[beast_within]

The Flashback

It all started in 2005 back in my engineering days when I first saw this piece of marvel and had a dream of owning it someday; finally it was only in 2011 when I was in some position to afford it. Although I was not a fan of Diesel engines, however when I first drove my uncles VDI back in 2007 I fell for this DDiS motor and my love for this has only grown with time reading TBHP stories.

The arrival of all new, more Swift...
So irrespective of the Kms/month I would use this car it was must for my Swift to have a DDiSed motor under the hood.
Buying this car (or any car for that matter) was a thing of passion for me rather than a necessity. However when I had to spend 7.5 Lac+ on a car it must have following perquisite:

1. Basic Safety features
2. Fun to drive
3. Fuel efficient
4. Good AS*
5. Low maintenance and reliable

The alternatives which fit the above criteria in order of preference were:

1. Swift ZDI (Glistering Grey)
2. Swift ZDI (Blazing Red)
3. Swift ZDI (Silky Silver)
4. Swift ZDI (Arctic White)
5. Swift ZDI (Torque Blue)
6. Swift ZDI (Midnight Black)

The car was booked in 2nd week of September 2011 after my patience gave away waiting for Team-Bhp’s official reviews. Paid 10k as the booking amount to Ms. Sky Automobiles Raipur. The estimated waiting period officially quoted was 6 months; still I kept asking the SE every 15-20 days on the status. Towards the end of December 2011, I was threatened by the dealer on the much speculated price hike and they were offering me White VDI within a week. On me asking if they have a ZDI (any color) available, was informed that they can convert VDI into ZDI by adding alloys and OEM ICE.
Finally on 22nd Jan 2012 I was informed that my car has been dispatched and would be delivered within 7 days.
By this time the speculations in the price hike were already a reality and combined with ZERO discounts the On road price including 3rd year extended warranty came around 7.66 Lac.


The car had decent equipment level but at this price point Maruti could have given:

1. Better OEM tyres
2. Bluetooth enabled ICE
3. Better split folding rear seats
4. Electric folding OVRMS and good quality adjusting switch
5. Overall interior packaging could have been better icluding boot space.

A lot has already been discussed on the Handling, Ride quality, Build quality, NVH etc on various threads. My experiences are also on the similar lines so won’t repeat the story again.
The DDiS is truly fun to drive around.The surge in power after 1800 RPMS is additive and the Turbo’s kick can be felt around 2100 ish RPMS. I have been primarily using petrol cars so the turbo lag is too annoying for me at the moment. I guess I will get used to it. On the positive side I don’t feel the lack of power when the ACC is ON and cannot make out when the compressor kicks in; I had read somewhere in TBHP that in Maruti Diesels the Aircon compressor is always ON.

ACC works well, maintains the desired temperature well. Have to wait for peak summers to test the performance of ACC.

1500 kms have been clocked till date with 1st free inspection done at 1100 kms by MSM Nariana, New Delhi. Oil was NOT changed during this inspection.MSM Nariana's staff was professional enough to explain things , looked organised, delivered on time.

On a 350 kms highway run the car returned FE of 23+ kmpl while the overall FE as per MID is 18.7 kmpl.



Build quality and fit & finish is below average in certain areas like Power Window switches, OVRM adjust switch and Bumpers. Maruti 800 has better bumpers.The MGA Bumper scratch guards serves no purpose. Have seen the MGA for New Dzire they are excellent. Significant amount of traffic noise gets inside the cabin which in a way may be good or bad.


The front seats have excellent position and offers good support. Seat covers are MGA worth Rs. 4900 INR


Rear Seats are below average on under-thigh support. Could have given split seats. Leg room has not improved significantly over previous generation Swift.


Rear legroom (or the lack of it) with front seats adjusted for 5.5ft tall driver

Boot space has nothing to write about. It's about just adequate for my needs but may be deal breaker for many families.


The storage spot does not serves much purpose.A coin receptacle could have been provided here.


Flaunt you Aviators here.


Space below Parking brake lever could have been better utilized.


Can hold 1 Litre bottle and other small things. Note the fragile OVRM adjusting knob.


Rear door can hold 500ml bottle.


ICE is excellent for an OEM.Easy to use and navigate. The Font size is too large, so not much info is displayed on such a large screen.The areas marked above the knobs are not illuminated. New co-passangers will frequently use left know to change volume which will result in navigating to a different folder/song. The knobs are too soft and sensitive to turns, new users will frequently overshoot the required folder/ song.



Stalks have strong build but lacks premium finish and feel.


Height adjustable steering wheel feels good to hold, has excellent feedback. Horn Pad too hard to press; one has to reach the centre of it to honk.


Noisy Stock MRFs just does the job.

For your eyes only

[suhaas307]

Note From Team-BHP Support-Team: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports section. Thank you for your valuable contribution!

[theMAG]

Congrats on owning probably India's most frenzied car. General suggestions:

1. No premium diesel. The normal and pure version is best.
2. Get rid of those gumboots - a good candidate for swapping with Z-LOs perhaps!
3. Thats a safe color you have got. Nice tints should go well with this color.

Happy driving.

[deepfusion]

Congrats, mate, on your zwift. The colour looks good on the swift.

