I booked a Vxi Swift, without ABS, (color obviously red!) after a lot of heart-searching, mainly due to lots of negative rumours about the fuel consumption.... but I just couldnt resist its cute, big, round friendly looks anymore, and Im Really Glad, coz Ive had it for three weeks now, and Im sooo totally in love with it!!!
Ok, raving aside, here is the low down - I am a Maruti person, and have been for the last 17 odd years... and when I got my Swift, I knew they have delivered a winner this time. The looks - I dont have to say anything, wherever I go I keep hearing people exclaim ’’Oh a Swift!’’. Probably the best and freshest design on Indian roads now. Good ergonomics, you arent sleeping in the drivers seat to get to the clutch, and the seats a comfy, not plush but decent.
Its smooth, handles very well, and has the sophisticated feel of more expensive cars. Its easy to twist and turn and pull all maneuvers with this car, the EPS is with you all the way, and parking is easy. The gear shift is a bit hard, but you get used to it. As far as drive-ability goes, its a dream, I drive in rush hour traffic in Hyderabad, and I dont have to keep changing down if Im in a higher gear in slow-moving traffic. Even better - no foot cramps in bumper-to-bumper clutch-brake driving. Its very good for zippy autorickshaw bypassing(hah!), also for sizeable distances, and feels solid while fast cornering.
The AC is really one of the best in the small car segments, at delivery time they told me it cools in three seconds and its true, it really does. Driving with the A/C on is fine, there is no noticeable power-loss.
All those who have heard nightmare stories about petrol consumption - do not worry if you are a smooth and steady to mildly fast driver(you cant do anything else on metro roads nowadays anyway). I got 13 kmpl in my 2nd week, (but not much A/C), and its steady so far. So Maruti’s claim of 12-14 seems to be true, but Im keeping my fingers crossed for now.
One place that Maruti has failed in even here is to get rid of the few remaining rattles and squeaks!!! I didnt expect that a car of this calibre would make strange noises but I think in Maruti its a feature, not a problem!
My final verdict - this is the best car for city driving. The other small cars are just not value for money. Dont think twice, just go for it!