[vaisakhr]

Hi guys,

First of all I would like to say am so happy to share my happiness with you guys. This is my first review, please bear with me and I really appreciate your comments regarding the same.


The Story Behind :
The planning for a new car was started way back in 2009. It was partly due to our current car Indica turbo (2006 Nov). Am not saying its a bad car, but we had some trouble with it. And we were looking for a much simpler to drive better fuel efficient and better quality product. Due to the unstable financial state the plan was postponed.

From 2009 our car search was started. Since we had a consistent 60km/day of drive, diesel was preferred. TD'd all the hatchbacks with a diesel engine. My views about some of the cars I like were as below (strictly my point of view, it may be different to others)

Punto : I loved the ride so much. The car was so planted in the curves. Brilliant suspension and superb steering. Dealbreaker : The steering was a bit high for my liking even in its lower position. And the ridiculously long clutch travel, which I didn't like at all even I had td'd it about 5-6 times. I knew it'll never grow on me. But I loved the car very much.

Polo : Nice quality product I must say. Feels so nice inside the cabin. Loved the steering feel, loved the beautiful gear lever/change, brilliant suspension and handling. Dealbreaker : Even the three pot revs like a petrol engine, still didn't like the feel of it. And the price was a bit high for us. (But we would have gone for the Polo if the swift was delayed too much, we in fact asked about arranging a white polo since we had an uncertainty from the Maruti dealer.)

Figo : It was a nice car but didn't gave the feel which the other two cars gave.

Finally the Swift : (Back in 2011)It wasn't in our list since it had a very little space in the back. Then they announced the new swift and it was very pleasing package. Same brilliant engine with little more extra space and with lots of goodies. Booked the car after one month of announcing. Dealers didn't had a TD car at that time. After some weeks the TD car arrived and took it for a spin and I loved it.

Delivery Experience :
So we decided the Swift it is. Since we were looking for an ABS equipped car opting for zdi was not a big problem. I was doing pre-sea training in Cochin Shipyard at that time, and we thought the car will be available after my training is over and I would get some time to spend with it before I go to the sea. Sadly the strike hit their factory and the car was very delayed. Since I won't be home for 8-9 months we told the dealer to postpone the delivery. I started my sailing on April.

After 7 months of sea life with mighty ship machineries, came back home. On the next day itself visited the dealership and informed we would like to have the car by January 2013. They agreed and they did too. Congo to Popular Maruti.
We had little problem with the loan. As it is a long and boring story I won't be writing it. I would like to say one thing though, SBI was able give us the loan in one single day, which the stupid State Bank of Tranvancore (SBT) people failed to. Congo to SBI too.

Got the call from the SA on 31st Dec on arrival of the car. I was so happy to hear it!! As the SBT people gave us a shock at the final moment and we need to take the delivery on 3rd of Jan (due to some religious reasons) we approached SBI and the loan sanctioned on 2nd. Had a quick pdi myself complied with tbhp pdi check list. Odo was reading 14km. Checked the VIN it was Dec 2012 make. Was happy with the car and gave the dealer a thumbs up. Luckily with out any problem the car got delivered on time. Temp registration was done on that evening only.

Here are some pics of the on the delivery day






Driving Experience :
Its a nice car no question about that. Immediately noticed the feather lite steering wheel (compared to my Indica i must say). The suspension soaks up the bump nicely ( not nice as the Punto though, but still better than the old swift). Soft pedals. Notchy gear shift. The day night mirror is a boon during night time. First time am having it and its great. But for a day I was little disappointed by the steering. I was used to the full hyd. ones in the Indica and I felt the feed back from the EPS was not good. For till 80-90 deg turn of the steering (from the straight direction) it felt so dead. Which I didn't remember feeling in the TD car.

Next night I got a chance to feel some free twisted road, and boy oh! boy!! it blew me away! What a car man? It was so fun to drive in the corners. Now I know the fizzing sensation that James May was talking about. It made me laughing all the way . I forgot about the ridiculous boot space, I forgot about the flimsy parcel tray. All I've been thinking was when the running-in will be over, WHEN I CAN SEE SOME REAL MUSCLES OF THE CAR!!!

