Driven: Suzuki Swift!

Vulken Auto · 26th May 2005, 15:07

I am in a HURRY , give you ful review later, for now, I am not at all excited abt the car, a very underpowered engine. redlined it at 1,2,3 will give you my review soon..

zxi is alloys with 185 rubber looks real ausome in 14 "
others have 165 in 14"s

nitrous · 27th May 2005, 07:40

Base model maruti swift is retailing at 3.87 lakhs (ex-showroom).

so, it must be around 4.25 ish on-road,... looks like zen is gonna take a big beating.

aadix · 27th May 2005, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vulken Auto

I am in a HURRY , give you ful review later, for now, I am not at all excited abt the car, a very underpowered engine. redlined it at 1,2,3 will give you my review soon..

zxi is alloys with 185 rubber looks real ausome in 14 "
others have 165 in 14"s

are u sure that the base versions have 14inchers? coz the maruti guy told me 13 inchers except the top end version.

test drove the car day before yest(the guy didnt ven know the prices then!),found it quite good,rather punchy.

think the only car in 5 lac range with an auto hvac system?

loved the feel and quality of the interiors.

Scuderia · 27th May 2005, 15:12

Had gone to sai service, phoenix during lunch break.

Did not have time for a test drive.. but review on the initial look and feel (of the top end one) ::

Looks: Very European styling, quite along renault and likes. (profile reminds me of the new mini cooper to some extent). Design is very contemporary, exterior as well as interior. Interior fabric and plastic could have been much better. The empty hole for the Multi Info display looks really dumb. Otherwise the mixture of the aluminium look with the black interior looks appealing.

Build Quality:
Very Palio like. Solid feel and stance. Wide base hugs the road well.
Miles ahead of any maruti product.

Seating: Spacious, can seat 5 people. But tall people (me six+) are not very comfortable in the rear bench (yeah, its more of a bench.. virtually flat). Thigh support lacking, esp in the rear.
Front, for that matter is much better. The driver has a pretty commanding view of the road.

Others:
Gear has a clicky kinda shift, which i personally like. Not very smooth though.
Numerous color options, looks really good in red, black and gray.
Features like ABS, EPS, Airbags, 14" alloys available on the top model.
Rest have 13" std wheels.

Pricing (mumbai - on road):

Base (Lxi): 4.2-4.3
Mid (Vxi): 4.46
Top (Zxi): 5.35

Overall (on the above parameters): 8/10

Will try to get a test drive over the weekend. Reviews on that later.

Ciao

DCEite · 27th May 2005, 18:05

hmm.. even i had a look at it today in a showroom, but did not test drive it.

The build quality, is comparable to Palio. The big tight doors and big handles(octavia like) give feeling of a big strong car. And the big side rear view mirrors, they are SUV like .

One thing i did not like was the thigh support particularly in the rear bench. Though it is wide, it doesnt have the support wich say Indica's rear bench has. One thing i dont understand why Maruti small cars have flat seats?? You dont get the feeling of "sunk in"..if you know what i mean..
Also, the leg room is lesser than Indica and Palio.
Boot space is nothing much to right home about, and i wonder whether the rear tray can accomodate big speakers!

On road price (delhi) for VXI (w/o abs) = Rs. 448,000.
Dealer= DD motors Wazirpur
Discount= NONE!

veyron1 · 27th May 2005, 21:28

errr... vulken, the swift's engine is not that underpowered... i found it okay for it's class, size and price- the pick-up and performance figures are comparable to the NHC (except the top speed). these will dawn on you more when you realize that the power/weight ratio of the swift is 86.1 bhp/tonne as compared to the NHC's 73.68 bhp/tonne..!!!

and here are the official performance figures from OD, a.k.a overdrive...

0-100- 12.9 secs.
0-140- 27.81 secs.
quarter mile- 18.82 secs@ 118.1 kmph.
top speed- 164.7 kmph.

and for the fuel efficiency mongers, here are the official F.E figures from O.D...

city-12.2 kmpl
overall-14.3 kmpl
highway-20.7 kmpl (@ constant 80 kmph)..............

speedsatya · 27th May 2005, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuderia

, 14" alloys available on the top model.
Rest have 13" std wheels.

.

Ciao

dude what car did u look at .the swift has been launched with 14inch rims on al models

Dippy · 27th May 2005, 23:29

Me and nitroxx went and checked out the Swift at Spectra Motors this evening. The model on display was a blue ZXi. I was very impressed with the car. By far the best Maruti I have seen to date. Great European styling keeping the dynamics in mind. Fit and finish is ages ahead of any other Maruti. The doors close with a nice "thud" which I like. The gearbox has a short throw which I like.

