Swift...lives up to its name...truly

Exterior

Although this design took a while for me to appreciate, one noticable thing is that this does not wear out...if you know what I mean...the design sinks in perfectly with the surroundings and ambience and still is a head turner!! The curvatures ensure you have the lest drag. Lighting is adequate but could be much better - Santro has amazing lighting abilities. The new reflector based tail lamp case is much better. Door grips feel pretty nice. ORVM are pretty nice but the internal rear view mirror is a let down - no night mode there.  

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

Neat interiors. Well spaced seats ensure enough leg room. Seats feel comfortable and reassuring (with seat belts!!!) Controls are well placed but I felt the quality of the products could be much better. Dashboard is huge and vast and does not obstruct. Quality of plastics here too could be enhanced. Steering grip is good. The gear level is well placed. Rattling noise over bumpy surface can be experienced. Sound proofing is adequate but can be improved. Overall quite comfortable to drive. I drove a stretch of 480KM - with one stop for 20 Min to catch some grub - in 6 Hrs flat and yet did not feel any fatigue. Boot space not adequate.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

Awesome performance. Very responsive engine. Gear shifting is slick and effortless. I could observe lack of power in 2nd gear. 3rd and 4th has abundant power to use (comes very handy in highway acrobatics!!) and overdrive was fun to cruise along between 120 and 140 KMPH. On a two way trip - each 480 KM, the car returned 13 KMPL and 15 KMPL respectively (13 KMPL - cause we were ripping this machine between 100 and 130 KMPH and did not allow it to return us any decent mileage. 15 KMPH - I was mostly over 110 but this time cruising). I am sure this would return better mileage at a consistant speed of 80. City - the car gave an impressive 13.5 KMPL. Guys, 13 for this vehicle is not bad - if you look at the performance.

Ride Quality & Handling

I crossed 150 KMPH on a beautiful stretch of road and yet the car was stable like an elephant. Not sure if there is anyother car in this segment with this performance. Yet to try Punto though!! You can feel absolutly no body roll - thanks to the design. Steering is very response and zipping at high speed was fun. Braking was adequate at lower speeds <100. However one should be cautious in highspeed brakings - this is where ABS comes handy (although I have not tried it) because it would not let the wheels lock and this avoids the skidding. Overall, very nice ride quality and handling.

Final Words

Some one looking for a reliable car - both safety and service wise - this is it. Many have a peculiar feeling of not wanting to go for Maruti vehicles just because they are so many in numbers - all crap. Whats a car good enough without a service backup?? Maruti is blessed with extensive and responsive service teams. We want to have the cake and eat it too.....we gotta change fellas....don't look at the mileage if you want power. If its mileage, there is Alto - always!!!

Areas of improvement  

Interiors - Plastic quality of dashboard and controls. Rear seat could use better technology to stay put in its grooves (comes off it not aligned properly). Rear seating can be 40:60 split tyoe to accomodate more boot space. Rear view mirror can be similar to the one in Santro.

 

 

Excellent pickup, Superb stability, very responsiveInadequate power in 2nd gear. Brake efficiency at speeds over 120 KMPH