Build & Quality :
Car feels really tough. You give it bumpy roads or fast corners, the chassis handles it beautifully. Its not wobbly like my Indica, and that is a big blessing for me. The car feels very happy and so planted through the curves. It makes you feel confident. I like build quality of the doors ( not comparable to the tank inspired doors of punto though). As many have pointed out before the power window switches feels too flimsy. And the high beam know is too hard to operate, haven't heard any one in the forum mentioning about that or it may be particular to mine. It really feels an imminent breakage. Steering wheel controls feels nice to operate. In short I feel the quality of product used every to be good. It doesn't disappoint me at all.

Seat and Comfort :
Now, here I must say Swift is very good for 2 people, because the front seats are really comfortable and one can easily find a better position in no time. The support is really good, it is not too soft or hard. I felt the drive seat lacking lumbar support. To be franc I didn't feel the height adjustment to be as good as I think. Its lift only the back portion, isn't? Coming to the rear seats. I will not say its catastrophically bad, but it is not at all suited for suited for a long drive. For this part I would take advice/suggestion from my mother. According to her she was able sleep comfortably within minutes in the Indica. But in the Swift she was having little problem with the position. But in my case its not a problem we don't do long trips often. Even if we do it may be with one or max two passenger. So they can change position from front to back at intervals and problem solved.

Boot space :
As every body know the biggest disadvantage of the swift is the boot space. I knew it was bad. It would have been better if they had provided a split seat. But they made it worse. With the seats up the boot feels really small and it will become even worse when my sub goes in (the sub will go inside, I did check that in the TD car itself). The tailgate is missing the precious remote opening. Me too have a problem with the closing of the tailgate. It requires a push, will get it corrected in the first service.

Brakes :
Haven't tried a hard breaking purposefully or haven't had situation till now to do it. Since the manual says no hard breaking till 300 some km, I didn't try. The pedal feels so light and the its not like an on/off break. You can really control the force and adjust the stopping distance. I feel you can do either an eye popping stop or a chauffer kind of stop, its good when you have elderly people with you who don't like spirited driving.

Transmission :
Gear shift is the second best in class. It is nearly closer to Polo's shift which I consider the benchmark in the class. Swift's shifts are short and meaty. You feel like operating a switch breaker to engage the gear. The knob is nice to hold and the throws are accurate.
Light clutch is pleasure to use in the city. Every shift feels so smooth. But the 2st and 2nd gear feels short.



Night is the time the beast comes alive


Now used to the EPS. The car is fun to drive in the City as well as highway. The car has done 240km in 3 days, just the casual runs. Planning for a long drive soon. Avg consumption went up from 8.8 to 15.1kmpl. Didn't check it manually though.

Time for some photos and some quick facts about the car.

I like the front of the current version rather than the previous one.


Great driver seating position is an example of a driver's car


Neat and clean Instrument cluster. Brightness adjustment method could have been better, but who uses it all the time?


'Brother from an another mother'


Ferrari Suzuki



Pros and Cons?

+ve's : Well there is a lot to say and most of them are discussed many times in many threads. But I have an advice for the people who are in dilemma in between performance and space, once you floored the pedal I am damn sure you will forget about the space. At that time you will say laughing 'who cares about space, I want more of this!!!'

-ve's : They could have given a similar setup as in cars like Indica for the back seat, the 60-40 split. 1st gear is very short. The light dimmer switch is too hard and not upto the mark in terms of quality. The tire noise is too high. Low beam is crap. No auto closing of the driver side windscreen. And perhaps, the ride is a bit stiff but the suspension absorbs most of it and makes you feel like solid rubber over potholes.

Accessories and Upgrades planned :

-ICE : It is by far the best OE setup I've ever heard. Decent for a casual listener. I had a bull audio sub and a kenwood amp in my Indica, I would like to install it along with a new HU and a set of components. Am planning to go for a monoblock for the sub and the old kenny for the compos. The shop guys said they can make the new HU work with the existing steering controls (But am seriously worried about the warranty too.) I am tight in budget now, so can anyone give some suggestion for a decent HU, a monoblock and the compos.

-Tires : OE ones are too noisy. Planning for an upgrade to 195 yokos. But the buyback rates are too bad in here. All the shops are quoting 2k for the OE MRFs. What to do? Is it a good thing to sell them for 2k?