Got a chance to drive the demo car in their premises. Wasnt a full proper test drive but I liked what I drove. The car has an overall classy feel to it and it feels bigger than it actually is. Driving position was good too. Cant make a judgement on the rear seat because I'm a short person.

I hope to get a better test drive soon when I can take it on the roads. I will definately come to know more after that.

Dippy

Vulken Auto · 28th May 2005, 10:01

I considered my decision as under powered based on my auntys, dads, and my opinions: a regular house wife who doesnt know what bhp means, a driver who has been drivin palio d these days and thinks zen is the best car made by maruti {even now}, me who HAS a bit of knowledge abt cars.

it is definetly another santro with exciting interiors and shape. I really liked the back bulky shape. front looked like a smile car. good for teens in cities, my 13 year cousin liked swift more than his girl. hes already has plans for the new car.

they have 4 models

lxi, vxi, vxi with abs and zxi

costs from 4.3 to 5.5 on road. during my I never felt any sudden horses coming out at any gear till 6000 rpm remember 87 bhp @ 6000 rpm. ok torque is not as expcted. I wasnt surprised at all of the launch since I knew it is what we get in india for that price.

a/c chills fast but not better than my palio d.
torque; palio d beats straight .
I know not fair to compare btw a huge deisel engine nd a 1.3 all aluminium zillion year old esteem engine but i felt palio more excting to drive any day than a swift . to conclude swift is better than a santro, wagon r, zen, esteem, ...800

any day.

just my opinion , I was never a potential buyer of this car , so opinions might change but if it had larger engine and lots of horses with a 2 dr coupe then i m totally for swift.

veyron1 · 28th May 2005, 13:02

well, vulken, you are right about the torque- the palio D wins...( 113nm of swift compared to 123 nm of palio D)..at least on paper!!!

and yes, the in-gear roll-ons of the palio D are slightly better (20-80 kmph in 3rd; 15 secs for the palio and 16.54 for the swift- courtesy OD), which means lesser shifts in the city, but the swift will leave the palio for dead in acceleration (0-100; 20.55 secs for palio and 12.9 for the swift) , and top speeds .

but, like you said, it's unfair to compare a 1.9 litre IDI diesel and a 1.3 litre MPFI petrol, under any grounds- no matter which car the engines are plonked into; well, on the engine front, a more apt comparison might be from the 1.5 litre 3-pot crd-i from detroit in the accent; but even then, it's unfair....!!!!

like you said, the car is better than anything in it's class in the market today (or tomorrow...). but i don't think it's an upgraded, santro-ish hatch, yaar, c'mon now..... a better contender might be the palio 1.2, or the getz- but never a santro.....

and as for the engine.....well, that makes two of us...!!! i, too want to see a (way)more powerful engine plonked into the hood, so i can swap it with mine..... but until that happens..... the swift is currently india's hottest hatch, right on the heels of the palio 1.6, which, by the way, had a mutha of an engine. and until the swift gets a heart transplant, the memories of the 1.6 will have to suffice....while you are zooming in your suzuki....

Scuderia · 28th May 2005, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedsatya

dude what car did u look at .the swift has been launched with 14inch rims on al models

Dude.. thats what the sales exec at the Sai Service showroom told me and i asked that same twice. I dont see any reason why he should underrate his own car

z klasse · 28th May 2005, 23:21

Yes truly a nice car. Drove it today. Very well made interiors. Though it looks as if it has borrowed parts from the NHC and put it in this car. But over all good looking car and decent interiors. Let down is the engine. They could have put the DOHC 1.6 litre as an option. This car will take over the Wagon R, Zen and Alto in that price bracket for sure. Santro has to now face the Swift in the ultimate showdown which the swift will take away gladly.

Z

speedsatya · 28th May 2005, 23:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by z klasse

Yes truly a nice car. Drove it today. Very well made interiors. Though it looks as if it has borrowed parts from the NHC and put it in this car. But over all good looking car and decent interiors. Let down is the engine. They could have put the DOHC 1.6 litre as an option. This car will take over the Wagon R, Zen and Alto in that price bracket for sure. Santro has to now face the Swift in the ultimate showdown which the swift will take away gladly.

Z

hahahha,
what are you talking about.the santro of all cars.hahaha.there is no way that u can even think of the ****** santro.
santro sukkkks.or u can say all the maruti small cars,the santro.all of them are in no way comparable to the swift.
even the superb wagon r looks a cheapo car when look at the swift.

very difficult to beleive thought that this is a maruti product.

my advise to maruti:just stop production of the m800,and zen.

the wagon vxi looks like a waste .

the alto in 800cc under 3lacs,wagon r in 1.1L under 4lacs and the swift will be the best combination.

