[iFuel]

And so a new journey starts yet again.

The first conversations in the new car:
Wife: OK, so the Odo meter reads 38
Me: Yes and I like that this was barely moved around and I'm a happy customer
Wife: So you are not taking this to the office to show off
Me: What makes you say that
Wife: Well that is what you have been thinking, right
Me: (caught off-guard) *sheepishly* hehe well maybe just once
Wife: I'm warning you, do not even dare to do it more than once, I have seen the Odo reading and it should not cross 100 till the next week-end
Me: OK, promise (wondering, why did I not hide the Odo, and then again I'd have to put a T-bhp sticker on it to do so)

And the story will go on, for that is what has been happening ever since I got my Accent back in 2004, which was a gift to her on her birthday(she was my girl back then). Of-course she didn't know how to drive, but look at the feelings, the feelings, eh! And I know what the rest would be thinking, smart guy, of-course he would be driving it and played it smart by saying it's a gift. So he gets the car and the girl as well, eh!

Cut back to today, well she knows how to drive now, or shall I say manages to take the car from her house to Lajpat Nagar and Select City Walk. For the geographically challenged few, those are shopping places in Delhi, where else do you expect a girl to take the car. And an occasional, drive around the streets of her house, trip.

Cut back to about 2 years ago. My love with her was fading away as she was showing signs of old age. 5 years is a long time to have been with her. Did she stay loyal to me, oh yes sir, she sure did. However, we humans are easily bored with the same thing over a period of time. I'm talking about the car gentlemen, sheesh, you guys really fly away with your thoughts.

So it was time to look for options, far and near. I have always been in love with the Skoda Octavia and the Honda Civic, so where would I have gone, but obvious. T-bhp and the fellow members here ensured I did not ever go to the Skoda, and I am thankful to every soul here for helping me make that choice. I was never planning on spending my honeymoon at the A.S.S. So out she went. Left me with making a run for the Honda Civic.

Back then I was reading T-Bhp a lot. And I had unknowingly wandered onto the thread by our esteemed GTO about purchasing a second hand car and how it was such a VFM. And then his thread on getting his pre-worshiped Civic, and that was it. I was hooked or rather I was 'vacuum pulled' into the mystifying world of all Civic owners across T-Bhp.

I scavenged through each and every page like a vulture, no I am not one, it's just a saying, eh! Sheesh, your imaginations are still flying. Coming to think of it, if I was one, hmm, I wonder how I would arrange my feathers in the driver's seat, oh there goes my imagination. Well back to topic. So I read and read till I could not read any more, and then some more. The love grew stronger with each and every passing day.

So yet again I started to have these dreams of a new(pre-worshiped) car, a Civic this time. And driving the wonderful thing and modifications, and ICE set-up, and so on and so forth. So I started to go through classifieds, vehicle adds, websites, and anything and everything that could tell me who was selling and what model and you all know the routine.

I visited many a second hand car dealers, with my wife, and sometimes all on my own. And boy did I visit, from East to North to West Delhi, you say what about South, well I live in South Delhi, so this goes without saying, eh! And many a times I came so close to sealing the deal, however something or the other did not work out. Sometimes it was the price, the other times it was the price, well no I did not condor myself, it was the buy back price for my Accent.

Well like they say, there are things, the powers to be up in the heavens, have in store for us. The petrol price hike sealed my Civic's fate. No, we could never afford it. Well there are things out of one's control. My office is a 60 Km drive, to and fro, 5 days a week. The petrol bills would have killed me. I could keep it at the home and drive it occasionally and get a smaller car for the average office run.

Well the powers to be, this time the one at the house, and boy is she strong(my wife), had a different thing in store. The conversation:
Me: OK how about we buy a 2nd hand Civic(she doesn't understand pre-worshiped thingy) and I get a small diesel car for the office.
Wife: Are you nuts, you already get office conveyance to drive you to work and back.
Me: Oh, I forgot about that (frankly, I do not take my office cabs, I love to drive, so I had been driving in my Accent all this while to work)
Wife: And then again, I will not pay the petrol bills (which she never did in the first place, well she has an imagination as well, who said only you guys had it)
Me: But you do not pay the bills, I do
Wife: Well it's one and the same thing. We have to visit our relatives every week end for something or the other. And then we have to visit your parents in Chandigarh, once in 3 months. And do not forget, we also have to visit their relatives almost thrice a year in Himachal. It will only be a diesel car and I say get a Swift.