-And some bling like philips led drl.
---------------------------------------------------------

Well that is the story till now. Will keep the thread updated with news.
Thank you for reading,
Wish you happy miles ahead,

-Vaisakh Remanan

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[powertrain]

Hello Vaisakh,
Let me be the first one to congratulate you!! A worthy addtition to your garage,I must say!!
One of my friends is choosing between the Swift & i20.Did you check out the i20,by any chance? You reasons for rejecting the i20, if any??
Regards,
Varun Nair

[vroom01]

Congratulations! There is one thing about owning a swift- You can never go wrong with it! The car looks amazing in white! Great decision going for the Zdi which is loaded with safety features. Please Post some more pictures and keep us updated about the FE. Get a Team-BHP sticker for the Suzuki too

[arup.misra]

Congrats on you ZDI. White looks good but wouldn't a nice electric blue enhanced the appearance?

For the low beams try Philips Extreme vision or Osram Night Breaker. Simple change of bulbs DIY job. Else you can go the long way and put in an HID with relays.

Good luck and drive safe.

[Schoudhury]

Congrats Vaisakhr on getting one of the best drivers car in india.
I recently drove a friends swift and found the horn pad was not that easily accessible , do you also feel the same .
But yes, the seating was perfect .
Regarding the tyre, i will suggest if you wish to change them, do it ASAP, don't wait for it cross more KMs, you will get peanuts if you drive more km on those tyres. This car needs better rubber .

Cheers
Drive safe .

[shk 8896]

Congrats Vishakhr on the Swift.Simply stunning in white.Loved the first pic.I love the new Swift's interior the best'especially the meter console.About tyres -I would recommend to change the tyres now. Get michelins or yokos.
Cheers,
Drive safe and wear seatbelts;
Sreehari

[sandeepmohan]

It is not for nothing this car sell like hots cakes. It is just brilliant. No small hatch nails it better than this as an overall package. Every other hatch has some niggle or the other. If its not the car that has problems, then its living with it that does pose a problem. The Suzuki Swift has no such issue.

My only complaint about the new Swift are the interiors. Its more modern for sure but feels really low rent. Many feel this car has a better interior, I felt the old one to be better screwed together than the new one.

Anyways; your new Swift is going to feel like its from another planet when compared to your TATA. Excellent choice for your new car.

[VishnuNarayanan]

Hello Vaisakh,
Congrats on your Swift ZDi !
Its indeed a great car that would make you smile throughout your ownership.
Nice pics. Glad to see another fellow BHPian from Kerala !
Keep the thread updated.
Wishing you Safe and Happy miles

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations, you chose the right car.

But, its not the car that made me stop by and comment on this thread, its your photography of the car. Just loved the start, the Suzuki logo with water flowing through, the night time photography. Makes me wonder, you could made wonders in this profession too .

Drive safe, and wishing the car serves you well for long long time.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by vaisakhr

....First of all I would like to say am so happy to share my happiness with you guys....

Congrats on the new car. Looks Brilliant

If I may suggest, kindly avoid those perfumes that clip on to your air vent. Have had a very bad experience with Ambipur.



Here's a detailed thread on that. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post2578208

[vaisakhr]

Thank you guys for the comments and suggestions. This is my first team-bhp review. More comments are awaited.

Originally Posted by powertrain

Hello Vaisakh,
Let me be the first one to congratulate you!! A worthy addtition to your garage,I must say!!
One of my friends is choosing between the Swift & i20.Did you check out the i20,by any chance? You reasons for rejecting the i20, if any??
Regards,
Varun Nair

Thank you powertrain. Yes, I did TD i20. The are many advantages for i20 when you compared to the Swift. But if you are looking for a more driver oriented car I would strongly recommend Swift. i20 is very good for a city drive, but Swift is a more complete package IMHO(in terms of driving). Ask your friend to TD both of them. I would say cars like Swift, Punto; You buy them with your heart.

Originally Posted by vroom01

Congratulations! There is one thing about owning a swift- You can never go wrong with it! The car looks amazing in white! Great decision going for the Zdi which is loaded with safety features. Please Post some more pictures and keep us updated about the FE. Get a Team-BHP sticker for the Suzuki too

Thank you vroom, as you mentioned the ABS was the prime reason for me to jump from VDi. Stickers and more pics are a pending job. Will clear them asap.

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Congrats on you ZDI. White looks good but wouldn't a nice electric blue enhanced the appearance?

For the low beams try Philips Extreme vision or Osram Night Breaker. Simple change of bulbs DIY job. Else you can go the long way and put in an HID with relays.

Good luck and drive safe.

Thank you arup.misra, Color was not my decision at all. I too like the blue very much. But had restrictions from parents.