DCEite · 29th May 2005, 10:36

Infact, it makes me wonder what Maruti was thinking when it launched WagonR 2005 (with Airbags, ABS, new dashboard .. blah blah blah..). now whos gonna take that? its even expensive than swift vxi (onroad)...

Shan2nu · 29th May 2005, 12:11

Hey, has the Swift been launched with a 1.6 ltr version? If not, then i'll have to postpone my test drive until that comes. Who wantsto drive a 87bhp car man!!!

0-100 in 12.9 sheesh!!!

Shan2nu

26th May 2005, 15:07	#46
Vulken Auto BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: . Posts: 594 Thanked: 385 Times	Drove swift in the morning I am in a HURRY , give you ful review later, for now, I am not at all excited abt the car, a very underpowered engine. redlined it at 1,2,3 will give you my review soon.. zxi is alloys with 185 rubber looks real ausome in 14 " others have 165 in 14"s
	() Thanks

27th May 2005, 07:40	#47
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 333 Times View My Garage	Base model maruti swift is retailing at 3.87 lakhs (ex-showroom). so, it must be around 4.25 ish on-road,... looks like zen is gonna take a big beating.
	() Thanks

27th May 2005, 15:12	#49
Scuderia BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 127 Thanked: 8 Times	look and feel Had gone to sai service, phoenix during lunch break. Did not have time for a test drive.. but review on the initial look and feel (of the top end one) :: Looks: Very European styling, quite along renault and likes. (profile reminds me of the new mini cooper to some extent). Design is very contemporary, exterior as well as interior. Interior fabric and plastic could have been much better. The empty hole for the Multi Info display looks really dumb. Otherwise the mixture of the aluminium look with the black interior looks appealing. Build Quality: Very Palio like. Solid feel and stance. Wide base hugs the road well. Miles ahead of any maruti product. Seating: Spacious, can seat 5 people. But tall people (me six+) are not very comfortable in the rear bench (yeah, its more of a bench.. virtually flat). Thigh support lacking, esp in the rear. Front, for that matter is much better. The driver has a pretty commanding view of the road. Others: Gear has a clicky kinda shift, which i personally like. Not very smooth though. Numerous color options, looks really good in red, black and gray. Features like ABS, EPS, Airbags, 14" alloys available on the top model. Rest have 13" std wheels. Pricing (mumbai - on road): Base (Lxi): 4.2-4.3 Mid (Vxi): 4.46 Top (Zxi): 5.35 Overall (on the above parameters): 8/10 Will try to get a test drive over the weekend. Reviews on that later. Ciao Last edited by Scuderia : 27th May 2005 at 15:14. Reason: overall rating
	() Thanks

27th May 2005, 18:05	#50
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,590 Thanked: 3,483 Times	hmm.. even i had a look at it today in a showroom, but did not test drive it. The build quality, is comparable to Palio. The big tight doors and big handles(octavia like) give feeling of a big strong car. And the big side rear view mirrors, they are SUV like . One thing i did not like was the thigh support particularly in the rear bench. Though it is wide, it doesnt have the support wich say Indica's rear bench has. One thing i dont understand why Maruti small cars have flat seats?? You dont get the feeling of "sunk in"..if you know what i mean.. Also, the leg room is lesser than Indica and Palio. Boot space is nothing much to right home about, and i wonder whether the rear tray can accomodate big speakers! On road price (delhi) for VXI (w/o abs) = Rs. 448,000. Dealer= DD motors Wazirpur Discount= NONE!
	() Thanks

27th May 2005, 21:28	#51
veyron1 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,424 Thanked: 54 Times View My Garage	errr... vulken, the swift's engine is not that underpowered... i found it okay for it's class, size and price- the pick-up and performance figures are comparable to the NHC (except the top speed). these will dawn on you more when you realize that the power/weight ratio of the swift is 86.1 bhp/tonne as compared to the NHC's 73.68 bhp/tonne..!!! and here are the official performance figures from OD, a.k.a overdrive... 0-100- 12.9 secs. 0-140- 27.81 secs. quarter mile- 18.82 secs@ 118.1 kmph. top speed- 164.7 kmph. and for the fuel efficiency mongers, here are the official F.E figures from O.D... city-12.2 kmpl overall-14.3 kmpl highway-20.7 kmpl (@ constant 80 kmph).............. Last edited by veyron1 : 27th May 2005 at 21:34.
	() Thanks

