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Old 14th July 2012, 22:05   #1447
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Spot on, got the air pressure checked today. Turned out 42psi! Front was corrected to 36 & rear to 33psi.
Not sure about the VDI, but for ZDI the pressure is still on the higher side (should be 33 and 30) . Can you please check the manual for the right pressure.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AWD View Post
Yes encountering turbo lag, gear changes from 2nd to 3rd are very frequent. Car doesnt pull cleanly in 3rd from slow speeds, fair bit of knocking.
Another thing is that one should never stick to gear ratios mentioned in the manual. Still the knocking has reduced a great deal for me after 1k or so kms. You may get some better drive ability by keeping the rpm in the 1500+ band (up shifting at 2200 and down shifting at 1500 rpms)

Quote:
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I'll prefer the tyre size that comes standard in Zdi, guess its 185/65/15.
It is 185/65 R15. I upsized to 195/60 R15 because there are not much options in this band. Only Michelin XM2 whose side walls are a bit soft for my needs. Neither Yoko A/C nor MRF ZLO or Bridestone Turanza ER60 or Apollo Accelere are available in 185/65 R15.
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Old 15th July 2012, 10:37   #1448
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Sridhar K View Post
Not sure about the VDI
Mine is Vdi. On the door sill, its quoted as 33-36 I guess. For 15" pressure are different.

Quote:
You may get some better drive ability by keeping the rpm in the 1500+ band
Still figuring out the sweet spots. Power band in 2nd gear is narrow & 3rd knocks readily.

Quote:
It is 185/65 R15. I upsized to 195/60 R15 because there are not much options in this band. Only Michelin XM2 whose side walls are a bit soft for my needs
I'll stick to O.E. size, 195/60/15 might affect FE. Also figuring the right air pressures in non O.E. sizes is tough. Yes options in 185/65/15 are limited but I'll do good with soft side walls beause comfort is a priority.


Any solution for the dash problem & how to avoid the unsavory blower issues?
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Old 15th July 2012, 10:54   #1449
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Any solution for the dash problem & how to avoid the unsavory blower issues?
As the dash are plastics there is no proper technique that will help you get rid of these scratches. You have dashboard liquid polishers which will just conceal the marks but eventually when the shine wares out the scratches will start of show up.

If you get the dashboard replaced, chances are that your car might develop rattles after the install! I prefer not to touch the dash, unless or until it is a HU Install.

Apart from the dash, the door pads are of extremely poor quality. Mine has started to fade in and it has been just 8 months since I had bought my car.

Can you post the pics of the dashboard scratches? will help to better assess the damage.
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Old 15th July 2012, 12:40   #1450
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

i have upgraded to 195/60/15s on my swift zdi. what would be the ideal pressure to be maintained for the best mileage and comfort combination.

most running in city in bumper to bumper traffic with 2 people.
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Old 15th July 2012, 13:06   #1451
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by funkyp View Post
i have upgraded to 195/60/15s on my swift zdi. what would be the ideal pressure to be maintained for the best mileage and comfort combination.

most running in city in bumper to bumper traffic with 2 people.
Could you share the make and price please.
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Old 15th July 2012, 13:06   #1452
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My blazing swift has got its first damage. The ORVM adjustment knob has been knocked off by a stupid valet parking driver. 
Anyone has any idea as to how much would that cost at maruti service centres? And any precautions that can be done for future similar incidents?
Please help BHPIans.
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Old 15th July 2012, 13:30   #1453
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Could you share the make and price please.
Hi,

I had upgraded straight out of the showroom. i paid a net of 7k for 5 tyres.

5000 per tyre for new yokos a drive and 3600 buyback for the stock mrfs. Also got a swiss knife as a running offer from Yokos.
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Old 15th July 2012, 16:31   #1454
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Quote:
Originally Posted by funkyp
i have upgraded to 195/60/15s on my swift zdi. what would be the ideal pressure to be maintained for the best mileage and comfort combination.

most running in city in bumper to bumper traffic with 2 people.
I'm running on the same tyre specs and have been maintaining 31F 29R. Either this or you can go with 30 in all 4 tyres.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rahulk2510
My blazing swift has got its first damage. The ORVM adjustment knob has been knocked off by a stupid valet parking driver. 
Anyone has any idea as to how much would that cost at maruti service centres? And any precautions that can be done for future similar incidents?
Please help BHPIans.
Avoid giving the car to valet drivers. I don't think the knob will cost a great deal. Availability might be an issue though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by funkyp

Hi,

I had upgraded straight out of the showroom. i paid a net of 7k for 5 tyres.

5000 per tyre for new yokos a drive and 3600 buyback for the stock mrfs. Also got a swiss knife as a running offer from Yokos.
That's a sweet deal. I did the upgrade just like you way back in Jan but paid 9K. And there was no Swiss knife offer either.
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Old 15th July 2012, 16:31   #1455
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re: Maruti Swift : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by MutantX View Post
no proper technique that will help you get rid of these scratches. You have dashboard liquid polishers which will just conceal the marks but eventually when the shine wares out the scratches will start of show up
Spot on, polished a no. of times & after a while the scratches re-appear. A service advisor at the dealership advised my friend to go in for dashboard paint. He said its a special thing for dashboards. I stopped my friend from getting any such thing done. I've never heard of any such paint previously.

Quote:
If you get the dashboard replaced, chances are that your car might develop rattles after the install! I prefer not to touch the dash, unless or until it is a HU Install.
Ok. For an HU install, is the whole dash opened up or just the faceplate?

Quote:
the door pads are of extremely poor quality. Mine has started to fade in and it has been just 8 months since I had bought my car
Could'nt have agreed more, the interiors of Swift are of poor quality. Light materials are used & shiny plastics on top. I've come to the conclusion that Swift is not a great car but just selling due to Marutis sales/waiting gimmicks & Indian herd mentality. Many other cars I test drove in the segment are of better quality. Also with Maruti, its now all about quantity & quality has suffered drastically. There is absolutely nothing in the Swift that makes it superior to the competition. These are the words of a Swift owner.

Maruti dealers are a whole new chapter, customers are not treated well & dealings are poor. An appeal to all those who have booked a Maruti or waiting to get one, please check out the competition once again, there are better choices.
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