I purchased my swift VXI on May 1st 2008. It’s close to 1 year now, so I thought of writing this review. I purchased it from Pratham Motors in Bangalore. The purchase price was 4.97 lacs . I asked for teflon coating and under chassis treatment that costed me 10 K additionally.
Good things:
It’s true that swift is one car that you can’t ignore. The sporty looks make it a favorite among young car aspirants. At the same time there are people who really don’t like swift’s shape. Well I was and still am, fond of the sporty looks of this car. I think this is the feature that sets this car apart. The pickup is pretty decent. The swift manual says that you can switch to 5th gear at the speed of 40 kmph. Although I think that 5th gear at 40 will make you feel that the power is lacking. I usually put it on 5th gear at 50kmph plus. This itself is a pretty low speed for 5th gear, so you can imagine that the car is pretty powerful. The mileage is pretty decent for a 1.3 liter car. It will easily give you 12 kmpl in Bangalore city with AC. You can expect 13 khpl mileage without AC. The car is ideal for long drive . It’s pretty powerful and smooth to drive. The suspension is pretty good. I have heard that the ICATS security system is very good and prevents car theft.
Bad things:
I feel that the gear shifting is not very smooth. Especially when you put it to either 1st gear or reverse gear. Other than that the gear shift is smooth. The boot space is also not great, but that you will have to live with since this is a small car. The car has a peculiar design with the rear portion being slightly broader that the front.Although this gives a very nice look to the car but you might face problem when parking the car in narrow space. One think I feel that Maruti should provide in this car is reverse parking sensors.
How it compares to other cars:
Hyundai Getz is another wonderful car that you can get around the same price. Getz gives you a better drive in terms of power and smooth gear shift. The problem with Getz is its mileage. I think swift scores over Getz in terms of looks.
Tata Indigo will provide you better room space and running cost(I assume you will go for a diesel model). The problem with Tata cars is they are not very smooth to drive and the engine is not very responsive. I have heard that the resale value of Tata cars is also not good.
Final verdict:
Overall I would say that I am satisfied with my decision of purchasing swift. It rocks.