Maruti Suzuki

New Swift

Maruti Suzuki Swift

The Maruti Suzuki Swift has been an automotive icon for several years now. It offers style, sportiness, and reliability in an attractive package for buyers. The Swift has generated high sales figures for the brand consistently, in spite of higher competition from its new-age rivals. 

How is the Design?

The Swift looks attractive, make no mistake about that. It has newer interior and exterior tweaks as well. The front grille has been extensively upgraded with a chrome touch. The mesh has a black finish, while there are stylish two-tone options like white-black roof, red-black roof, and blue-white top. This makes the car look more premium, although you may argue that its sporty look may have been compromised a little. The new grille does keep up the sporty quotient, while the front fascia has rounded headlights and LED projector lamps with DRLs and fog lamps. The Swift has the same floating roofline along with blacked-out B and A pillars. There are 15-inch alloy wheels along with an edgy rear design with its spoiler, bumper, and chrome badging. The curved design at the back is a nice touch, along with the neatly positioned windshield. 

What’s the Interior like?

The Maruti Suzuki Swift gets an upgraded instrument cluster and infotainment unit, with more colors. The seats offer good support, while there is generous legroom at the back. Visibility is slightly hindered with the C-pillar door handles. The Swift feels well-put-together, although some plastics need improvement. The car also skips some essential features including wireless charging and connected car technologies. The cabin feels spacious and airy otherwise, and you can go on long journeys without feeling overtly fatigued. The seats have new and more premium upholstery as well. The inclusion of 60:40 split-folding rear seats is a great touch and a segment-first. 

Tech and Infotainment

The Swift comes with its SmartPlay Studio infotainment unit and this gets a stylish home screen as well. Top-end trims have cruise control and a color display between the driver dials. There is a 2-DIN setup for the mid-range variant. There are power-folding mirrors as well. 

How does it perform?

The Swift gets a DualJet K-Series engine with capacity of 1197 cc and it makes 66 kW at 6,000 RPM, along with 113 Nm of maximum torque at 4,400 RPM. This four cylinder engine has two injectors for each cylinder, enabling better fuel injection abilities, efficiency, and power delivery. The engine has a better torque curve while the idle start/stop function is also a useful addition. The engine feels refined and free from vibrations. It feels agile enough, although not as quick as you would expect. However, get past 1,200 RPM and things start getting better. The Swift keeps offering steady performance with more power at lower speeds, enabling better city driving. There is better performance, with the Swift touching 100 kmph in 11.67 seconds.

How’s the Driving Experience?

The Swift is a treat to drive overall, with its agile and responsive nature. You will enjoy low-speed driving with the Swift, and there are hardly any efforts required for maneuvering the car in city traffic. The only thing is tha the steering wheel offers slightly lower feedback at higher speeds. The ride is firmer at lower speeds and the Swift can take broken roads with gusto. You can feel the suspension going over potholes but ride and handling remain decent enough. The light steering is good for city driving, although some drivers may require more feedback and weight. The self-centering rack of the Swift ensures better low-speed driving as well. The Apollo Alnac tyres are the only dampener for drivers. 

How’s the Mileage?

You can expect anywhere around 16-17 kmpl in the city and 19-20 kmpl on the highway from the Swift, in real-world settings. 

Safety Equipment

The Maruti Suzuki Swift comes with several features including ESP, hill-hold assist and other standard offerings for the AMT version. There are other features like rear parking sensors, dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking camera, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, and more. 

Which variant to buy? 

The AMT option is slightly pricier, although city commuters may prefer the same for spirited and easy driving. The mid-range VXI trim is the ideal option on a budget, while the ZXI trim offers all the features that you want, along with higher value. The AMT units offer more convenience during city driving, although the manual transmission may feel sportier to drive. The LXI trim only has the basic features without a lot of comfort features. The VXI trim is costlier but offers a lot more than the entry-level version. This should be a good choice for those on a budget. The ZXI not only offers everything that you need but comes with additions like the seven inch touch screen setup with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, automatic climate control, keyless entry and go, leather-wrapped steering, power folding OVRMs, and the 60:40 split folding rear seats. It is not priced excessively above the VXI, meaning that it offers the best value. 

The ZXI+ top-end trim is even costlier, with its dual-tone color options, auto-folding wing mirrors, auto LED headlamps, LED DRLs, rear camera, color MID, and cruise control. If the budget is a non-issue, then you can choose this variant. 

Which Cars Compete in this Segment?

The Maruti Suzuki Swift mainly takes on the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios in its segment. The Swift is the widest and tallest hatchback in this slot. The Swift is the most fuel-efficient car in its segment, while it is more powerful than the Grand i10 Nios’ 1.2 litre version. The turbo-petrol avatar of the latter has more power and so does the 1.2 litre engine of the Figo. The Ford Figo does not get any automatic option with its petrol engine although it offers a diesel engine. 

Hyundai has more powertrain choices for the Grand i10 Nios. The top-end Figo has the highest safety features although the Swift trounces the Grand i10 Nios in this department. The Swift also features segment-firsts like the 60:40 folding rear seat, cruise control, and even other attractions like dual-tone color options and power-folding mirrors. The Grand i10 Nios, however, gets more features like rear air conditioning vents and wireless smartphone charging. Yet, overall, the Swift makes a strong case for itself, considering Maruti’s reliability, great fuel economy, refined and sporty engines, stylish looks, and decent features. 

Verdict

The Maruti Suzuki Swift has undergone an evolution, offering more refinement, features, and segment-firsts in a compelling package. Fuel economy is excellent and so are the performance figures. The car still has a cute and stylish design, although it misses out on a few features at this price point. There is no diesel variant and things like wireless charging and rear air conditioning vents are sorely missed. Yet, the Swift drives neatly, while offering a certain design appeal that will continue pulling in customers in large numbers. It should keep generating high sales figures for Maruti Suzuki in the years to come. In fact, it may even cannibalize sales figures for the better-loaded and more premium Maruti Suzuki Baleno as well, with its legendary sportiness, drivability, and reliability.