[Ohh!Oxygen]

I would reccommend to do an extensive test drive and make your choice. On the long run its the drive-ability and ease of maintenance that will decide how attached you will be to your car.
I agree with the Polo build quality factor but not sure about Punto(no offence to Punto fanboys , purely personal observation). I have driven 3-4 Puntos (Petrol, diesel, Sports). The plastics rattle a lot and when you press buttons they feel like they will come out any moment. If you are looking for exclusivity, try the new Ritz. There are some colours which will make you feel so.

These are some ncap comparisions for your reference which pretty much sum up the build quality fact.

http://www.euroncap.com/results/suzu.../2010/403.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/suzuki_splash/318.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/fiat_punto_2000/28.aspx

[ampere]

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

yep, I've heard a lot of praises about the Swift. No offense to Swift or Maruti, but it's so common on the roads, and I'm looking for a little exclusivity here.

Actually my family's initial choice was Swift Dzire, but the I starter kicking and screaming for a sexy hatch.

Do note for the Punto turbo kicks in much later. You need to adapt your driving accordingly esp for bumper to bumper traffic.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Ohh!Oxygen

I would reccommend to do an extensive test drive and make your choice. On the long run its the drive-ability and ease of maintenance that will decide how attached you will be to your car.
I agree with the Polo build quality factor but not sure about Punto(no offence to Punto fanboys , purely personal observation). I have driven 3-4 Puntos (Petrol, diesel, Sports). The plastics rattle a lot and when you press buttons they feel like they will come out any moment. If you are looking for exclusivity, try the new Ritz. There are some colours which will make you feel so.

These are some ncap comparisions for your reference which pretty much sum up the build quality fact.

http://www.euroncap.com/results/suzu.../2010/403.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/suzuki_splash/318.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/fiat_punto_2000/28.aspx

No offence to you either buddy, but I seriously doubt that a Punto was rattling and that too badly.

I have a almost 4 yr old Punto that has done about 37,000km and there is not a single rattle. It still feels as quiet as it was on day one, in fact it feels even quiter thanks to better tyres. My brother has a almost 3 year old Punto, which has done almost 80,000km, most of it on not very good highways, and even his Punto is absolutely quiet. Nothing on either car feels like it is going to fall off at any time even after all this time. If you go through the 400odd pages of the official Grande Punto official review thread or any of the ownership reports of Puntos/Lineas, there wont be a single one which is rattling badly. If at all there are complaints of rattles, they are all minor ones. Check out the following thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ighlight=Punto

And BTW, the EuroNCAP test of the Punto that you have referred to is of the old Punto and not the Grande Punto, which is a 5-star rated car. And I might say, the difference between the European Punto and Indian Punto is far lower than the European and Indian Swifts, or even the European and Indian Polos.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by julupani

Check out the following thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ighlight=Punto

And BTW, the EuroNCAP test of the Punto that you have referred to is of the old Punto and not the Grande Punto, which is a 5-star rated car. And I might say, the difference between the European Punto and Indian Punto is far lower than the European and Indian Swifts, or even the European and Indian Polos.

+1

@ cr4nkshaft You should actually go through that thread. You will also get an idea of the spare past costs. We have a swift too and believe me when we say maruti is cheapest to maintain, it is not by a huge margin, at least not the swift.

Moreover the euro NCAP tests give a lot of weightage to safety features like airbags etc. So unless you are buying the fully loaded ones, you normally don't have a car that matches the NCAP values.

My swift has been rattling from day 1. New swift I believe is a lot better but I don't see any improvement in sheet metal quality.
There was a thread somewhere about a punto being T boned by another car. My swift got almost similar damages by being T boned by a bike.

Once while parking my car an i10 backed up too much and bumped into the front of my car at probably less than 5 kms/hr. Since I couldn't see any damage to the i10 s rear bumper, I didn't even bother comming out of my car. When I reached home I was surprised to find a decent enough dent on my bumper.

I love my swift for what it is. But if somebody implies that swift has better overall build compared to punto, I will disagree. Interiors, may be but definitely not the over all build.

I agree the interior quality is not great in punto. Too many areas with poor fit and finish, but not bad enough to say they ll fall off any time. Infact on the contrary quite a few punto owners have reported that the plastics though cheap looking are infact long lasting.

[Crow]

Hello everyone. I want to buy a Maruti Swift and I have a few queries.

