[Eddy]

The IBM office in Gurgaon does not have enough parking. Thank God !!

Scenario: Because of the situation above, IBMers generally park their cars at a place called Leisure Valley (behind Bikanerwala) and take an office shuttle to and fro to the IBM building. Today, when I returned to the parking lot, I sat in my car and was about to move when I saw it. A red colored Swift Dzire ZXI.

It was there for a shoot for TopSpeed (Sunday evening on STAR). The star news gentleman (forgot to ask the name) was kind enough to let me inside the car and check it out. I asked him about the diesel version and he pointed me towards a black colored one. That was the ZDI. He was also kind enough to let me take a short TD. Here are the initial impressions.

Looks: It looks good in flesh. Its not a beauty like the civic but its much better than its competitors - Logan and Indigo. I found it to be much better looking than the Accent and at par with the Ikon. I know that this is a a sensitive topic but I think that looks wise the rear part of the car is good. Surprisingly, what I found a little funny was the front. I think the front looks very good on the Swift hatch but a sedan, IMO, should be sleek. This may look like an obese sedan to people who are very particular.
If Civic is 10/10, then this is 6.5/10.

Interiors: Beige + Black instead of the dark gray and black in the 2007 Swifts. I think this may be the same as the new swifts. The wheelbase has not changed but the inclination of the rear seat has changed from the hatch version. Definitely more legspace at the back. So that is a definite thumbs up. The rear seat has a centre arm rest like the SX4. The seat covers are beige. Climate control and steering mounted ICE controls as expected.

Footwear: Crappy JK 185s/

Performance: I drove the ZDI and manged to cut a few corners and curves. Performed as good as the hatch version meaning that the boot has been integrated well. I think that the only issue might be that it might suffer when the boot is loaded since its a huge 470 lit. The turbo kick and the engine refinement remain its high points ala the hatchback.

Will add more to it later if I remember something that I have missed out.

To the Star News Guy: Thank you for this opportunity. He knows about Team-BHP and said that he often browses the forum but has not registered on it.

[hkanitkar]

wow - you are one lucky dude !!!
That dZire looks pretty ok to my eyes. somewhat Fiat Siena-ish shape when looking at it from sides.
With that high boot line, backing that car would be a problem for those with less judgement regd the car length.
Nice find !!
Are you sure the tyres were 185 ? If they really are, thank god MUL has woken up to giving out a better profile than the puny 165.

PS: a nicely designed skirts+ bumpers and a nice set of alloys should make it look a lot better !

[kb100]

Brilliant!!

Will understand the proportions only once I get to see it in person. Must say that the front and the rear looks like its come from two different cars!! What was the objective - to try and retain the same tail light assembly I wonder??

[spindoc]

@Eddy, CONGRATS on being the first one to TD the much-talked-about and oft-derided DZire! cheers:

Get ready to answer a flurry of questions from everyone here!

So, what's your prediction - is it gonna be a runaway hit? Any news about the pricing? Please share some more of your driving impressions with us.

[iTNerd]

Finally, some good snaps! Looks quite OK to me.. the long horizontal chrome at the rear is bit too much though.. would have been better with body color. Nice find!

[csentil]

Great !! Trust bhpians to come up with the goods. Nice little scoop.

What's the price range?

[rr_zen]

Whether the Dzire has been officially launched by Maruti or not, it has been launched already in T-BHP. Great scoop Eddy !!

[Jaggu]

wow!! do you have a complete side profile shot? or one which captures complete front with part side profile?

Anyway lucky ya, scoop test driver

[Dippy]

Great first impressions Eddy. The first BHPian to get his hands on the Dzire. It really doesnt look as bad as I thought really. A worthy replacement for the Esteem. The diesel model will surely sell in good numbers. It will definately have an aggressive pricing.

Now the only thing to look out for is the waiting period which I feel will be siilar to that of the Swift and the SX4.

[Steeroid]

Great job, Eddy and TBHP owes one to the STAR chap.

First impressions from an 8-year old at home - "they put a 7-series type boot!".

Overall it looks good. I guess they have ANOTHER winner here. Indigo/Logan may as well forget their customers if this is priced within their territory - this may have less space inside but I doubt if that will be an issue at this pricepoint. After all the Esteem kept selling good numbers till very recently despite very obvious disadvantages on the space and convenience front.

[ramie2400]

Great scoop eddy,congrats...

the car looks good to me,but somewhere in my heart it dosen't appeal ove the lovely swift hatch.

[mail4ajo]

Amazing...Another Tbhp first. Right from first spy pictures to the first testdrive, its all on tbhp. I guess all critics have been silenced now. No PS images here, real car in the flesh.

[PatienceWins]

Great job!!

Good option for someone who wants to have a swift with a boot.

The looks are OK. The rear looks better than expected.

[Xehaust]

Black really suits the car. I think they should change the front a bit. The back looks fabulous in black. Almost like an indian bmw'ish.

(Xehaust ducks in order to escape the wrath of bhpians for the last comment.)

[kuttapan]

It looks good to me. Another winner from Maruti.