Cars from the Maruti Suzuki stable need no introduction. Except for a few, India’s largest carmaker has been able to capture a sizeable chunk of each segment it’s entered – if not lead it! A Maruti today isn’t just all about economy and utility but also about ensuring that their products are slightly more trendy and stylish than before without sacrificing performance or any of the other core values that their cars have come to stand for in the Indian marketplace. In light of the recently implemented BS IV emission norms, we test the new BS-IV compliant Maruti Swift petrol and diesel.

The Swift was one of the breakthrough cars for Suzuki when it came to pushing the design envelope. With it’s very European styling influences and it’s cheeky character, the Swift had the attention of not just the world markets, but Indian customers as well, who wanted a fun well-built hatchback with grown up road manners in a stylish package.

Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift in India in May 2005, and since then this hatchback hasn’t undergone any major changes; expect for the introduction of the diesel variant, and a minor facelift. Sure, there was the one off special edition (the ‘Glam’) but that’s about it. Like the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke , don’t fix it! Now, with Bharat Stage-IV norms being enforced in 13 Indian major cities, Maruti has given the Swift an all new 1.2-litre K12M series petrol engine and the diesel variant has been updated to comply with the new BS-IV norms.

The fifth generation Suzuki Swift first made its appearance at the Paris Auto Salon in September 2004. It’s been six years since its debut, but the Swift’s design still feels fresh and young. The basic design theme of the Swift, is really very close to the modern avatar of the iconic Mini Cooper, the predecessor of the once upon a time “common man’s car in Britain” - the Austin Mini. The Mini Cooper was featured in the 2003 ‘Italian Job’ movie whereas the Austin Mini was first seen in the original 1969 The Italian Job. (If we’re lucky the Cooper just make it to our shores soon!)

The Swift borrows heavily from the Mini on the design front and one of the first things you’d notice is the wheel-at-each-corner stance and the floating-roof. It’s a design element wherein the A & B pillars which are normally body-coloured are blacked-out, giving one the impression that the roof is really floating from the C-pillar. What it also does thankfully borrow, is the Mini’s cheeky demeanor, although in 1.6 guise which sadly isn’t available in India.

The black trapezoidal-shaped honeycomb grille proudly wears a large Suzuki badge – as is now the norm with all Suzuki’s! The headlights remain unchanged and still give the Swift a bright-eyed appeal. The car has a crisp waistline with a shallow greenhouse lending it an air of aggression. Neither the front nor the rear end has much of overhang, giving it a truly sporty stance. The rear end of the car does end rather abruptly but blends well with the rounded off bumper and the large rear tail-lamps. The flared wheel arches and the prominent crease-line below the doors, lend the Swift a sporty character and add just that little extra design flair to the side profile of the Swift.

The Suzuki Swift scored a maximum of 4-star rating in the Euro NCAP test in the adult occupant safety. The Euro-NCAP crash test video is shown below.

When the Swift was launched in the Indian market, Maruti Suzuki used this rather successful car to set internal benchmarks for design, styling and fit & finish. The Swift is currently available in three trim levels – LXi, VXi and ZXi with the petrol engine and the diesel comes in two variants – LDi and VDi . The ‘L’ comes with air-conditioning and power steering while the ‘V’ variants add power windows, tachometer, central locking and body-coloured mirrors and door handles. ABS is available as an option on the ‘V’ variants and standard on the ZXi, which is the feature-laden variant. It comes with dual airbags, built-in MP3 player with steering-mounted controls, height adjustable steering and a climate control system and alloy-wheels.

The Swift has a simple ergonomically designed dual tone interiors. Our test cars which were the Swift ZXi and the VDi ABS, had an orange backlit three-dial instrument cluster with tachometer, speedometer and the third dial had the fuel and the temperature gauge. The centre console had the in-dash MP3 player in the ZXi variant while the VDi didn’t have factory fitted music system.

The front seats of the Swift are fairly comfortable and the thin A-pillar and the large side view mirrors increase the visibility and make parking convenient. The driving position is good enough (though some short drivers will have to get used to the largish dashboard and a nose which really is larger than it seems from the inside) and like most of the modern cars, it even comes equipped with the steering mounted audio controls (in the ZXi only), making scanning through music easier without taking your eyes off the road. The Swift has 232 litres of boot space, which isn’t really a lot, but it can accommodate two medium sized suitcases. The rear seats are comfortable for two large adults, but it’s only just about adequate in the legroom department – more so if you’ve got someone tall in the front seat.

Powertrain:

The Maruti Suzuki Swift was initially launched with a 1.3-litre petrol engine which is the same block that did duty on the Maruti Suzuki Esteem, and the Swift was incidentally the first Indian car to be powered by the Fiat’s 1.3-litre Multijet engine – which now powers more than nine Indian cars manufactured by Fiat, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors. The Swift’s 1.3-litre petrol powerplant has been replaced by Maruti Suzuki’s new 1.2-litre engine as all the new cars manufactured from April 2010 should fulfill the Bharat Stage-IV norms in 13 major Indian cities. This is the same motor which propels the Maruti Suzuki Ritz and a detuned version of the same block is there on the Maruti Suzuki Eeco.

