[noopster]

Good review as always, but the timing is terrible, sorry to say. We've had a few really good ownership reviews of the new Swift on the forums by now, so this didn't have the punch a T-BHP official review always has. On the bright side, it is a reflection of how GOOD user-generated content on this site has got. The attention to detail in moralfibre's review for example is comparable to an "official" review, no offence meant to anyone.

Having said that, the finer points like the superthin glass on the windows translating into higher NVH, various parts of the leg banging into various parts of the car etc. are immensely useful. Kudos!

As an old-gen Vxi owner, the only thing that looks appealing to me is the Zdi variant: I would say that it is the most perfect hot hatch in the market today. Just love what MSIL has done to the interiors, while retaining the stuff we love so much (the overall look, the awesome slick shift gearbox). It's good they decided to bring it on par with the Zxi feature-wise. The Zxi is also in a good position to take the Jazz head-on in the battle of the premium petrols: that K series engine is a dream!

Only grouse I have is the bias towards white. This car was designed to be painted! Where are the greens and reds, MSIL? Bring 'em on!

[goandude]

Great review and detailed comparison with others in class.
The thread title let me wonder "whats this Swift review now" only when i opened it did I realise it was for the new swift.
The gear ratios seem to have been changed. As per the review 100 kmph is @2300 rpm while the older swift 100 kmph was attained at 2500 rpm. This could translate to increased FE (at the cost of poorer acceleration)
Thanks for the crisp review

[GTO]

Originally Posted by .sushilkumar

i was really interested in knowing how she behaves vis a vis Punto.

Handling : Swift
Stability : Punto
Ride quality : Punto
Steering : Punto
Gearshift : Swift
Driveability / city use : Swift
Space (and boot) : Punto

Originally Posted by beast_within

Do you feel that there is a significant improvement drivability in B2B traffic.

It's noticeably improved. I think the lack of "whoosh" at 2,000 rpms is a fair trade for the improved driveability.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

But could have tested the ZDi variant.

True. But look at it this way:

a) The VDi will outsell the ZDi and is therefore more relevant
b) We'd never have known about the poor brakes on the L & V variants, if it weren't for the VDi.

Originally Posted by anandjha

By the way did you notice a faint hum (not engine's) all along your drive and clutch judder (a low frequency vibration)?

Nope, no hum. Clutch judder is usually the outcome of an abused clutch (expected in test-drive cars).

Originally Posted by govigov

Did the test car come with a different set of tires? The spare tire shows a bridge-stone turanza. Was the spare tire also upgraded?

Mentioned twice in our review. Please check.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Is the lack of brake-booster for L & V versions, something done in this new Swift or was that the case in previous Swift too

Don't know. But I don't remember too many complaints on the brakes of the last-gen VDi. Maruti giving such mediocre brakes is an inexplicable oversight.

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

The comparison chart in GTO's second post shows peak torque at 6000 rpm in case of the VVT Swift. Sorry for nitpicking, this appears to be a typo. Should read 4000 rpm.

Sorted . Thanks for reporting.

Originally Posted by morphique

it would be great if you provide inputs on comparison of its performance with that of iVtec of Jazz, especially the bottom end torque delivery.

You won't be happy with either in dense traffic. There's not much to choose from, though the Swift is a little better than the Jazz in terms of driveability. I loved the old 1.2 K series, but the newly tuned engine is nowhere as impressive.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

I am extremely skeptical about the it.

Don't be; several other cars have been using plastic tanks since ages.

Originally Posted by MihirC

It seems that you have reviewd a car after ages

Yup. Though I've been a part of most recent reviews (including the Brio, Jetta etc.)

Originally Posted by noopster

Good review as always, but the timing is terrible, sorry to say.

Apologies for being late, but this was the earliest we could possibly manage. Plus, look at it this way : Our reviews aren't useful only at the time of launch. A car typically has a shelf life of 6 - 7 years in India. Thus, though a month late, it's going to be useful for the next 71 months

We've had a few really good ownership reviews of the new Swift on the forums by now

Absolutely. I'm extremely proud of our quality of content, and how BHPians are ever-willing to share information with one another. The Swift ownership threads have been top-class!

[RJK]

Good review. Surprisingly, Fabia has been left out of all the comparisons, everywhere. I think its doing reasonably ok now, isn't it ?

[RGK]

Originally Posted by GTO

Other Points:

- Good news : MRF ZVTS tyres are now standard on the Swift. The lousy JK Vectras are a thing of the past.

- Localisation level is currently at ~ 95%. That explains the competitive pricing of the LXi.

- The upside of buying such a successful car is the guaranteed resale value; conversely, the downside is the super-long waiting period (already 9 months in some towns).

- The suspension’s underlying stiffness (at low speeds) is more evident on the backseat than the front.

Excellent Review GTO & Stratos. What a coincidence. Just now I am back from TD of the new Swift at Popular Motors and opened my browser to see the swift review.Test vehicle is ZDI and it came with MRF with 15" alloys including spare.