First, let's start with a brief background, for those who were not able to go through my introduction thread. We have a 2001 Maruti Alto LX that has done only 26,000 km till date. It is a barebones car in which AC happens to be the most advanced interiors feature and seat belts the best safety feature. My father drives that car to work in Mumbai (less than 150 km a month). The car has multiple rattles, the most annoying of which comes from the AC, and loses speed rapidly on inclines. I recently drove it to Pune and back and noticed that when the speed was 100 km/h with AC (5th gear), the car kept losing power when climbing the relatively modest inclines on the expressway. It ran well on 4th gear though. The performance improves significantly with AC off.

Why a new car
I now work in Delhi and my office is 16 km from home. Getting that Alto to Delhi is not an option as I am sure its AC will explode in the summer. Besides, I need a lot of things such as music system, chargers, etc, which are not present in the Alto.

Which car
Maruti Swift. I'll be using it for the daily commute to work and plan to take it out of town once in a while. I love the Himalayas and based on quick research, I think it has enough power to be useful on steep, winding roads. I have considered most other hatches, but the Swift seems to be the ideal combination between performance, price, looks, reliability and good service. It helps that I have driven, and loved, a friend's Swift diesel.

Where
Buying the car in Mumbai. Will drive it down to Delhi. Drmohitg confirmed what my friends in Delhi told me: there is no road tax or fee to be paid for driving outstation vehicles in Delhi. Besides, the car will eventually return to my parents in Mumbai, maybe in a year or two, so we decided it makes no sense trying to save a little by buying the car in Delhi.

The conundrum
In three words: petrol or diesel? After the barebones Alto, I have decided that having all safety features is absolutely essential, so the choice is between Swift ZXi and ZDi. I think I'll be driving an average of 1,000 km a month. Vitesse, Andheri gave us a quote of Rs 7.02 lakh for ZXi and Rs 8.46 lakh for ZDi (includes Rs 4,000 for adding a music player with Bluetooth). Based on current fuel prices, there is a difference of just Rs 20 per litre. My calculations tell me buying a diesel car equates to a saving of roughly Rs 16,000 per year. So the price difference appears to be too much to make a difference, even if I drive 2,000 km a month. Both variants are in budget, but I need to know the advantages of going for diesel. Please help me out with this.

The other problem
Is it better to install some parts (music system, new AC, charger, etc) in our 2001 Alto LX or should we go for a new car? My mother dislikes the Nano, so it will either be the Alto 800 or some other petrol hatch around Rs 3 lakh. As I said, the Swift may return to Mumbai in the near future and parents can manage with the old one till then. I don't know if the Alto will break down by then though. Your thoughts?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Crow

Hello everyone. I want to buy a Maruti Swift and I have a few queries.

Which car Maruti Swift.

Since your usage would be low with a few outstation trips I would say the Swift ZXi. I don't think the diesel would be required for a car that does 1000 kms a month. But I would say the diesel is a hoot to drive and efficient ad would be lighter if you plan to do frequent outstation trips.

Originally Posted by Crow

The other problem
Is it better to install some parts (music system, new AC, charger, etc) in our 2001 Alto LX or should we go for a new car? My mother dislikes the Nano, so it will either be the Alto 800 or some other petrol hatch around Rs 3 lakh.

Go for a new car say Alto 800 as it is better overall than stick to the bare-bones.

Anurag.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Crow

Hello everyone. I want to buy a Maruti Swift and I have a few queries.

The conundrum
In three words: petrol or diesel? After the barebones Alto, I have decided that having all safety features is absolutely essential, so the choice is between Swift ZXi and ZDi. I think I'll be driving an average of 1,000 km a month. Vitesse, Andheri gave us a quote of Rs 7.02 lakh for ZXi and Rs 8.46 lakh for ZDi (includes Rs 4,000 for adding a music player with Bluetooth). Based on current fuel prices, there is a difference of just Rs 20 per litre. My calculations tell me buying a diesel car equates to a saving of roughly Rs 16,000 per year. So the price difference appears to be too much to make a difference, even if I drive 2,000 km a month. Both variants are in budget, but I need to know the advantages of going for diesel. Please help me out with this.

Diesel swift is a great ride. But the petrol is no slow coach. 1.2k loves being revved and is wonderful in its own right though it may not 'feel' as fast as the diesel due the absence of the 'surge'.

