Maruti Suzuki Swift review |
A review on that car that seems to be finally showing what Maruti can offer in India from the Suzuki line up. A car that shows promise of things to come and thankfully unlike any maruti we have seen so far. A car that caters to the world market in the same guise as is seen in India. The fact that though it looks smaller than the esteem yet weight about a 100kgs more goes to show that this car is perhaps the best built Maruti of all time.
This car slots itself above the rest of the Maruti range, cars like the Wagon R, Zen and so on and below the Baleno. Also, this car severely hit the sales of the now ageing Esteem. It's made buyers of slightly bigger cars think twice. More than anything else, the shape; it seems to suit the slogan rather well... PLAY BOY... but, here among my friends there are few who think that it looks like a 50yr old pot bellied man; but views are only subjective. I find the line very aggressive and unlike any Maruti or otherwise seen here in India especially in this segment. The original concept S can at best be described as outrageous and the swift is a real trendsetter so to speak.
Design and interiors
The exterior styling as has been said above is new and refreshing. It's devoid of what we have seen so far. In fact, my reading is that emphasis on shape was so high that they wanted merely to create a good looker. Yes, I agree that the car still can seat 5 with relative comfort, but the hump back rear, and the wide wheel arches and so on have not really translated into any extra creature comfort. Have they? For a car with rather big dimension, the boot is quite small and so is the rear leg room. The plastic on the interiors really could do with some sprucing up, perhaps so chrome treatment, faux aluminium, or perhaps better plastic... The dash has a lot of unused area(thanks to contouring) and the only place you have in the car to keep stuff is the the little box on the passenger side(refer pic); plus the map pockets in the door. That's it; coming from the manufacturer of the Wagon R which uses all the little niches here and there which can be used to keep anything ranging from a mobile phone to your sunglasses... All, sadly missing. Perhaps Maruti thought this would rob the car of its neo look, maybe. Yet, one is inclined to hope for something of the Honda City cleverness for this car to utilise the spaces under the seat and so on. Also, the car has a high shoulder and rather low glass area. If one decides to have sun film on this car, it could make the car feel quite claustrophobic.
The car we tested also had a few squeaks coming from here and there, but that could be due to the poorly fitted spare. Here, I wish to point out the build quality which seems to have a taken a giant step towards the positive. The doors unimaginable thick(by maruti standards), shut reassuringly. The shut lines still need a little working here and there, but the fact is that this car is built to suit European specs. Maruti's decision to incorporate SRS airbags and ABS as standard on the ZXi version is also a big morale booster; Maruti has definitely taken the issue forward, perhaps this should compel
manufacturers like Honda who still don't offer airbags or ABS on much bigger cars like the City. Not even the Vtec version. Well, if you thought that this car looked really good and felt even better when you sat inside it, you haven't seen anything yet. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the proof of the car is under the hood and more so in the way it drives. So, the actual test of the car is yet to come.
Engine and Transmission
Ride and Handling |
![swift exterior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swift2.jpg&imagetitle=Suzuki Swift Exterior"))
![swift exterior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swift1.jpg&imagetitle=Suzuki Swift Exterior"))
![swift headlamp](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swifthead.jpg&imagetitle=Suzuki Swift headlamps"))
![swift interior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swiftint.jpg&imagetitle=Suzuki Swift interior"))
![swift door](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swiftdoor.jpg&imagetitle=Suzuki Swift door"))
![click to enlarge](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swift2.jpg&imagetitle=SuzukiSwift exterior")){kind=link}
![click to enlarge](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=swift1.jpg&imagetitle=SuzukiSwift exterior")){kind=link}