The Sales guy showed one VDI with Good Year. He said that this time the OEM tyres for VDI are from Good Year.

Yes. When Swift was launched in 2004 (or 2005) I saw lot of components inside the engine bay from Bosch - Germany. It is missing now.

Also I felt the space between the front grille and the engine is bit more. The length of the car is more on the front rather than in the back.
Disappointed on seeing the boot space. After spending so much (6.58Lakh - OTR-VDI @ chennai), one cannot carry even the necessary luggage for a long journey.

Popular has displayed 5 months waiting period for VDI's and 6 months for ZDI's. The person who has got his VDI delivered today (good date) booked exactly 4 months back.
The SA strictly said "NO temporary Registration for new swift". The decision was taken by Maruti to avoid brokers. I could not understand this. The car will be invoiced on the name of the person who booked.

Absolutely. But the ride quality is much improved than the old swift. I felt more comfortable.

Your review never misses even small things. I was not comfortable while releasing the clutch and my ankle hit the lower dash/console corner. I am 6.2" and this was not very convenient to me.

My colleague who drives a swift daily found the great engine punch missing in the new variety. The Sales guy said "to improve mileage"..

I found the Audio system is better than the Figo but no Blue tooth.

[born2drive]

Thanks for the much awaited review.

Having driven Swift Vxi and i10 1.2 from Bangalore to cochin very often ,i still prefer punto 1.3 over any hatch in that segment(Only one time i have driven punto for more than 100km though).

This review have given me enough points to look out for the punto face lift that might launch in the near future ..

Love the swift ..but wont buy it scenario again!!

[StealthBaleno]

Hi GTO!

Fisrtly a superb review, thanks a lot for the same! i agree with most of your comments on the pros/cons in the car, and i have faced many of the problems outlined by you as i own a Blazing Red ZDI myself.

I wanted to check with you on the below two queries i have with my car:

1. I can get the AVC (Auto Volume Control) feature in my car's stereo working, can you please help me on this?
2. I havent come across this feature mentioned my you "Instrument cluster gets 7-step adjustment for illumination (brightness). Note that the 7th step keeps the meters at the same level as at 6; only the MID gets brighter on the 7th". Help required on this as well .

Thanks!

[Maverick79]

As usual, the swift too got stamped with 'GTO review'. Deserves 5 stars.

All the finest and practical points missed in ownership reviews of recent owners are covered.
But, to my suprise, the Vista is missed in the comparison list even though it is sharing the same mill.

Trying to add some views on the same, would like to share this one to one comparison between Swift VDi and Vista VX, found in one of the forwarded mailers.
Hope it helps.

[moralfibre]

I was thinking hard to figure out where the AC controls of the Swift are taken from. Guess what? They are from the Ritz:

Check the dash pic - Dash

Swift AC controls:

http://www.team-bhp.com/carpics/Maru...i-swift-10.jpg

I really wish they had picked up the split seat as well.

Additionally, the old Swift had a useful bottle holder:

Here/

But I don't miss it much in my car since the door pockets make up for it.

Originally Posted by download2live

Will make Diesel more attractive to fairer sex.

My wife who isn't really a car enthusiast asked me:

They say diesels make a lot of noise inside, but this one doesn't, wonder what they complain about. This was on a highway drive and says a lot about the NVH.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

For enthusiasts like us ,we would want the car to give .......
......About the boot ,its as if Suzuki has done a favour by giving one .
Why the heck would anyone spend 7.7L ( Bangalore) on a Suzuki small car that has a boot just larger than a I10,has pathetic brakes ,scary rubber ( which means I would have to spend another 15 K on a new set of rubber ).....

Actually Satya, the Z variant fixes your concerns at 7.7L. It comes with decent 185 section rubber and has better brakes. BUT, at 7.7 L, I wouldn't really buy a Swift.

Originally Posted by geeash

Phew ! at last!!
The "shin" part is absolutely true. i have mentioned it in the scoop thread !!.

Its really annoying and hurts.

Originally Posted by Racer_X

One more thing which I observed in my ZDI is that you cannot set the clock manually and needs to be taken to the service station for setting the time. Don't know why MSIL could not give a small knob or setting in the MID.

I was wondering how to set the time if I were to disconnect the battery anytime. Thanks for this info.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Is the lack of brake-booster for L & V versions, something done in this new Swift or was that the case in previous Swift too ? Either way, it is cheap to cut down on something as crucial as brakes.

Tell me about it, I really wish Maruti takes a note from Toyota and provides an upgrade. The brakes are quite scary.

They also need to standardise the tyres across the trim-levels. You can give alloys only in the top variant, but having different section/dia tyres for the same car based on variant is shoddy.

I agree your thought as an enthusiast. But I am told (could be untrue), that the size of tyres on a car, its length, etc all adds up to the excise cost. Not to mention the initial cost of car production. And I fully agree with you, 165 section tyres on a Swift is a joke. All Maruti cars are undertyred.