I did not argue beyond that. I had to kill my love for that car, at-least for now, and go with what the 'higher command' tells me. Her family and all the relatives, who are again driven by her father's advise, are all Maruti fans. They have always had a Maruti in the house, an Esteem, Wagon R, Sx4. Me, I was different, for my dad was the adventurous sorts. His 'autozume' reads, Lumbreta, Enfield, Yezdi, Bajaj, Vespa, M800, Indica and of late, Honda City. And I started with an Accent.

So off I am again in the market, this time looking for a HOT Diesel hatch. And I tried everything, Punto, Polo, Figo, Beat, Swift, and hold your horses, the new Verna came and I tried that too. I actually had to drag my wife and kid, where did the kid come from did you ask. Guys I have been searching for the car for over 2 years doesn't mean that was the only thing I was doing, your imaginations are now powered with rocket boosters, eh! So we did go to Hyundai, looked at the Verna, I liked the looks. And yet again T-Bhp to the rescue and the review closed it for me, BOAT is what it was called. Ok, I maybe adventurous, however I am not the kind to buy a car and drive it in water, and no offense to the one's who have bought it. To each it's own, I left it at that, and verna was out of the picture.

Well, life is not easy, and competitions doesn't make it any easier. Along came the new Fiesta, I was again in doubt, till the pricing came out. I went straight to the Maruti showroom, booked my Swift Zdi, back in August and was told 4 months. Now we live in testing times, and every one wants his share of excitement and some want to do it to others. Maruti strike, and my hope of getting the baby in 4 months went down the rain drain. Though, one thing was for sure going to happen, I was, this time going to wait, even if the world ended. And wait I did.

And well every one, like I said earlier, loves excitement and to entertain people. Maruti, so far from my experience, did it even better. Raised the price with-in a time span of 2 months. Once it was a 10K hike and then it was a 17K hike. And here I was wondering, if the commitment that I made to myself, and I am not like Salman Khan, was going to change or what, eh!
Finally, last week, I had had enough. Went to the dealer, and told him, well I took my wife along, she is better at telling people what to do, so she told him "Either you give me a car right now, or I cancel my booking and the 4 other bookings my relatives have made with you". Well now that was a statement, I am sure would have dented some part of the dealership. For I knew she had gotten the dealer 3 other bookings, not counting the 2 that had already been delivered.

And well the dealer is a good family friend too. So when he said to my wife, he really could do nothing, I knew he really could not do anything. However the ladies do not like to hear this, so my experience says, and he was in for a shock. After a lot of conversations between the 2 of them, suddenly my eyes lit up, like the North Star. Here it is:
Wife: There has to be something you can do.
Dealer: I wish I could, you are a family friend, I can not lie to you. Maruti is barely making any Zdi as the demand and booking for Vdi is at the highest and that is all that is coming. If you want a Vdi, I can get you one right away.
Wife: Amit, do you want a Vdi.
Me:No way am I ever buying a Vdi. It is the top model, or no car at all.
Dealer. Sir, you have booked a dark metallic grey color and that is even more less in demand, so I can get you that car in Feb end or maybe March.
Wife: And then you will raise the prices again. I have already lost 50 K till now. You have to get me a car even if you cancel some one else's delivery, I do not care.
Me: Ok, let's not get angry or into a fight. Yeh to ghar ki baat hai [Translated: it's all about our family matter, as the dealer is a friend], I do not want to jump the queue, no favors, I will wait rather than see someone else's booking given to me.
Dealer: Sir, very well said. However I can do one thing, if you are willing to take the Blue color, I have one. It was booked for someone however they refused the delivery as they had a family emergency. If you can take that color I can get it to you right away.
Me: Oh really. Give it to me, I mean do it, finish the documents, I will take any color, as long as I get the car.

