Have got my very own. mera apna.first car… Maruti Swift…. YAAY!
Who sold the devil?
Well I went to Rohan Motors, Delhi.
Pathetic service… They could never stand by their commitments. Would always go back on everything they promised. worse. the executive had a terrible attitude. as if he was doing me a favor by selling the car. They promised me the car in three days. it was more 15 days. they kept giving me future dates. by then the offers on the car were over and then they were not willing to give me the car at the prefixed rate(that is if they had the vehicle with them in the first place). Had to opt for another dealer. after researching with various dealers. Competent, Bagga. etc.,
I opted for - Fair Deal Automobiles
Excellent Dealer. would always answer queries satisfactorily… They offered me the best price(the same price that Rohan had offered initially!)… around 2k less than what any other dealer was offering. They always stood by their commitment. Gave me the car in three days….(though there was a supply shortage at that time…). The only issue with them, the executives would never call back. I had to call them every time… not a big deal. I like to call & bother people anyways:)
The Real Deal…
The diesel version was tempting initially, but on check, found that there is a price variance of over 60k between VXi(petrol) and VDi(Diesel) and there are no additional features except that VDi runs on diesel. It would take time to recover the initial price difference itself, besides the diesel engine is more expensive to service, than petrol. so went for VXi.(If one wants to go for the diesel version and the 60k difference does not hurt, then they should go for it, as Swift diesel is the best diesel hatchback car in India. the driving is so smooth. no noise at all)
Where Beauty Lies -
Super Cool car – this is as close as I could get to the Volkswagon Beetle in India:) … the cheverolet spark is no match for the Swift. The problem I faced was the lack of colours. I liked Azura Grey the most and so brought that. the metallic white also looks hot on the swift. Silky silver was another colour that I liked. but found too many of them on the road … well. didn’t much like rest of the colours…
Wizzardry Gizzardry -
It has a 1300 CC(4 cylinder & 16 Valve) engine with 90 bhp power… The engine is fantastic. so silent that at red lights I accelerate to see if the machine is on! Pick up is smooth. but still santro or even the palio would score better on this front. The gear change is much - much better than the Indica. but still can be bettered. I would not recommend Swift to beginners… its an excellent vehicle with fantastic features… but its also heavy and bigger than other hatchbacks. for example it takes more turning radius… and you wouldn’t want to destroy the Swift by learning to drive on it. Swift has a 43 litre petrol tank… cool for those looooong drives from Delhi:)
Spacing inside is a challenge:( . back seat width is comfy enough to accommodate 3 ppl. but leg room is a compromise there. although enough leg room has been provided for the driver & co-driver. boot space is just ok. but nothing like the indica or even better - Hyundai Getz. back seat could be folded to accommodate bigger items… The Swift scores over Getz on ground clearance – very important on Indian roads. The dashboard is cool with all features easily accessible to the driver.
Noticeable Features include:
Manual Central Lock
Power steering,
Power Windows(4 doors)
Light Off/ Key reminder
Door Ajar Warning lamp+ beeper
Driver’s Seat Belt warning Lamp
Day-night rear view mirror(not that effective though)
Rear Seats head restraints
Fabric accented door trims(looks elegant)
Removable ashtray
Internally adjustable ORV mirrors on both sides
Halogen headlamps
Front fog lamps(very useful in Delhi)
Ooops a daisies -
The ZXi variant comes with “Automatic climate control system” a feature I wish in VXi too :(
Another feature I miss is the luggage room lamp – very important at nights and inside dark parking lots.
Hungry kya?
I have done only 500 kms as yet and it is giving me 10kmpl with A/C on during peak hours in the city traffic. Besides it gets better with service… I am curious to find if I would get 21kmpl as claimed by the manufacturers.
Oh, excuse me Mr. Burglar -
All Maruti models are coming with the Immobilizer feature these days. the ignition key and lock have censors and the car would start only if both the key code and lock sensor would match… cool na?. I had a gear lock fitted seperately… Although there was an option to go for VXi with ABS. there was a price difference of 20k and I opted otherwise. the swift brakes are excellent without ABS too… besides in Delhi I rarely get to reach the 4 gear.
So how poor would you get?
The on road price after discounts for VXi was coming to approx Rs. 4.50 lakhsand I brought accessories worth 16k separately… iCATs - Intelligent Computerized Anti Theft System in Maruti would fetch you a discount of upto 500 bucks on the Insurance premium – discuss abt it while you finalise your deal… The first three servicing is free – and if I get d 3 servicing done from Fair Deal. would get the fourth one free too also the insurance company offers free servicing at various service centres…so I guess in all I would get around six services free.
Moral of the story
Buy it!