I poured and poured ovver reviews of various cars and finally decided to fo for a Swift Vxi (with ABS). I must admit, initially , the concept of spending 5 lacs (with accessories) on a ’small’ car was daunting, but the moment I started driving it, all doubts vanished. Here’s a lowdown on the car.
This car looks, feels and rides like any other big car. A souped up Esteem Engine belts out a punchy 87 Bhp. And it not the no. of horses , its the way these horses are delivered that is terribly exciting. You’ll never find it not responding to your adrenaline calls. The engine is fairly refined, very responsive and does give the advertised ’’Sports Car’’ feel. Trust me, the difference is extremely tangible especially if you’re upgrading from a Santro or even a Corsa 1.3. The short-throw gears are sporty and a delight to shift. The well thought out gearing ratios a help in city driving.
The car is very stable (inspite of the tall boy design) and has the least amount of oversteer and bodyroll I have experienced in any car. It just turns to whereever you point it. But before you you go burning up the tar, a bit of advice, the braking is very sensitive and the car comes to a dead stop with a little pressure on the pedal. The car rides on large 14 inch tubeless radials (as opposed to 13 inchers on other ’small’ cars including the Getz). And that’s always good. Haven’t used the ABS still (hope I never get into a situation where it becomes critical), but its a great safety feature to have, if you know how to use it fully.
The interiors feel big and and are fairly refined. The reported door noise is mostly a power window issue and seems to be worse with the pane rolled down. The doors do look more solid than they actually are and I would like to advise people not to go for that expensive set of heavy bass speakers with large magnets. The doors are not upto it. You are better off mating them to a GOOD QUALITY parcel tray.
AC is fast and efficient and the engine noise levels (especially idiling noise) is best in class. As for the average, haven’t really checked that out scientifically, but don’t expect M800 or Zen like average from a car that weighs more than Esteem. A word of caution, the car is broader at the rear than the front. So keep more than adequate clearances while in traffic.
Did I tell you it looks awesome ?