News

Sold my 16-year-old Maruti Swift: Replaced with 2019 VW Polo

8th March 2022, 12:12 by Rahul Nagaraj

The Swift has been with me since 2018, performing flawlessly. Even in 2022, she didn't feel outdated, had all the features one needed.

BHPian chiranjitp recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Farewell to the Swift

Prologue

2005

Many years ago, there was an 11-year-old boy, unaware & unbothered about the reality of life & all things happening around him (still is, some say). Never could fit anywhere properly (still can't, some say), except when it came to cars. When kids of his age were busy buying/reading comics (& storybooks), he would buy the Autocar India magazine, read, look at car photos & repeat the cycle.

Those days his favourite car was the FIAT Palio, every car was inferior to the Palio as per him. He would daydream about buying a Palio someday. Then on a fine summer evening, all that would change.

One fine evening in July 2005 he went with his uncle to get some groceries. In the front parking lot, there was this car parked for display purposes, it looked, unlike anything he had seen on our roads or even in car magazines. Both him & his uncle (also into cars) forgot about the shopping part & directly went to check the car.

The display car was in blue in colour & looked so good, looked like a car from the future. The signboard behind the car read "SWIFT, you're the fuel". So, the car's name was Swift, the 11-year-old boy figured out. The car had so many curves, the sweptback big headlights, the bulky rear, everything looked very unique & eye-catching.

Then a SA came, opened the car & asked them to check out the interiors. The interiors felt even better, there were no exposed metal parts here, everything was covered with plastic. The dashboard was long & big, had all 4 power windows. The SA then started explaining the features to his uncle, the Swift was very loaded for that time. Two things caught the fancy of the 11-year-old, first was the ACC, just set the temperature like you would do in a split AC, how cool he thought. The next thing the duo was informed about was that the Swift had some 6/7 computers on board, which really caught the fancy of the boy. He asked the SA to show him the 6/7 computers, to which the SA couldn't give a satisfactory answer. The 11-year boy was very excited with the prospect of having 6/7 computers inside a car, surely, he could play his favourite game in one of them. Finally, they left the place & the SA gave him a brochure of the Swift, which is with him even to this date (& will be always with him).

2018

This 11-year-old boy is all grown up & a mature (although some say otherwise), 24-year-old now. He also has a car of his own (bought by his parents for his college duties), a 2001 Zen VXi in immaculate condition. By this time he was a member of Team-BHP, made a few friends for life. One fine September evening, he would finally get the opportunity to fulfil his long-time dream.

DBHPian & very good friend Leoshashi sent him a message over WhatsApp, that a DBHPian from Delhi was looking to sell his 2006 Swift ZXi. He was specifically looking to sell the car to someone who would take proper care of her. Since the car belonged to a BHPian & was the top of line ZXI (with airbags & ABS), the 24-year-old was very interested in the car. This was kind of a one-time opportunity to buy a first-gen Swift, the car that he has been waiting for since he was 11. So, he talked to DBHPian SS-Traveller (the owner of the Swift) regarding the price, general condition of the car, how to bring the car to Guwahati etc. Long story short, he sold his 01 Zen, bought the Swift home within a month.

The 24-year-old would finally fulfil the dream of his 11-year-old self of buying a Gen 1 Swift. The car also lived up to his expectations. The 11-year-old kid wasn't wrong after all, the Swift was a great car, ahead of its time.

Present-day

The Swift has been with me since 2018, performing flawlessly. Even in 2022, she didn't feel outdated, had all the features one needed. The 11-year-old kid in me was also happy with the fact that I owned & drove a Swift. The car was super reliable as well, never broke down anywhere. It did require some maintenance, though most were due to the fact that the 11-year-old in me would accept (or at least try) nothing less than how the Swift was in 2005. It was always an attempt to bring the vehicle back to the factory condition of 2005, both mechanically and cosmetically. Also, since it was an MSIL product, fixing & replacing things didn't cost much.