Well that was the end of it. I always liked the Torque Blue color and the Dark Metallic Grey. But because my Accent was a light blue color, I wanted a different color for the Swift. However, and where the situation boiled down to, I was always going to make that switch, as it was still a win win for me, after so many losses. So we did the formalities and the delivery date was fixed to Jan 22nd 2012, Sunday. And the rest is history.
Out came the T-Bhp PDI check list. I did a thorough inspection of everything mentioned in there. The VIN decoding was really helpful as well. It read at the end of it 'AC' which I guess stands for Jan 2012. Also would like to mention, and true to every thing said here, the tyre pressure check was done at the nearest diesel bunk. Front tyres were 55 and rear tyres were 45 each, respectively, wow. Got the front to 33 and the rear to 31 respectively.

P.S. Please always ensure that you carry the T-Bhp PDI and the VIN check list with you. It really is a treasure and invaluable.

I am thankful to all the people in this journey, and the almighty God and T-Bhp and all the members who have made this such a treasure trove of knowledge to help every one. I now am the owner of a Torque Blue Swift Zdi. I call it Blu-T, 'cause it is such a beauty in Torque Blue. I am in Love again.

Now the Details:

On Road Price (New Delhi): Rs 7,59,892/- (I am not too sure about the 892/- part of it, however it is around that figure)

Model: Swift Zdi

Color: Torque Blue

Delivery Experience: Great. The people were very courteous and helpful through-out. They made sure everything was done and processes without any hick-ups. The documentation was detailed and explained to me. The price and the components were detailed. Apart from the waiting time, which is at the end of Maruti, everything else was done well and neatly.
Discounts & Free Accessories: Well no discounts as Swift is the selling horse for Maruti. I got floor mats, mud guards, a car perfume, steering leather cover and an idol from them. Front mud guards were out of stock, so I have been informed that the moment they are available I will be called to have them installed.

Additional Accessories: I got the gear lock, bumper guards and side guards installed. I do plan to have the seat covers, sun screen for the windows and the tyres changed to Yokohama A-Drives. Additionally I would like to have a woofer and an amplifier installed. Later down the lines I will change the speakers, however even as of now the audio is pleasing to the ears, if not more.

Exterior Styling: To me it looks hot. I like the subtle lines, the wide body styling, the new tail lamps and the red in them really goes beautifully with the torque blue color. The roof antenna looks great as well. The indicators on the side mirrors are neat. The field/depth of view displayed by them is wide and clear. The alloys to me are beautiful as well and they fill the wheel wells very nicely. However as I had mentioned earlier, their design is symmetric, so on one side the spokes point outwards, while on the other side they point inward to the body, what was Maruti thinking.

Interior Design & Quality: Back in black, the interiors look beautiful. Got to keep them shining. The waterfall center console is a beauty as well. The audio is crisp and clear with a noticeable thump for the bass. You can store 6 radio stations. USB works flawlessly. And you even get a sleek remote for the unit, that to me was nice as I did not think I was getting one. It has all the controls you would need on a, well, remote.

The display can show track name, artist name, folder, etc, though only 2 lines of display is granted, which could have been made to display 3 lines considering the size of the system. However the white on black font looks great. It is well lit up in the night and everything is clear. The MID does what it is supposed to do. Displays distance to empty, average, Odo, Trip A, Trip B, temperature. The dials look great as well.

The seat fabric is of decent quality and the seats are just the right mix of firmness and softness. I wish they could have provided leather seats at the price they are selling this car for, and then again wishes are endless. The driver seat adjustment for length is good, I had no problems finding my comfortable spot.

My friend who is 6'2" was able to find his spot just fine, with room to spare for the rear passenger to be decently comfortable behind him, and I tested it myself. Though if you push the driver seat completely back then the rear passenger will have trouble as the knees get jammed with the back of the front seat. The driver seat also has height adjustment, although it is just an angle tilt adjustment, it kind of does the job decently.