27th May 2005, 23:29	#53
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,761 Thanked: 4,240 Times	Me and nitroxx went and checked out the Swift at Spectra Motors this evening. The model on display was a blue ZXi. I was very impressed with the car. By far the best Maruti I have seen to date. Great European styling keeping the dynamics in mind. Fit and finish is ages ahead of any other Maruti. The doors close with a nice "thud" which I like. The gearbox has a short throw which I like. Got a chance to drive the demo car in their premises. Wasnt a full proper test drive but I liked what I drove. The car has an overall classy feel to it and it feels bigger than it actually is. Driving position was good too. Cant make a judgement on the rear seat because I'm a short person. I hope to get a better test drive soon when I can take it on the roads. I will definately come to know more after that. Dippy
	() Thanks

28th May 2005, 10:01	#54
Vulken Auto BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: . Posts: 594 Thanked: 385 Times	I considered my decision as under powered based on my auntys, dads, and my opinions: a regular house wife who doesnt know what bhp means, a driver who has been drivin palio d these days and thinks zen is the best car made by maruti {even now}, me who HAS a bit of knowledge abt cars. it is definetly another santro with exciting interiors and shape. I really liked the back bulky shape. front looked like a smile car. good for teens in cities, my 13 year cousin liked swift more than his girl. hes already has plans for the new car. they have 4 models lxi, vxi, vxi with abs and zxi costs from 4.3 to 5.5 on road. during my I never felt any sudden horses coming out at any gear till 6000 rpm remember 87 bhp @ 6000 rpm. ok torque is not as expcted. I wasnt surprised at all of the launch since I knew it is what we get in india for that price. a/c chills fast but not better than my palio d. torque; palio d beats straight . I know not fair to compare btw a huge deisel engine nd a 1.3 all aluminium zillion year old esteem engine but i felt palio more excting to drive any day than a swift . to conclude swift is better than a santro, wagon r, zen, esteem, ...800 any day. just my opinion , I was never a potential buyer of this car , so opinions might change but if it had larger engine and lots of horses with a 2 dr coupe then i m totally for swift.
	() Thanks

28th May 2005, 13:02	#55
veyron1 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,424 Thanked: 54 Times View My Garage	well, vulken, you are right about the torque- the palio D wins...( 113nm of swift compared to 123 nm of palio D)..at least on paper!!! and yes, the in-gear roll-ons of the palio D are slightly better (20-80 kmph in 3rd; 15 secs for the palio and 16.54 for the swift- courtesy OD), which means lesser shifts in the city, but the swift will leave the palio for dead in acceleration (0-100; 20.55 secs for palio and 12.9 for the swift) , and top speeds . but, like you said, it's unfair to compare a 1.9 litre IDI diesel and a 1.3 litre MPFI petrol, under any grounds- no matter which car the engines are plonked into; well, on the engine front, a more apt comparison might be from the 1.5 litre 3-pot crd-i from detroit in the accent; but even then, it's unfair....!!!! like you said, the car is better than anything in it's class in the market today (or tomorrow...). but i don't think it's an upgraded, santro-ish hatch, yaar, c'mon now..... a better contender might be the palio 1.2, or the getz- but never a santro..... and as for the engine.....well, that makes two of us...!!! i, too want to see a (way)more powerful engine plonked into the hood, so i can swap it with mine..... but until that happens..... the swift is currently india's hottest hatch, right on the heels of the palio 1.6, which, by the way, had a mutha of an engine. and until the swift gets a heart transplant, the memories of the 1.6 will have to suffice....while you are zooming in your suzuki....
	() Thanks

28th May 2005, 23:21	#57
z klasse BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 351 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	Yes truly a nice car. Drove it today. Very well made interiors. Though it looks as if it has borrowed parts from the NHC and put it in this car. But over all good looking car and decent interiors. Let down is the engine. They could have put the DOHC 1.6 litre as an option. This car will take over the Wagon R, Zen and Alto in that price bracket for sure. Santro has to now face the Swift in the ultimate showdown which the swift will take away gladly. Z
	() Thanks

29th May 2005, 10:36	#59
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,590 Thanked: 3,483 Times	Infact, it makes me wonder what Maruti was thinking when it launched WagonR 2005 (with Airbags, ABS, new dashboard .. blah blah blah..). now whos gonna take that? its even expensive than swift vxi (onroad)...
	() Thanks

29th May 2005, 12:11	#60
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 127 Times View My Garage	Hey, has the Swift been launched with a 1.6 ltr version? If not, then i'll have to postpone my test drive until that comes. Who wantsto drive a 87bhp car man!!! 0-100 in 12.9 sheesh!!! Shan2nu Last edited by Shan2nu : 29th May 2005 at 12:30.
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