I owned a Maruti 800 for 2 years and was just ok with it considering it fit my budget - both initial cost and running costs. I had to go abroad for 6-7 months and so decided to sell it off since there was no one who would be using it, having offered a good price I finally sold it off to Automart India for 1.7 Lac.On my return back to India, I was in a big long dilemma..WagonR or Santro or Swift or Getz or Indigo (Petrol)?? Since the Maruti 800 had been a no hassle car and also because the Service by the dealer was not that bad...I decided to stick to Maruti.
Also one of my friends, who works with TATA Motors told me that if its Indigo, dont go for the Petrol one...coz, TATAs are better off with the Diesel Engine (I hated diesel cars..atleast the Indian one’s becoz of the vibrations / nauseatic effects and what not!!) Taking his advice for granted I had no option but the Maruti WagonR or Swift...Estillo was not yet around. Points compared were -- Initial price(30%) , running price (25%), inner space (15%) looks/ status value (15%), power/pick up/ sturdiness(10%) road view (5%)WagonR was better in Initial price - significant difference of about Rs.1 Lac; Running price (difference of 2/3 KMPL...so @ say average 1000Kms per month Rupee difference of Rs. 500 per month. But on all other factors, Swift scored higher.
Also there is another factor which is an emotional feel. I was not sure how long I would be keeping this car as well...so after a lot of logical/emotional arguments, I fell for the swift VXi.....and from the day I took the delivery, I thanked God, I went for it!Obviously I always compared swift VXi with my 800...power / space / interiors / looks / everything was so fabulous. More than once I turned the keys to start the car, while the car was running....the car doesnt vibrate an mm or doesn’t make a whisper when stationary......and once you put it in the 1st there are a thousand horses waiting to push off....so much power at the slight touch of the accelerator!!The tachometer (RPM meter) / seat belt warning / headlight buzzer / key warning buzzer/ remote fuel lid opener and 5th door opener.... all these small things provide value. Gear lever shifting is smooth.
But not smooth enough. The space inside is huge. My kid is about a year old and obviously sleeps a lot in car. My wife used to make him lie down at the back seat...and he too used to comfortably stretch his legs and have a nice nap. We went on long drives (Ganapatipule / Goa / Mahabaleshwar) and on those occasions my wife n son could easily cuddle up at the back seat. The car runs smoothly too and has a lot of power packed. On our trips we passed through a number of steep ghats...the car soars smoothly through the steep curves even on the 3rd gear! No other car / vehicle overtook us on ghats.
The power steering too was of immense help. On highways I crossed 120KMPH and the car was still running absolutely smooth!Some people say that the rear view is bad in the Swift...however I never faced such problems...using the 3 mirrors provided, there is no need to even turn your head around!! Well, sometimes while making sharp turns, the view, to some extent does get obstructed because of the framework, however, this is not that serious!
Maintenance wise Maruti has been a leader: I had not spent a Rupee on anything other than the regular servicings and oil changes on my earlier 800, and even as it is almost 5 months that I am driving the swift and have driven 6000+ kms, I have never spent anything other than the routine spends on regular services.All in all, in summary, I would say that the swift is truly SWIFT, and is the best hatchback car in India! It scores higher in totality of factors like costs/milleage/power/looks/space/driving comfort over all the hatchback cars!