Is the diesel so much better than the petrol that it justifies the more than 1 lakh premium? I personally feel it's much better to go for the zxi unless your running justifies the zdi. But that's me and I love the free revving petrols. However you won't go wrong with either.

On the registration part, are you sure? I mean my research tells me that it is mandatory as per central motor vehicles act that you re-register your vehicle in the state you are in if the vehicle has stayed there more than 12 months.

Do re check just to be sure.

[Aroy]

I would suggest Diesel Swift. Apart from the differential cost of fuel, the diesel has higher FE and more torque, so it would be an excellent drive in the hills.

I suggest you get an Alto K10 as a replacement for Alto. I have an Alto K10. I bought one of first ones in Aug'2010. Till date I have only spent on the service. I did add a music system, a cigarette lighter, a second horn and changed the tyres to Michelin. I drive around 3000 km/year and have yet to reach 10K km. For low mileage city drive especially a single person it is an excellent buy. It has a fantastic AC and revs up all the way to 6.2k RPM, so you are always ahead of the rush at the traffic light. The FE varies from 10km/l for short distance B2B with AC to 20+ on highways with AC.

[Crow]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Since your usage would be low with a few outstation trips I would say the Swift ZXi. I don't think the diesel would be required for a car that does 1000 kms a month. But I would say the diesel is a hoot to drive and efficient ad would be lighter if you plan to do frequent outstation trips.

Originally Posted by vibbs

Is the diesel so much better than the petrol that it justifies the more than 1 lakh premium? I personally feel it's much better to go for the zxi unless your running justifies the zdi. But that's me and I love the free revving petrols. However you won't go wrong with either.

Originally Posted by Aroy

I would suggest Diesel Swift. Apart from the differential cost of fuel, the diesel has higher FE and more torque, so it would be an excellent drive in the hills.

Less weight, better fuel economy and higher torque are all good advantages, but we are probably better off buying the ZXi because it is still Rs 1,40,000 cheaper. With my usage, I don't think diesel makes much sense. Besides, we can probably invest the amount we save on replacing the Alto.

Originally Posted by vibbs

On the registration part, are you sure? I mean my research tells me that it is mandatory as per central motor vehicles act that you re-register your vehicle in the state you are in if the vehicle has stayed there more than 12 months.

Do re check just to be sure.

I don't think it should be a problem for me. Being a journalist helps a little. Besides, one of my colleagues has been driving a Polo registered in Kerala for over a year in Delhi. Anyway, the Swift will eventually return home so no point buying it here I think. Thanks for pointing that out though. I will check again just to be sure.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Go for a new car say Alto 800 as it is better overall than stick to the bare-bones.

Originally Posted by Aroy

I suggest you get an Alto K10 as a replacement for Alto.

Those two are in my list so far. How much can I expect for the old Alto if I take it to Maruti True Value?

[TheHkrish]

Originally Posted by cr4nkshaft

yep, I've heard a lot of praises about the Swift. No offense to Swift or Maruti, but it's so common on the roads, and I'm looking for a little exclusivity here.

Actually my family's initial choice was Swift Dzire, but the I starter kicking and screaming for a sexy hatch.

Buddy , I recently picked up a punto 90Hp.
Was going through all sort of cars before confirming on Punto.
Punto was my last option, but Italian cars have a way of inducing a passion inside us.
I have driven like 3200KM in a month through some punishing routes as well. The car didn't let me down a bit. Once you start cruising at 150KM/PH it makes us feel like 120KM/PH.
But she is a bit heavy comparing to the competitors, would have to bear with it till the Turbo Kicks in.
Interiors are a bit tacky and the Speaker setup is a must change. But everything else 2 .

Not diverting the topic here , but my 2 cents . If you are worried about the parts availability. Visit 99RPM.com

[ahmad.007]

Originally Posted by Crow

Less weight, better fuel economy and higher torque are all good advantages, but we are probably better off buying the ZXi because it is still Rs 1,40,000 cheaper. With my usage, I don't think diesel makes much sense. Besides, we can probably invest the amount we save on replacing the Alto.

You are better with the ZXi I guess. The1.2K is reasonably fuel efficient and it can give you 20+ on highways.