The boot is deep however not wide, so it will be a task to fit your travel luggage in and also one to get it out. Finally I can tell my wife to pack light or we might not make the trip and back with our backs in one place. You can still fit a couple of decent sized bags and then some carry packs on top of them. The back seat can be folded albeit only in one piece. Any one who experimented with a chain saw to make it 40-60 may please drop me a pm with the DIY plan and snaps. The inside rear view mirror to me is flimsy, a bit too small and the plastic feels and looks cheap and the color they have given to it, light grey, does not gel well with the black interiors.

The various controls are at an arms length, the plastic quality is fine as far as I am concerned. The dash board is good as well with a textured design to it which kind of gives it a premium feel along-with the various silver accents thrown in for good measure. The wiper knobs and the headlight knobs and stocks feel like they will last a lifetime. The side view mirror adjustment knob is a different story, we will see as time progresses. The mirrors used on the doors though are a bit too thin to my liking, a little thicker would have done the trick and that also would help the NVH levels, though even now I did not feel too much road nice or even engine noise so to say, inside the cabin.

Engine performance: A bit too early to say, however that engine is a trusted work horse and admired by a lot, so I have read in T-bhp and have heard from a lot of people. The turbo kick though is a bit linear, starts off at 2K RPM. I liked it though as the surge is still there and you do feel hitting the back of your seat, especially when you hit it at 2K in 2nd gear. The gear shits are smooth and short and have a noticeable click feel to them. The clutch throw is short, smooth and soft as well. Easy to change gears, especially in bumper to bumper traffic. Turbo lag is there but to my taste it is not that noticeable.

I will be using this car for about 50-60 Km a day. I am at 90 Km as of the time I was writing this review. The Odo reading for average read 14.8 Km/L, which I think is a bit too early to tell, and then again I will only comment after my tried and trusted method of full tank to full tank calculations. The engine starts off with a noticeable diesel sound and then eases down to a silent whirr, which really does not get heard inside the cabin and even outside it is not at all loud.

Road manners: I think this car aces in this regards. It handles all the pot holes without a fuss, at slow speeds there is a bit of a bumpiness, however nothing too harsh. At higher speeds, it just glides over them without a sound. The grip levels are good, I did throw her on a couple of corners and it was compliant and stable and was asking for more, and then again I am not that daring with a new car. The noise inside at higher speeds is not that noticeable so the wheel well padding/damping and the other things are doing their job well. The car stays stable at higher speeds, no 'boaty' feeling to it and it kind of gives you that confidence that 'all iz well'.

Well I have kind of put all that came to my mind. If I have missed out on anything, which I am sure I have, please do let me know and I will be happy to furbish the details, provided I have them or know about them.

Disclaimer: I do not mean any harm to anyone, what so ever, if any part in this post offended your feelings, thought and point of view, just to name a few. It is purely a personal experience which I have shared here.

Here are some snaps from the delivery time. I promise to put up more snaps. Please do let me know anything that you would like me to click a pic for and I will be honored to do so.

[anandjha]

Interesting writing style and an incredible review. How is the back seat comfort?

[iFuel]

Originally Posted by anandjha

Interesting writing style and an incredible review. How is the back seat comfort?

Thanks a lot anandjha. The back seat is where I have spent the least time so far, however going by the time I have spent I can say the under thigh support is just decent, the firmness of the seat is good enough to see you comfortably through in a long trip.

The back rest does it's job well and is a bit on the upright side, you can easily fit 3 medium sized adults in there without much fuss. The space between my head (I am 5'8") and the roof was pretty decent, no issues of hitting your head on the roof if someone decided to fly off of a bump. And contrary to what I have heard so far, it does not feel claustrophobic at all.

[sachinj12]

You write very well! It was really funny!

Congrats on your new hot hatch. A hot color too! Drive safe and happy mile crunching

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations, and interesting writeup and nice color. Wifes have some way of dealing i must say, had first hand experiences.

Do share some internal pictures of the car as well, have read the weak brakes stories on the forum, how are the brakes of this one?

[Racer_X]

Welcome to the world of "Swift ZDi". I got mine delivered on 30th August 2011. Trust me it is an awesome ride. Thankfully there are no issues with the brakes as the VDi's. Do post some interior pics and driving experiences. Your writing style is quite unique and your better half is an awesome negotiator (we are in the same boat my friend)!
Drive Safe!!

[volkman10]

Nice write up and congrats on the coveted Swift "ZDI".
Wishing you Happy ownership and Drive Safe!

Cheers!

[eastwind]

A very good write up and humourous as well. Can you please let us know your take on the Figo and the Polo when you test drove them? I am planning a new car for my dad and would love some thoughts on the above.

Thanks for sharing your story and wish you many miles of happy motoring. Drive safe!

[F150]

Congratulations on purchasing a Zdi. I love this color, too bad maruti stopped this color on the midddle due to too many booking on the old gen swift.

Awesome narration. Loved the the conversation between you and your wife

Go for the embossed number plates, they add to the looks

Wishing you many happy miles.

[himavanth_m]

Congrats on the purchase of the ZDi. Nice write up.

Until I saw your pics, I did not know that the new swift Zdi came with a rear wiper.

[M124]

congratz. good choice of colour. . your narration is very good.

[johninflamez]

Hey iFuel, a wonderful choice of color and an equally awesome car.

I have booked a ZXi on Sep 5th 2011 as well. The dealer (Pratham Motors, Bangalore) are saying that the delivery might happen during the second week of Feb. The delivery due date has already been pushed back twice. Just waiting to get my hands on this car.

Congrats on your amazing purchase and wish you many happy miles ahead mate.

P.S - Your narration was really absorbing.

Cheers,
John

[devil_klm]

Congrats iFuel. That was a great write up. You are lucky to get the car before next price hike. I am in dilemma on cancellation of my booking. But again all the ownership reports says me to wait

[shashank.nk]

Congrats iFuel on the ZDI! Lucky to get a delivery before any other price hike. The ZDI is a fantastic car, wish you many safe miles in your car

I also have a booking on the ZDI, but my car is expected only in May. Like all others who have a booking, i'm also in a dilemma about whether to hold onto my booking or look at other options.

[iFuel]

Originally Posted by sachinj12

You write very well! It was really funny!

Congrats on your new hot hatch. A hot color too! Drive safe and happy mile crunching

Thanks a lot for the supportive words sachinj12. I will uphold the T-Bhp rule on driving safe.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Congratulations, and interesting writeup and nice color. Wifes have some way of dealing i must say, had first hand experiences.

Do share some internal pictures of the car as well, have read the weak brakes stories on the forum, how are the brakes of this one?

There we go, a passenger in the same boat, I'm glad you agree mayankjha1806, we sure can't afford to disagree. I will post the internal pictures shortly. The brakes on the Zdi version sure do what they are supposed to do. Tried to test it on an empty open stretch just to be sure and they really work well.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

Welcome to the world of "Swift ZDi". I got mine delivered on 30th August 2011. Trust me it is an awesome ride. Thankfully there are no issues with the brakes as the VDi's. Do post some interior pics and driving experiences. Your writing style is quite unique and your better half is an awesome negotiator (we are in the same boat my friend)!
Drive Safe!!

Racer_X we are going to get a few more people in this boat and I'm glad to find like minded fellow Bhpians like you, makes me smile wider. Thanks for the support and wish you many happy miles with your Swift.

You have been driving it for a long time now, do you know of any tips and tricks that I should keep in mind, it will be of immense help. I will post the interior pics very shortly. Oh! and my better half, I have to agree, she negotiated our marriage which was to happen in Dec and made it happen in June, and I still wonder how.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Nice write up and congrats on the coveted Swift "ZDI".
Wishing you Happy ownership and Drive Safe!

Cheers!

Many thanks for your well wishes volkman10 and thanks for the appreciative words about the write up, I will try to keep up with it.

