Hi Everyone,
This is my 1st review however, I have been a member here for quite sometime and I used to just go through the reviews.
I have been doing a lot of research on buying a car and my options were Alto LXI, Indica Xeta GLX, Wagon R VXI and the Santro XO. I had to rule out Alto cos there is nothing great about the car except mileage. If some one wants more milage and less comfort, driving pleasure, then Alto is the best bet.
I didn’t like the Wagon R with its bread-loaf look and Xeta because of Tata’s reputation with petrol cars. Also, i went in my friends Indica DLX and found that the car some how lacks the class and finish. So gave up going for Xeta.
The only option I was left with was Santro. Santro XO came with all the features(4 power windows, rear demister etc., ) I took the test drive and when I switched on the AC at 2, the power of the vehicle just came down like anything.
Then I saw the red Swift VXI which my friend bought. It had stunning looks, big tyres, awesome power and so many features. I finally decided to buy the VXI.
When I was calculating the cost of the extra features that a ZXI has like the SRS air bags, alloy wheels, broad tyres, automatic climate control, rear demister, ABS etc., I realised that that these features cannot be custom fit to its best to a lower end car. Ans these features are one of a kind in the entire segment and I got a heavy cash discount on the car too with the Dusshera offer.
Finally, I took the delivery of the Swift ZXI Silky Silver yesterday. The ride of the car with the EPS is smooth like cutting through butter. The suspension is awesome and it is the best for pune roads. The engine is silent and the gear shift is very smooth. I always drive ith AC on and I felt the car has a lot of power. The steering is very light and the headlamps are very powerful. The driver seat comes with height adjustment ahich is a added bonus. I thought it is better to buy the top end Swift instead of buying the Vxi or the LXi and later repenting that you should have bought the ZXI. As many of the features of the ZXI cannot be custom fit. The ABS is a added advantage and breaks the car nicely.
The car is can never be compared with Santro, Wagon R or Indica Xeta. It has style and loads of power with a well refined engine. The best thing about Maruti is the service network and the resale value which no other brand could match.
The car has enough storage space to even carry a hoistorical trunk box or even a sack of rice:-) Some improvement areas: pedal rest next to the clutch as in a santro, a clock (even a indica GLE has a clock), the rear pillars are very broad causing blind spots especially with the head rests raised.
Comin to the looks, the car is definitely a head turner. I just love the alloy wheels and the tyres. The seat upholstery is nice. The head rests add a class to the rear seats. The display panel shows so many indications which is very handy at times.
Overall the car is a best buy anytime in its range. Its kerb weight is heavier than even the esteem and the Accent which shows how stable the car would be at high speeds. The wheels are wide spread and you would definitely feel that you are driving a BIG car!
Would post my reviews after I go for a long ride as my car is not even a day old!
Cheers,
Venkatesh.
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Here’s my update after 3 months. The car is giving an unbelievable 14 Kmpl in city with A/C on at all time and 16 on highways. The gear shifts have become smoother after my 1st service. I always drive with manual A/C and have rarely used the automatic climate control. I touched 140 Kmph on the Goa and Mumbai highways from Pune and the car still had some play left in the accelerator. I have fitted a pioneer head unit with 4 X 6" coustic speakers on the doors. The music system is awesome now. I didn’t want to replace the parcel tray with a rigid one to house rear speakers as it causes unneceassary attention for speaker thefts and makes people sitting behind hard time to take a nap woth the rear speakers behing their heads. The auto-cop/key less entry is very good facility which comes with the car. The best thing about buying the ZXI is certain parts like the dual airbags, ABS with EBD, ACC, rear window de-mister and the seat-height adjuster could never be retrofitted to a VXI within the price difference (Rs.95, 000) whci you pay extra on the ZXI. The car is very stable on high speeds and one needs to take the external bulge/curves in to account and focus the rear view mirrors accordingly to avoid brushing the car on both the sides. The best way to achieve max. mileage is to try to go to the 5th gear after reaching 50 Kmph. The suspension of the car is real good. I saw the U-va and the Getz recently. They are no way to the Swift. Its better if people buy the zxi instead of going for the vxi.
Cheers,
Venkatesh.