Feb 18, 2007 01:14 PM
13022 Views
(Updated Mar 11, 2007 04:49 PM)
This is my first review on MouthShut.Com & its about how and why I acquired my new roadbaby: Maruti Suzuki Swift VDi diesel.
The first time I took a test drive of Swift was in a VXi, in 2006 April. Did not consider due to the limited boot space and wanting to graduate to a bigger car, what after Maruti started dropping prices on Esteem & my existing car became an achievable toy of jr executives, by people far lower on corporate ladder than me.
Ultimately decided to purchase a diesel vehicle, looking at my long drive cravings & my fuel bills, hence took a test drive of Fiesta, Aveo, Honda City,
Tavera, Innova, even Indigo & Indica; ALL DIESELS.
I was satisfied with 1st test drive’s ride quality of Innova, but a second dealership’s test drive of Innova having done 22000 kms changed my opinion. It knocked & vibrated violently like a vandalized dinosaur. If my car was to be converted to a PIK-UP TRUCK at 22k kms, I would not enjoy it, plus, parking problems, having to park on road (In the area I stay, a car park costs more than a Benz) did not make sound sense spending 11L hence steered clear.
Tavera felt uncomfortable in driver seat, me being an XXL.
Fiesta was too good an engine, but ride quality was POOR, to say the least. In fact, in ride quality, none except Honda City and Aveo matched the comfort of my 7 year old Maruti Esteem. Fiesta had an expensive maintenance plan, which made me feel the car may not be very reliable. Cumulate it with the experience of a couple of friends whose Ford cars, immediately within a quarter post warranty period, cost them approx 50k for repairs each, for no apparent reason. (One friend is actually contemplating going back to Esteem) Aveo was excellent ride, so was City ZX, but none have Diesel Options.
Indigo and Indica have space, but the image of a TAXIWALLA was not very acceptable to me. Did not leave me with many options, since I never liked the Korean tags. They have been associated with traders & ILLITERATE SHOW-OFFS, as also I carry an old-timer’s impression that many Korean cars were force sold on interest free loans and emi’s of 4000-6000 Rs & people who bought them could not even pay for petrol. (I have personally seen such people). As an educated IT enterprener, I wanted a professional badge. Though I personally like Hyundai Accent Viva CRDi, the badge & the 3 cylinder engine made it a NO-NO.
In the meanwhile, the handsome, cute, sexy (I know its incorrect English) Swift kept haunting me, the ride quality, the power, the feel of a city car with brute power to chew away miles on National Highways (Golden Quadrilateral is better than most our city roads, I have driven up to 737kms in a single day)... but it was again a car without a Diesel option.
I kept on reading various magazines and was still not able to decide what to go for TILL I READ TECHNICAL REVIEWS AND AWARDS the new Fiat Multijet engine received and the speculation that Swift & Esteem are coming up with THE SAME DIESEL ENGINE and Baleno is being launched with a bigger version of the same.
The day Maruti announced availability of Diesel Swift, I was disappointed that there was no ZXi equivalent, and there was no vehicle available for the test drive. The worst part of all Maruti dealers is that they are rude, do not bother to revert for test drive, but ask for bookings before you test drive the vehicle. Finally, one day I got a dealership to agree to the test drive & went ahead. Was I astonished? More than that.
Believe me, starting the car also did not feel the usual clatter of a COLD DIESEL ENGINE. This was followed by drive on busy city roads for about 45 mins including on bad patches and I was sold. Nothing else mattered anymore. The dealership that gave me BLACK COLOR was promptly sent a pay order and I got the delivery of my car on 16th Feb, 2007, exactly on the 8th day of test drive.
Have been driving the car for 2 days now and it feels... GREAT!
Positives:
Flamboyantly sexy looks.
Black is handsome.
Feels like only slightly heavier petrol Swift.
POWERFUL- If you do not have seat belts holding you after 1500 rpm, your feet would rise above the dashboard, it pulls forward that menacingly, such is the force of engine. Even the petrol Swift is not so astonishingly powered.
It seems more firmly placed than the petrol.
Negatives:
Slightly less comfortable than Esteem (it may be that the extra cushions on my Esteem seats make it appear softer ride). But my feeling is that the suspension could have been slightly less stiff.
City drive is similar to petrol. Turbo should kick in earlier so that less gear shifts are needed.
Boot space. The day I plan going to Leh on this car, I am going to have severe complaints from my wife packing all stuff in small carry-bags since the boot is small for big suitcases.
Car shows a manufacturing date of Dec 2006, though Maruti launched it on 23rd Jan 2007. Will affect my resale value.
