I bought my Swift VDi on the 22nd of Dec 2007. I’ve Run 6500 kms since and I am extreemly pleased with my Car and have had no issues.
Now to the reveiw . I think the Swift diesel and petrol are complete driver’s cars. The Slick handling and sporty look and feel are unmatched by any of the competition, and add to it the reliability of Maruti, and fairly good pricing, we have a winner on our hands. The only issue is the waiting period with the diesel which ranges from 2 months to 6, which can be quite a pain. But guess what? I got mine in a DAY! I knew the Manger very well and there was a cancellation or something in one of the bookings and voila! i had my dream machine in a day.
All this thanks to a demand - supply problem, with Swift sourcing its 1.3 DDiS engine from Fiat, and as we all know Fiat makes some of the Best Diesel engines in the world. The 1.3 Common Rail Direct Injection engine from Fiat is a Top of the Line common rail getting rave reviews all over the world. Its the same engine which is on the New Fiat Palio stile and soon to be launched Grande Punto. The engine seems to be a big hit and lot of manufacturers are vying for it.
DRIVING:
As mentioned earlier the swift Diesel is excellent to drive. The Electronic Power Steering is excellent and the gears are very slick which make it loads of fun to drive both in the city and on the Highway. The Noise and Vibrations are very minimal and considering it to be a diesel is truly amazing. The Torque with 19 Kgm@ 2200 RPM is excellent and makes driving a breeze. Once the turbo kicks in it just quite simply flies! I drive my car every weekend between Mysore-Bangalore, and let me tell you, its the highway where this car comes into its own league. Doing 80-90 in 5th Gear @ 2000 RPM and the Turbo kicks in and overtaking most of the cars is effortless.
I have driven a couple of other Diesels quite a bit including the Accent CRDi and the Indigo TDi, But none of these can even come close to matching the swift in the ease of driving. In the city you just dont feel like you are driving a Diesel car. It is as good if not better than most of the other petrol hatches in the market. The only other car which I have driven and is better to drive in the city is the Honda City( New version) which is understandable as it is a top notch petrol and it is in another segment altogether.
As far as mileage goes, I get about 16-17 in the city(Bangalore) with the AC on all the time and 18.5-19.5 on the Highway(AC on) Which is quite good as I have a tendency to step on the gas pedal:) at most times and drive in the 120-140 region on the highways.
INTERIORS:
This is where the car falters. Dont get me wrong, I like the styling which is neat and uncluttered and very sporty, but it does lack the finish. The quality of plastics used seems not of the highest standards. The Center Console looks good but the Knobs of the AC feel Cheap. The Look and feel of the Steering is quite good, would have loved it if were adjustable though:(. Cigarette lighter is not part of standard fitment which is sad, considering I paid close to 6 lakhs for it. The Upholstery is also not that great but the ergonomics of the seats is fairly good. In spite of these little flaws, overall I am still quite satisfied with the Interiors.
One of the Biggest problems with the Swift is that it has way too many blind spots. The visibility is quite poor with the wide A and C pillars and narrow rear windscreen which makes reversing a little difficult.
The boot space is also limited which is an issue on long trips and if traveling on full load.
SERVICE:
As far as service goes, No issues whatsoever. I have been completely satisfied with the work. It has been serviced twice so far and everytime my car returns feeling much better. The Service network in Karnataka is excellent and most of the people I know hav’nt faced any issues.
RIDE:
I quite like the ride, very smoth and handles potholes very well. Some might fell the suspension to be a little stiff which makes the handling very good. Ground clearance is excellent, and till date the undercarriage has never been touched on any bumps.
FINAL VERDICT:
The Swift Diesel is by far the best diesel hatch in the market, considering the competition- The TATA Indica and the Hyundai Getz, it is way better. The Getz has one hell of a rocket engine on it, but falls in mileage and reliabilty of Hyundai is very poor and priced around 60, 000 more is way too expensive. The Indica on the other hand is cheaper but refinement and overall appeal is poor on the Indica.
Swift has its flaws no doubts - Not so great Interiors, poor visibilty and small boot. But the Plus points far outnumber the minuses.
The Swift Diesel overall is an excellent car which satisfies all your city as well as highway needs to the fullest.
However having said that, if you are not going to be driving it and will be chauffer driven and looks dont really matter to you and interior space and boot are big issues, Or for those who are beginners at driving and Blind spots and visibility are a big issue, you may consider other options as well.
If not, and If you are a 23 year old like me who just bought his first car or any other car enthusiast, the Swift is by far the Best.