May you enjoy many many happy miles with your zwift.

[ghostrider]

Congratulations, that's a very classy colour.
You need to get her tinted soon.

What's you initial impression of the brakes? Most new Swift owners feel the brakes on the car are inadequate.

Any plans for alloys and tyre upgrades?

[mayankjha1806]

Wow, some one on Team BHP from Raipur, is that Choubey coloney road. I am frequenter to Raipur. This December we were there in my Civic, drove all the way from Bangalore to Raipur. Next time i am there i will ping you. Congratulations on a wonderful looking hatch, surely owning a Maruti is going to be painless and enjoyable experience.

[beast_within]

Originally Posted by deepfusion

Congrats, mate, on your zwift. The colour looks good on the swift.

May you enjoy many many happy miles with your zwift.

Thanks mate

Originally Posted by ghostrider

Congratulations, that's a very classy colour.
You need to get her tinted soon.

What's you initial impression of the brakes? Most new Swift owners feel the brakes on the car are inadequate.

Any plans for alloys and tyre upgrades?

From my past experiences (or the lack of it), I don't feel very comfortable driving in the night with tinted windows rolled up especially during rains and vehicles overtaking from all sides. Anysuggestions on good quality (read VFM) tints are more than welcome.

Brakes feel adequate and respond fairly well. Never came across any panic braking situation (touch wood), so cannot comment on effectiveness and calibration of ABS. BTW can any body tell me what is p-valve ABS (equipped in ZDI) and how its different from any other kind of ABS System.

The stock alloys looks good to me so no plans to change them. I shall live with these stock tyres for some time, as I have already streched my budget a lot to get the overpriced ZDI variant. I'm suffering with deficiency of Vitamin M.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Wow, some one on Team BHP from Raipur, is that Choubey coloney road. I am frequenter to Raipur. This December we were there in my Civic, drove all the way from Bangalore to Raipur. Next time i am there i will ping you. Congratulations on a wonderful looking hatch, surely owning a Maruti is going to be painless and enjoyable experience.

Nops, this is Shankar Nagar area. Actually my home town is Raipur and I bought the car from there since I had initially booked it from Sky Auto. Now I work in Delhi and have transfered my car here. Shall catch-up if you happen to visit Delhi.
BTW where do you usually put-up in Raipur.

[sameerg001]

Congratulations, this color on swift really looks hot esp.on Z variant. Wish you happy miles and trouble free ownership experience with her.

As everyone above said get some cool tints for her, will make her look more HOT . Get her shoes changed, these ZVTV just don't do justice with uber dynamic swift.

Drive safe.

Cheers
Sameer

[promit]

hey beast_within congratulations on your new car. great colour too.
i am also all praise for maruti swifts.i learnt how to drive in a friends swift zxi and ive sat in a couple of new vdi's. the diesel definitely feels extremely punchy even from a passengers point of view. theres just that something about swifts. that feel good grin on your face factor. hope to own one someday real soon if my dad agrees

Originally Posted by beast_within

I was threatened by the dealer on the much speculated price hike and they were offering me White VDI within a week. On me asking if they have a ZDI (any color) available, was informed that they can convert VDI into ZDI by adding alloys and OEM ICE.

I'm dying to know more about converting a Vdi to a Zdi. The dealer was taking you on a ride wasnt he. He'd have to more than just adding alloys and an oem ice. what about the airbags,abs,acc and the rear wiper to name a few.

[swiftnfurious]

Compact car & review! Good that you chose to focus on certain points that were NOT discussed in detail, made a good read! I didn't like the steering grip finish, rest looks OK.

Keep updating the thread - wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[volkman10]

Congrats owning the ' national car'. So many ownership reports here,of this coveted car.

May you enjoy many happy miles with your Swift.

Cheers!

[devil_klm]

Congrats. You were lucky to get the car before price hikes and with minimal waiting period. Enjoy the best diesel hatch in India.
Don't keep that steering cover for long time. Its spoiling the beauty

[beast_within]

Originally Posted by promit

I'm dying to know more about converting a Vdi to a Zdi. The dealer was taking you on a ride wasnt he. He'd have to more than just adding alloys and an oem ice. what about the airbags,abs,acc and the rear wiper to name a few.

He wasn't exactly trying to take me for a ride but in small places like Raipur, customers have lot of money but are ignorant of important safety features like Airbags, ABS etc. Primiraly they focus on cosmetic looks of the top variants hence the dealer was assuming that I was keen on buying ZDI and was offering me to add these things.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by beast_within

Anysuggestions on good quality (read VFM) tints are more than welcome.

Try 3M/Llumar - that's the best within budget. As for the darkness, you could choose one that is light, which still can cut a fair amount on UV rays! If it were me, I simply will ignore Garware.

Originally Posted by beast_within

Brakes feel adequate and respond fairly well. Never came across any panic braking situation (touch wood),

Good - panic braking is better avoided during run-in; so is sudden acceleration!

[seedyk]

Congrats Beast Within.
Just love this colour on the swift.
Do get her a set of tints she deserves. Any plans to give her a new set of shoes ? The stock ones are pure crap !
Anyway, happy revving !