The previous version of Swift also had this auto-lock/unlock feature - atleast our Zxi has it, not sure of L & V versions. Though not sure about the auto-unlock in case of a hit.

What's new is that this feature made it into the V spec version. Your ZXi has the same locking systems as the new one. So it should unlock on impact.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

How does the plastic fuel tank on the new swift hold up?
I am extremely skeptical about the it. For someone who drives the car 90% on highways at an average speed of 80kmph, there is a high probability that a stone can hit the plastic fuel tank at the bottom a bit too frequently and can cause a rupture.
Is it a cause for concern? Or am I being a bit too concerned?

Don't worry, a stone can damage a steel plastic tank as much as it could a steel tank. This isn't really "plastic" but is made out of some sort of a fibre after testing its rigidity.

Originally Posted by noopster

The attention to detail in moralfibre's review for example is comparable to an "official" review, no offence meant to anyone.

lol. And moralfibre looked at the official reviews to know "how to write a review". My review is nowhere as detailed.

Originally Posted by RGK

The Sales guy showed one VDI with Good Year. He said that this time the OEM tyres for VDI are from Good Year.

My Swift came with MRF's from the factory.

[Racer_X]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I was wondering how to set the time if I were to disconnect the battery anytime. Thanks for this info.

Figured it out!! You need to depress and hold the two MID knobs for Trip and Mileage for couple of seconds and then the time display begins to blink, then you can set the time using the trip knob.

[Parishrut]

Great review by GTO! And Thumbs up to the sweet show of commitment towards reviewing the car ( makes me wonder why the complany could not provide a test car on its own! ).

I hate the swift for being impractical in terms of rear space and boot space. Infact , I still wonder what makes it such an epic success despite of these serious shortcomings!

But I guess it boils down to the fact that initially the Swift did not have much competition in the premium hatchback market ( like it has from the Hyundai i series today ). Moreover, at the time when it was launched, it combined aesthetic aspirations and sporty ride and handling with unbeaten service network and reliability at a reasonable price ( indians were used to sacrifising form over function for reliable a*s*s* and affordable price , etc ).
And today, being such a huge success, it demands even more attention. People aspire for its well rounded and balanced good looks which please everyone ( unlike the Beat ), the hallowed cult status ( or just say, "status" ), and the fact that all this offered by Maruti rounds it up.
Moreover, the fear of a bad product succeeded by unruly dealer behavior in a country plagued by reliability issues in virtually every area, forces many to think less and go with what tried and tested at such a huge mass level!

[Jaggu]

Excellent review GTO. Suzuki sure has taken in some learning from the old swift to make the new swift. A very small detail as egs, the rear seat backrest lock has some kind of damping now over it. This used to be an issue with the old cars resulting in rattle and garages land up putting insulation tapes over it. Another, front upper cross member has some reinforcement running to the struts on the side. Another weak spot and something which will improve the front collision rating.

But on the other hand, i still see the cost cutting. I am a big fan of swift dark interiors and firm believer that the beige interiors really spoil the looks, but i still feel the improvement is marginal wrt plastics. Somehow that premium feel is not there for a 7+ lakhs hatch :( I did not mind with my ol vdi coz it was well within 6 lakhs OTR but 7 lakh plus, game changes.

ps: Small correction to point out, swift d's always had plastic tanks and is not a new addition. Also the brake assist they refer to is ABS i guess.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by GTO

Handling : Swift
Stability : Punto
Ride quality : Punto
Steering : Punto
Gearshift : Swift
Driveability / city use : Swift
Space (and boot) : Punto

handling . in Handling dept , new swift seems to have taken Punto;s head on. I remember you rating Punto the best handler on south of 10 lakhs bracket but that was all most 2 years back but still punto ticks all the right boxes.

Or

was it a rare typo mistake . frankly speaking i am happy to know that they have improved on handling deptt.
On a separate note, weight reduction at the cost of more thin windows glass is some thing which is not acceptable IMO. So are we looking at more broken glass;s now onwards?.

not sure till how far the addition of plastic fuel tank is good safety wise or not. on a positive note, it take away the worries of a rust etc in the long run . what all the other places where they have reduced weight . any ideas.

Between MSIL must have Invited T-BHP for a official review of the car. As a forum of passionate petrol head, we deserve that.

[RGK]

Boot has a small lamp on the left side in Z series (saw in ZDI) with a manual switch.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

A very small detail as egs, the rear seat backrest lock has some kind of damping now over it. This used to be an issue with the old cars resulting in rattle and garages land up putting insulation tapes over it.

If I could see what you are talking about. The rear seat backrest lock lever is now made of some fibre (nylon I think) cloth. I don't remember the old one but I guess it was a plastic lock right?

ps: Small correction to point out, swift d's always had plastic tanks and is not a new addition. Also the brake assist they refer to is ABS i guess.

I always thought it was a steel tank. Are you sure about this? Since Maruti Suzuki has been stating that it is a new feature.