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Congrats Vaisakhr on getting one of the best drivers car in india.
I recently drove a friends swift and found the horn pad was not that easily accessible , do you also feel the same .
But yes, the seating was perfect .
Regarding the tyre, i will suggest if you wish to change them, do it ASAP, don't wait for it cross more KMs, you will get peanuts if you drive more km on those tyres. This car needs better rubber .

Cheers
Drive safe .

Thank you Schoudhury, I do feel the horn pad to be a little difficult to operate. It is not a problem in the city. But on the highways since it requires some force it is bit unsafe to use that much force at cruising speed.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

Congrats Vishakhr on the Swift.Simply stunning in white.Loved the first pic.I love the new Swift's interior the best'especially the meter console.About tyres -I would recommend to change the tyres now. Get michelins or yokos.
Cheers,
Drive safe and wear seatbelts;
Sreehari

Thank you shk 8896, glad you like the pic. I am thinking of shifting to yokos. Cash is the problem, ICE and some necessary accessories are due.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

It is not for nothing this car sell like hots cakes. It is just brilliant. No small hatch nails it better than this as an overall package. Every other hatch has some niggle or the other. If its not the car that has problems, then its living with it that does pose a problem. The Suzuki Swift has no such issue.

My only complaint about the new Swift are the interiors. Its more modern for sure but feels really low rent. Many feel this car has a better interior, I felt the old one to be better screwed together than the new one.

Anyways; your new Swift is going to feel like its from another planet when compared to your TATA. Excellent choice for your new car.

Thank you sandeepmohan. I completely agree with you. It is a complete package. It definitely will feel alienish compared to Indica.

Originally Posted by VishnuNarayanan

Hello Vaisakh,
Congrats on your Swift ZDi !
Its indeed a great car that would make you smile throughout your ownership.
Nice pics. Glad to see another fellow BHPian from Kerala !
Keep the thread updated.
Wishing you Safe and Happy miles

Thank you very much VishnuNarayanan, We do conduct some meet occasionally. Please inform if you are coming to cochin. We can arrange a meet. Will keep the thread updated.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Congratulations, you chose the right car.

But, its not the car that made me stop by and comment on this thread, its your photography of the car. Just loved the start, the Suzuki logo with water flowing through, the night time photography. Makes me wonder, you could made wonders in this profession too .

Drive safe, and wishing the car serves you well for long long time.

Thank you very much mayankjha1806 for the comments. Glad you like the pics. Will try to upload more of its kind.

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

Congrats on the new car. Looks Brilliant

If I may suggest, kindly avoid those perfumes that clip on to your air vent. Have had a very bad experience with Ambipur.

Attachment 1035924

Here's a detailed thread on that. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...ml#post2578208

Thank you Warwithwheels. Yes, am going right now to remove it. Thanks for the link too


Small Update :
Car has covered 570km in 6 day. Avg consumption is in the range of 16kmpl. Till now no issues at all. Planning for ICE upgrade on this weekend. Worried about the warranty though. Will definitely post the pics if it happens.

Best Regards,

[bigron]

Congratulations ! I have the swift and cant stress enough how practical this car is for our country. Small , nimble , peppy , efficient and cheap to run. Its the quintessential city car. Drive safe.

[naveen.raju]

Finally! The report is up. Congrats Vishakh. Welcome to the family. Now it's the time to have a meet and have a look at your car.
I'm sure you will enjoy every bit of your experience with the car. 570km in 6 days? I see that I'm right with my statement. Enjoying it to the core right?

Kindly keep the thread updated. I'm sure it will be helpful for all of us.

[MetalBuff]

Hello Vaisakhr,

The beauty looks superb in white. Also, I am totally on Arup's side on the fact that, this would look much more appealing in Blue. Obviously, parents' sentiments come first and so, this comes a close second with regards to color choice . Well done buddy !!

Seems like you have already started enjoying her to the T. Some really fun times for both of you'll post run in, huh?

Any certain reason why you opting for Yokos instead of Michelins? Is your decision in favor of Yokos primarily because of Mich's soft side walls and non-existent road in the part where you reside? Would really want to know.

Additionally, I see that the mud flaps haven't been installed. Kind of makes the rear profile incomplete. Why not add door guard strips as well? They not only look good but, also prevent the doors from getting scratched when getting in-out of the vehicle in tight parking spots.

Looking forward to the rubber + ICE upgrade pics which will ensure shortly.

Again, superb choice of the car. There's no other one which can so conveniently check all rights.