Disclaimer:
The following review is based on my own wisdom and personal experience. Not intended to hurt any organization or individual. Technical details of this product are not re-invented, Please visit Maruthi Suzuki website
This is all about my new Swift ZDi Blazing Red, my fourth car. Earlier I was using TATA Vista VX QJT for about 2 years(38 K KMS) and got replaced with Swift ZDi. Majority of my usage is within city limits, with occasional highway bursts. I’m a middle-class racing enthusiast, though don’t have the privilege of owning expensive cars, always strive to satisfy my lusts within the available budget margin.
Engine and Performance:
Swift Diesel uses India’s renowned 1.3L Fiat’s multi-jet engine, christened as DDiS. The Engine is proven for its rock solid reliability, performance and least maintenance. Twist the magic start key, you will notice a feeble clatter under the hood.
I would say this DDiS is one of the quietest and smoothest diesel engines out there in the market. Fiat’s 1.3L Oil burner is known for Turbo-lag below 1.8 K rpm, as felt with other competitors using this mill. However Maruthi Suzuki has taken extreme care in minimizing the lag. In my personal experience, the turbo-lag in Swift is hardly noticeable at low revvs. The car is eager to pull clearly to 3 digits speed in no time. Beware of throttle inputs in turbo-zone, The car would make you feel like a wild horse leaping forward when let loose. Swift’s acceleration is very much on par with its competition and can easily challenge bigger displacement cars. The most astonishing part is all these fun comes without compromising the fuel economy. The car returns a mileage of whooping 20.1 kmpl in city and 24.5 kmpl on the highways under normal driving conditions. Rip the throttle pedal - hard, harder & hardest, yet you’ll notice the mileage figures staying north of 15 KMPL mark. Such efficiency is not possible with any of its rivals. The gears ratios are precisely aligned for best pick-up and mileage. The throws are accurate too, no false slots. To sum up, Swift has got a superb engine mated with a precise gear-box that brings a big smile on your face.
Styling, Interiors and Comfort:
I personally like the international styling of this car done by Suzuki engineers. Looks sharp and neat. I simply love the stretched headlamps and tail lamps, perfectly blended with a balanced body with right curves and proportions - Packed compactly. I see no flaws on the aesthetics front of this car and makes me fall in love with it every time. The waterfall console interiors are good looking too. The AC is super impressive, as the chilling happens within seconds with proper throw. The seats are of good in cushioning, offers decent comfort to passengers. Factory fitted swift’s music system is best in class for its category. The sound quality is astonishing with good bass reflux and treble. No distortions from speakers so far. NVH levels are also excellent for a diesel car, sometimes I hardly feel the engine running under the hood and tend to confirm only by referring the RPM needle.
Ride quality and Handling:
The car’s suspension is right on spot, neither too spongy nor rock hard. They are tuned for optimum comfort. The shocks observe pot holes precisely and does its job very well. The handling is very impressive too. At speed in excess of 140, the car feel planted on roads. While high speed cornering, there is minimum amount of body-roll compared to its competitors. The EPS steering feels light yet well-weighted for city and highway driving conditions, offering excellent feedback to driver. Swift can be easily driven as a hard core sports car and pushed upto 160+ kmph with no fuss. The car stands tall on the factory supplied alloy wheels with tubeless tyres. Both dry and wet tractions are decent, however I still wish for a wider profile tyre upgrade for better controls.
Build Quality:
Swift’s build quality is definitely not as good as its premium rivals. There is a room for improvement in this area. The plastics used are of low quality and flimsy. The paint quality is also not commendable, having tendency to fade over time. Sometimes I do hear mild rattling noise from the parcel trays, may be due to cheap quality plastics being used. I believe they are all fixed in 2014 Facelift launching this month.
Space and Storage
Let me put it frank, Swift is strictly not for a big family. The car has decent space for the front row however the rear seems to be cramped with 3 adults, especially on the leg-room. Tall passengers may find trouble sitting in the rear bench. The optimum loading of this car is only up to 4 adults and 1 child. Anything beyond this will sacrifice your comfort for sure. The boot has limited space too, restricting storage to one big suitcase plus two small bags for a weekend trip. Maruthi could have done something about the space management. In my case, I seldom load my car full of passengers and baggage, hence not an issue.
Safety and Reliability:
Since I have chosen the top most variant, it comes with ABS, EBD, Airbags and Adjustable seat belts. Everything does its duty precisely. The car is so faithful to driver’s command, offering very good control and confidence inspiring. The only niggle I find with this car is the factory supplied headlamp bulbs - slightly underpowered for highway riding conditions. These days car makers enable both the lights(Dipper and High beam) while on High beam mode, providing better throw on those pitch black highways. With swift it is either High beam or Low beam. I wish this issue gets rectified in the next iterations. For existing customers, I would recommend a bulb upgrade.
After-Sales and Maintenance:
No matter how expensive or premium our car is, it is the After-Sales that decides our car’s fate. Maruti is known for its unmatched service, it is true to my case as well. I have lot of lessons learnt from the TATAs in my past. I disposed my Vista purely because of their inadequacy in service culture, subject knowledge and workmanship.
Presently I service my car with Maruthi Service Masters, aka MSM based out of Guindy – Chennai. Being a direct service outlet from Maruthi Suzuki Ltd, The center is truly professional and top notch in servicing. At each visit, I always prefer to go in person to leave my car. MSM offers me free drop to my office for my return. I usually wait less than 5 min to leave my car here.(I never got this luxury in my past ownerships. I still remember waiting indefinitely for a service engineer to hear my complaint and acknowledge the vehicle for service). What amazed me was the level of workmanship offered with surprisingly low cost of parts & labor. Several dents and scratches were repaired at free of cost in no time. I appreciate the skill level of labors and their professional service experience. They aren’t like other rivals doing trial and errors at our cost, rather are of point and shoot. They know what needs to be done to bring absolute perfection. At the end of the day, Maruthi brands are easy on pocket yet with a royal customer treatment and service quality. I doubt even premium brand get the same level of service. Hats-off Maruthi Suzuki. Long live your service culture.
Verdict:
Swift is a much matured product in Indian market, evolved from Japanese racing DNAs. I would say, it is one of the best cars in Indian automobile history for its incredible Return-On-Investment. I bet every single rupee on Swift is worth investing. That’s why they still sell like hot-cakes without much upgrades or features unlike its rivals. In my experience, living with swift makes me proud for its stunning looks, excellent power, superb fuel-economy, sharper controls, superior refinement levels, adequate comfort and above all - the finest service network bringing a big smile on face as well as heart. All these comes with an unbelievable low cost of ownership. What else do we need?
Swift - My Eternal Bliss!