Originally Posted by eastwind

A very good write up and humourous as well. Can you please let us know your take on the Figo and the Polo when you test drove them? I am planning a new car for my dad and would love some thoughts on the above.

Thanks for sharing your story and wish you many miles of happy motoring. Drive safe!

Thanks a lot for the well wishes eastwind and the accolades as well. I liked the Polo a lot, it has a very solid German feel to it and the design is very elegant and classy. The interiors are nice and the car drives beautifully too. The thing that put me off was the big hump in the center of the floor at the rear seats and the expensive spares. Other than that I really cannot fault that car as far as my test driving experience goes.

The Figo is a great work horse, will do what it is supposed to do and has a very VFM feel to it. Solid stance, good road manners. I did not agree to the laggy nature of the engine and to me it looked like I was in there for eons before it even started to show signs of moving. I am a little on the enthusiastic side so that to me was the deal breaker. The VFM bit still makes me think about it.

Originally Posted by F150

Congratulations on purchasing a Zdi. I love this color, too bad maruti stopped this color on the midddle due to too many booking on the old gen swift.

Awesome narration. Loved the the conversation between you and your wife

Go for the embossed number plates, they add to the looks

Wishing you many happy miles.

F150, 1st and foremost I like your handle a lot. I am glad you enjoyed the narration, I tried to keep it as natural and show the whole progression of thoughts and ideas, I am glad it went down well.

I did ask my dealer to get me the embossed high security number plates with the IND logo on them, however they told me they did not provide them. So I will have to go after market to get them, and I sure will, I absolutely agree to what you said and I am on that mission as soon as I get time from work.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Congrats on the purchase of the ZDi. Nice write up.

Until I saw your pics, I did not know that the new swift Zdi came with a rear wiper.

himavanth_m thanks a lot for your well wishes. I am glad that I clicked that pic of the rear wiper, frankly even I did not realize it was there till you pointed it out.

Originally Posted by M124

congratz. good choice of colour. . your narration is very good.

M124 many thanks for the 'like' on the color, even I feel it looks really hot and sporty. I am humbled that you liked my narration.

Originally Posted by johninflamez

Hey iFuel, a wonderful choice of color and an equally awesome car.

I have booked a ZXi on Sep 5th 2011 as well. The dealer (Pratham Motors, Bangalore) are saying that the delivery might happen during the second week of Feb. The delivery due date has already been pushed back twice. Just waiting to get my hands on this car.

Congrats on your amazing purchase and wish you many happy miles ahead mate.

P.S - Your narration was really absorbing.

Cheers,
John

johninflamez thanks a lot for liking the narration, I am glad I am able to bring something different to offer on the table. And congratulations on your booking sir, I wish you all the best and hope you get your car delivered on time. I saw 3 petrol swift's the day mine was getting delivered. 2 in Lxi and 1 in Zxi. All 3 were silver colored and they looked hot.

Please do share your thread when you get the car, I would love to hear your experience in the petrol version of this hot hatch.

Originally Posted by devil_klm

Congrats iFuel. That was a great write up. You are lucky to get the car before next price hike. I am in dilemma on cancellation of my booking. But again all the ownership reports says me to wait

devil_klm I was in the same boat as you, 2 price hikes and I had almost gone back on my commitment. However I assure you that this hatch rocks the socks off. It is an absolute thrill to drive. And the exterior styling paired with the beautiful black interior detailing this time around makes it even more appealing.

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Congrats iFuel on the ZDI! Lucky to get a delivery before any other price hike. The ZDI is a fantastic car, wish you many safe miles in your car

I also have a booking on the ZDI, but my car is expected only in May. Like all others who have a booking, i'm also in a dilemma about whether to hold onto my booking or look at other options.

shashank.nk I will pass on the thanks to my wife who, with her negotiation skills managed to procure this hot piece for us. Thanks for your well wishes and I wish the same for you. I hope there are no future hikes on this car, I am sure Maruti will not do that, they are already in an unknown territory with the last price hike, any more risks and they stand a chance of failure.