The Swift has a transversely placed engine which powers the front wheels through its 5-speed manual transmission. The Swift DDiS engine produces 74bhp of power and maximum torque of 190Nm and Maruti Suzuki has updated the engine to fulfill the BS-IV norms. The diesel motor of the Swift is highly refined and is peppy and there is no doubting the reliability of the engine. This is undoubtedly one of the most reliable diesel engines we have ever come across. Plant your right foot and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the way the car sprints forward. However, below 2000rpm it does feel a bit sluggish until the turbo kicks in, a peculiar characteristic of the 1.3-litre Multijet engine. However, Maruti Suzuki has overcome a fair bit of this sluggishness by providing better gearing. In our quarter mile run, the Swift clocked a naught to hundred in 16.1 seconds and did the quarter mile in 20.1 seconds, which really isn’t bad at all for an oil-burner. Yes, it’s no scorcher like the i20CRDi which is in a league of its own when it comes to acceleration, but drive the Swift in its ideal rev-band and you won’t be too disappointed.

The 16-valve 1.2-litre K12M series petrol engine produces 85bhp of power @ 6000rpm and a maximum torque of 113Nm @ 4500rpm. This engine like most modern engines is a short-stroke, high-rpm one and does revel in being revved. There isn’t plenty of low-down pulling power and the engine feels peppier at higher rpm but remains fairly refined and linear throughout. In our test, the petrol variant did a 0-100kmph dash in 15.1 seconds and a quarter mile in 19.5 seconds. The engine does have a fairly nice note beyond 4500rpm but does really get buzzy as you approach the 6500rpm redline.

Drivetrain:

The gear ratios of both the Swifts have been well calculated and have taken into account city as well as highway driving habits of the Indian consumer. Which means, that you can actually lug the car around in a lower gear than you’d think was possible and still have the car pull away without too much fuss? The first three gears are short and produce a good amount of torque which makes overtaking easier. The fourth and fifth gears are tall which makes cruising on highways that much lighter on the wallet since the car is sipping less fuel.

The Swift has a golf-ball inspired gear-knob which makes shifting easier in traffic and the soft hydraulic clutch pedal reduces driver fatigue. The throws are fairly short and slick with the stubby lever and the shifts are fairly precise. In our in-gear tests, the petrol took 5.3 seconds to clock 30-50kmph in the third gear while the diesel took 5.4 seconds. In the fifth gear, the petrol took 10.7 seconds to clock 50-70kmph while the diesel took 10.8 seconds.

Fuel Efficiency:

The Swift petrol returned an overall figure of 11.98kmpl which included driving in the city and the highways – albeit rater swiftly (pun intended!). The Swift diesel’s overall mileage was around 14.5kmpl and no doubt, can be bettered with a light right foot and long winding roads where the car will happily cruise in the tall 4th & 5th gears all day.

The engineers at Suzuki have stuck to the basics and designed a simple and compact suspension design for the Swift, to increase cabin space. The car sports McPherson struts at the front and has a torsion beam suspension (with coil) setup at the rear. The Swift has decent ride at low and high speeds. The ride is smooth and fairly composed and most of the road shocks and vibrations are absorbed by the dampers. The slightly high-ish profile tyres also help in this and the ZXi (with the alloys) comes shod with 185/70 R14 rubber whereas the other variants come with 165/80 R14.

The Suzuki Swift’s appearance in the international Rally championship says it all, when it comes to its handling abilities. The Swift’s chassis is capable of handling a 1.6-litre petrol engine (we really wish they brought that in!!!) which is sold in other international markets. The Swift handles well and is capable of clipping tighter corners thanks to the wider track and is really a car that can be checked around a bit making it that much more exciting. However on hard acceleration, some amount of torque steer can be felt, especially on the diesel.

The steering wheel of the Swift is light at low speeds and feels meaty to hold. However, the electronic power steering system feels a bit slack at higher speeds as the steering doesn’t really weigh up as much as one would have liked. A heavier steering at speed would go a long way in giving the driver better feedback of the road conditions and further boost his/her confidence to take corners with even more aplomb.

The Maruti Suzuki Swift is definitely a value-for-money hatch which is well packaged as a product. It has good styling (if a little all too familiar now), efficient engines, good fuel efficiency and fairly competent driving dynamics. What you also buy into when you purchase a Swift, is the unmatched nationwide Maruti service network and the peace of mind when it comes to ownership costs and resale. The Swift thankfully (unlike it’s booted sibling the DZire) doesn’t have too much of a waiting period and is almost off-the-shelf. This popular hatch is still a clear leader and it’s really the competition that has to catch up. That said, other manufacturers are getting really serious and are offering even more value-for-money than ever before, but it will take some time and plenty of doing before India’s largest carmaker will be truly shaken from its throne. Till then Maruti will continue shifting the Swift into homes as quickly as they can make them.