As for the alto replacement I suggest you go for Eon and not another alto. The reason I say it because Eon is more spacious than the Alto. When I sat in Alto, my right hand fouled with the door and my knees with the low-set dashboard, it felt so cramped because of its low stance. While the Eon felt comfortable at the front. And as the car would be for your parents, I think comfort and space should be a priority.
And then, Eon is an overall better car.
Other than Eon, you may also look at Chevy Spark.

[mohitk1993]

Originally Posted by Crow

Hello everyone. I want to buy a Maruti Swift and I have a few queries.

My humble suggestion in 2 short, simple sentences:

• Get a new Swift ZXi in Delhi and enjoy the refinement and thrills of a free-revving petrol engine.

• Replace the Alto LX with a new Alto 800 in Mumbai.

Simple!

[Ohh!Oxygen]

I did not intend the discussion to go in this way.
I am pretty sure that the long time car owners are always in a better position to share their experience as compared to test drivers. I am just sharing my experience and I would not go into the details about why in this thread.
People have their own perspective about cars based on their experience. Buyers in B2-Segment are already spoilt with choices and newer models keep coming. As I said for the first time buyer the key is to test drive , test drive and test drive until you find exactly what you are looking for.

BTW pal about build quality open the door, get in , close the door and do a double knock on the dashboard of a Polo. You will know what I am talking about.

PS : I neither own a Polo or Punto and have a like them for both for their "good things".

[shetty_rohan]

Originally Posted by Crow

Maruti Swift. I'll be using it for the daily commute to work and plan to take it out of town once in a while. I love the Himalayas and based on quick research, I think it has enough power to be useful on steep, winding roads. I have considered most other hatches, but the Swift seems to be the ideal combination between performance, price, looks, reliability and good service. It helps that I have driven, and loved, a friend's Swift diesel.

I have a Swift Petrol(ZXi) 2007 model which has crossed 1 lakh kms. I have been driving this car for last 6 years without any major problems(only once I had to change the clutch plate). I have done many highway drives, and it has been a dream to drive. If you service it in regular intervals(i.e every 5000kms), you could keep this car even for 10 years(may be till 2 lakh kms).

Best thing is it has been a very reliable car(not even once it has stopped on the road for the mechanical problem) and easy(not heavy on your pocket) to maintain.

I would suggest you to buy Swift ZXi model.

Only noticeable problem I have is the rattling issue, which I have to live with it.

Mod Note: Team-BHP strongly discourages unsafe driving practices that put yourself and other road users at risk. Please do NOT post about illegally high speeds on public roads.

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[0xTKB]

My friend, who is a M.R. (Medical Representative) requires a car for his needs as well as his family's. He's 26 years old, single & currently there are total 3 members in his household. He'll be getting married next year.

Criteria :-

• Doing the medical representative's usual job in the Himachal & sometimes at Chandigarh.
  
• Some adventure touring of North India (mostly hilly states).
  
• Monthly running - 1500-2500 kms.
  
• Has to be comfortable for 4 adults (occasional five).
  
• Mileage shouldn't be too low & should be a diesel car.
  
• Spares should be easily available.
  
• He prefers a sedate driving style, not like us enthusiasts, so handling won't matter that much.
  
• For him, Safety > Comfort > Features > Handling.

Cars ruled out :-

Volkswagen Polo :-

Reason - Not a single showroom in Himachal Pradesh & if we get the car from outside Himachal, we'll have to pay 5% more during the time of registration (some silly government rule). That means, 3% (of RC) + 5% = 8%. Which makes them more expensive.

Toyota Liva & Etios :-

Reason :- Doesn't likes the interiors & the centrally mounted speedometer. I was vouching for Toyota Etios diesel as it is one of the best cars in the segment.

Chevrolet Sail twins :-

Reason :- Doesn't likes the interiors, although finds the cars to be hugely practical.

Nissan Micra & Renault Pulse :-

Reason :- Too small for his taste.

Cars being considered are :-

Maruti Suzuki's Swift twins :-
Reason :- They're too common and the rear seat feels cramped

• i20 Asta (confused weather to go for the sunroof model or not)
• Fiat Punto (I don't know the mileage difference of 75 BHP vs 93 BHP)
• Fiat Linea (Classic one, although I still have to see the review & Fiat's website shows nothing)
• Hyundai Grand i10. (We like the car but not sure about the 3-cylinder diesel engine's highway capabilities).
• Any other car which you guys suggest.