Then disaster struck, earlier this year the steering rack failed. That part if bought new costs a whopping 32k, the 27 (soon to be 28) year old me wasn’t happy with spending so much. The 11-year-old me of course wanted to fit a new rack & get a feel of how the steering behaved when Swift was brand new (the rest of the suspension components were new anyway). The 27-year-old me won this battle & I ended up fitting a steering rack from scrap (8k being the cost). This rack did solve the main issue, though I (mainly the 11-year-old in me) wasn't properly satisfied with this steering. Then there was my family, who told me point-blank to sell the Swift & get something brand new.

Of course, the 11-year-old inside me asked me to fix the car properly once & for all. New steering, new paint, new whatever was needed & keep her for a long time. Then the 27-year-me counter-argued that at the end of the day it will still be a 16-year-old car, also I already had an old car (our 1999 Omni). Another factor was the NGT's ban on old cars, now this point is funny since I got this car to Guwahati from Delhi so that she could live past the 15-year mark. So, what changed now? Well, the headquarter of the organization I currently work for is set in NCR, & of course a transfer there is a possibility.

So, with a heavy heart, I parted with the Swift on 16.01.2022, sold her to a used car dealer. I did get a good resale value, which speaks about the brand value of a Swift (no matter how old). The 11-year-old was devastated that day (still is a bit sad), & the 27-year-old me says sorry to that kid, who fell in love with the Swift. The kid in me did get to live the dream though, for almost 3.5 years. Of course, this was never enough, though I hope it was at least something.

The 16-year-old Swift, the 16-year-old brochure & 27 year old me:

Adios Swift:

Final odometer reading:

The Gen 1 Swift ZXi mini-review

The Gen 1 Swift ZXi was one complete car, ahead of its time. Let's start with the engine, the legendary G13BB. Of course, a bit outdated with regards to NVH & mileage, but talking about performance & fun factors, can still teach a lesson to most of the 1.2s on sale today. Then there was the way it revved to the redline, the awesome feeling of redlining the G13B, it revs cleanly to 6800 RPM with the engine screaming its lungs out. Not many cars can hit three-digit speeds in 2nd gear, this one can.

Things like clutch, gear shifting were spot on. The gear throws feel like how they would in a car from 2022, they were short & precise. Next up brakes, my variant being ZXi got ABS as standard & brake bite was perfect. I would even say the braking action is better than our 2016 Ecosport D.

Ride & handling was good, of course, Swift is known for a stiff ride. Yes, the ride is stiff, but the tall 185/70 R14 tyres mean it can tackle bad roads rather well. Then the handling is very tight and precise. The turn-in is sharp & one can carry some serious speeds over corners. Again, in the ride & handling department, it feels like a modern car.

Next up the all-black interiors, the big dashboard & thick A-pillars make you feel like you are inside a big car. Interior rattle is a big issue though, my Zen in fact had way lesser rattles. The front seats are very big & supportive, really a comfy place. The rear seats are decent, space & comfort both.

Also, equipment levels are decent even by 2022 standards. It has got dual airbags, ABS, 14" alloys (5 of them), front & rear foglights (rear foglight has gone missing in new-gen Marutis), ACC, driver seat height adjust, height adjustable seat-belts (again missing in many new cars), two 12V sockets, boot light (missing in something like a Polo), 4 PW, rear wiper & defogger etc.

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better replacement for my Zen. This gen of the Swift can be said to be one of those ageless beauties. It got so many things right. And as someone who practically lives and breaths cars, this car was like a match made in heaven to me. The journey with this one has been memorable, and the stories I will carry with me for a lifetime will be immense. We all know EVs are on the horizon, and there will be a day, years from now when some of us automotive enthusiasts will sit together over a cup of tea to discuss the days we spent hooning our ICE cars. During those discussions, this Swift will be the car I will remember the most fondly about. The screaming G13BB, the tight handling, the mad adrenaline rush… those will be the stories to tell.

The last time these 3 would be clicked together:

The replacement

Now to the most important question, what car replaced the Swift. I was initially looking at only new cars, hatchbacks to be precise. Finally, I ended up with pre-owned 2019 Polo TDi Highline +. This buying experience will be shared in a different thread/post.

Polo: