[ontheroad]

Dear All,

This is a review of my Bright Red EuroIV Maruti Suzuki Swift Vdi .

How it all started?

I was driving a 2006 company leased WagonR Duo and the emi period was ending on Dec'09. Choices was
1) To extend the lease, retain the car with company and save emi and tax benefits due to drivers salary and fuel and maintenance reimbursements and drive on the waggie
2) Terminate lease, take the ownership of the car, sell it and buy another car.
My choice was the second option because 1) after marriage my highway running has increased and a tall boy was obviously not a good choice for highways. 2) The urge for a new car. 3) Sai service,cochin offered a good price of Rs 2.6 lakhs for my 3 year old waggie. So in January 2009 my Waggie was sold to Sai service, Cochin.

What next?

The following was my criteria for a new car
1) No more tall boys 2) It should be a diesel 3) It should be a hatch 4) Good after sales support 5) Availability of service centres at Kannur and Kollam (Work town and hometown) 6) Budget upto Rs 5.5 L. 7) Adequate performance.

Had test drive of Punto(4times with 3 dealers), Vista, Swift, and Ritz.
Visited Ford showroom to check out Figo. It was not available for testdrive then.

Punto was a strong contender due to its features, ride and handling and looks, but, lack of performance in low gears, low ground clearance, high engine sound, high streeing placement, bad maintanance of test drive vehicles and overcrowded service bay of Tata service stations pulled me away from Punto.
Vista was rejected as i couln't connect with the car and I coulnt find a comfortable driving position in Ritz. Steering placement of Figo was found to be similiar to Punto(high for my height of 5'4"), so i didnt wait for test drive car. The first thing i noted when i sat in swift was that the excellent driving position. Together with driving dynamics and performance and the MS brand, the call went for Swift.

Colour was selected by wife and though i requested for a ABS version, as Sai service, Cochin was not ready to commit a date for delivery, i opted for a Vdi option.

My Red Pimento was delivered on April 2010.

Delivery, makeup and first impressions

PDI was done with T-Bhp checklist before registration and the car was delivered on April end by Sai service, Edapally,Cochin. There was nothing outstanding regarding the car delivery experience and if i recall, my experience at Indus motors, Cochin in 2006 for my Waggie was better. Immediately drove off to Tyrex,Cochin and new alloy and A drive, which set me back by Rs26600.00. Sold off old MRFs to a friend for Rs8000.00
Other accessories like sunfilm, head light upgradation, basic ICE etc were fixed from Kannur shops.

The first change i observed after tyre upgradation(185/70/14) was that the pulling has reduced when compared to stock tyres, though i had driven only about 5kms in stock tyres. But, the braking and comfort levels have improved. Car is a Jem to drive and first 1000KMs was eaten away in 3 weeks. By that time i was transfered to Thrissur and gave my Pimento to Indus motors, Thrissur for first service. Changed oil and oil filter. Bill was Rs965.00. Nothing great about service of Indus motors. They delivered the car without even properly closing the boot door!!!.

1000KMs to 5000KMs

In this period i started to experience the "build quality" or lack of it of Maruti Suzuki. Rattling noises started to come from door pads, driver side B piller, seat belt assembly and everywhere. Took it to Indus motors and the SA told me that its common in Swift. Asked them to rectify it. They did something and returned the car in the evening. After two days rattles returned, mail went to Maruti, SA came running to my home next day morning, took car to service station, fixed forms all over the pads and retuned car. Rattles are now subdued.

Also I noticed that the turbo kick comes late at 2200 RPM in second gear. Its really a nuissance when you drive off from a signal. I didnt push Indus motors too hard on this matter as the turbo kickin was normal, ie at 2000rpm, in all other higher gears. Infact, you slot into fourth gear and can drive it as an automatic in our one and half lane Kerala "Highways".

Another issue I have observed is the lack of paint quality. A small pebble hitting your car from the wheels of other vehicles is enough to take away the paint from POC. I do have many small patches now.

Positive things about the car is the driving pleasure in 1800 to 3500 rpms, reasonable handling, looks, and very supportive after sales service.

5000KMs to 9000KMs

My Pimento has completed around 9100KMs till date. Except for the rattling issues, she has performed well and meets my requirements. Total diesel filled till date is 516 litres and the average mileage achieved till date is around 18Km/Ltr. Will take her for 10000KMs service by month end. Also planning to do the DIY damping of doors. Thanks for reading my rants.

[camchennai]

Congratulation on your Red Pimento Swift

Swift and its rattle is a common problem, if you can search in the forum you would get some solution.

18 KM/L is an excellent mileage, this tempts me for a diesel

Please do post some pictures of your alloy wheels.

[thedreamcatcher]

Congratulations. So the car has been around for quite some time now, with you. Why dont you post some more pics of your car and the alloys

Whats behind the name by the way?

With reference to paint quality, even I have observed this on a number of Swifts and they seem quite susceptible to dents as well. Seen so many Swifts, even in my apartment parking with dings and dangs all around. More on the bonnet

[ACM]

Ontheroad,

That is a nice and precise write up, some more photos would be liked by all of us.

The rattles being solved by foam padding is a standard practive that TATA, Maruti and Hyundai adopt to solve rattles in car that do rattle a bit. I have actually wondered why they foam padding is not inserted at the manufacturer end itself in sufficent quantity, it surely does not add more than marginal amounts to the wt and cost.

Happy touring. Nice to see a write up of the experience with the car so far along with the buying thought process at one go. Do try to give us some more insights into the how you find the drive relative to other cars than you may drive from time to time and also do update us about about the service experience going ahead.

[DMehta]

Congrats on the red beast! Being a swift Dzire owner myself, i know how irritating and annoying rattles can be. The MASS guys solved the rattles temporarily but time and again i have been hearing them. Not much can be said on the build quality. The suspension which is a bit loose is another dislike for me. I would like it to be a bit firm.
You are right, the turbo kicks in after 2200rpm on the second gear. Good observation.

If you go ahead with the damping process, do click pictures of the entire procedure as it will be helpful for other swift owners.
Do post some more interior pictures too! enjoy

[Schoudhury]

WOW one more swift in the forum.
I guess that is the reason , every other buyer keeps swift in their list of cars to buy .
And i guess you could have posted this thread straight in long term ownership thread , but better late than never , isnt it . .

Also this thread is after a long time of owning the car so some more pic of the car to banta hain .

Drive safe .
Cheers

[ontheroad]

Originally Posted by camchennai

Congratulation on your Red Pimento Swift

Swift and its rattle is a common problem, if you can search in the forum

Thanks camchennai. More pics will be updated after a detailed polishing after the 10000KM service.

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

Congratulations. Why dont you post some more pics of your car and the alloys

Whats behind the name by the way?

With reference to paint quality, even I have observed this on a number of

Thanks the dreamcatcher. Pimento is a very hot red chili pepper.

Originally Posted by ACM

Ontheroad,

That is a nice and precise write up, some more photos would be liked by all of us.

Thanks ACM. Pics will be updated shortly after the third service.

Originally Posted by DMehta

Congrats on the red beast! Being a swift Dzire owner myself, i know how irritating and annoying rattles can be.

Thanks DMehta

[DRIV3R]

Ontheroad, Congrats on the Swift D.

Great car to drive, both in the city and the highways!

Do keep an eye on the amount of oil they fill during service, you don't wanna end up with a blown up turbo.

Get rid of the rattles permanently and you would be in pure bliss thereafter.

Looking forward to your DIY for the rattles!

[fine69]

I was losing hope with Swift being ruled out of every new buy but with this report it seems that team-bhp still has some Swift DDiS lovers left. Enjoy the turbo!

[Utopian]

Congrats for the Swift, ontheroad. It is still one of the most sensible diesel hatchback of the country. The gearshift is a sheer pleasure.
You are clocking excellent FE with DDiS.

[goandude]

Loved the color of your car, and the pint finish looks gleaming. As Dmetha said pl post pics of the damping process. Side profile of the car would als be appriciated (to view the alloys)

[ontheroad]

An Update at 10000KM.

Third service was done two weeks back at about 10000KMs at Indus Motors, Tcr. Oil and filter were changed and billed a total of Rs1084.00. Also I asked them to rectify rattles in seat belt assembly and RH B piller. They did something and rattles are subdued as of now. I hope it remains so.

I feel Pimento is more swift now and mileage has slightly improved to about 19.4KMPL. Had a photoshoot today after waxing. Some pics attached.
Request moderators to change thread title as "My Red Pimento - Maruti Swift Vdi EuroIV review - 10000KMs update."

[ontheroad]

10000KM to 20000KM & 20000Km service update

Smooth sailing from 10K to 20K, joyfully, without any incidents. Only expenses incurred were for fuel and wheel alignment.

20000Km service

Took quote from three service centres in Thrissur. Sai service is rip off. Indus service station at Paliakkara was found to be ok and did the service there.

Total amount spent was Rs 5500.00 without wheel alignement, balance etc which I did outside.
Main complaints was rattle from door pads, Horn tuning, Head light beam checking etc. Overall they did a good job. But I think labour charges are on the higher side.
Details are below.
1) MGDO 15W40 oil 223/l,
2) Oil filter 333.84,
3) Gear oil 75W90 306.33/L,
4) Coolant 208.65,
5) Brake fluid 137.62,
6) Exchange filter 1068.99,
7) Screen wash 13.32,
8) Clip 2.66,
9) Plug assy oil drain 56.82,
10) Air filter 229.96

Labour Paid service 725, Brake over haul 450, Calipper shimmimg 225, Consumables 100.

Total Bill was to 5600.00. They gave a discount of Rs100.00 as their service station is far from town. Over all an OK experience, except for the high charges for brake over haul and paid service. My red pimento is back to her earlier form after the service. The rattles are less and ride quality also improved after they did some greasing in suspension.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by ontheroad

Total Bill was to 5600.00. They gave a discount of Rs100.00 as their service station is far from town. Over all an OK experience, except for the high charges for brake over haul and paid service.

The labor charges you mentioned are very reasonable! The total charges also looks quite OK to me. My 20K service charges used to hover around 6.5K. What was the difference in the charges given by the rest of the service centres?

[ontheroad]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

The labor charges you mentioned are very reasonable! The total charges also looks quite OK to me. My 20K service charges used to hover around 6.5K. What was the difference in the charges given by the rest of the service centres?

Rest of the service centres quoted from 6000 to 6500.