Almost 2 years now... Review on Maruti Suzuki Swift

It's been almost 2 years now since I bought by Swift Vxi and I am touching 10k km now - thought it would be a good time to write a review as there have been some good times and some bad times.

I own a M-800 which I think is super-reliable on Indian roads, inspite of its size. So when I planned for my second car, I didn't think twice before going for another Maruti, though I have also used my sister's Santro extensively. And the fact that the Swift had just been launched made it a no-brainer.

Now for some stats:

Model & Color: Vxi with ABS, Black

Purchase month & year: Dec, 2005

Dealer: Mandovi Motors, Bangalore

Price: 4.98L

KM Driven: 9600 km

I loved the car the moment I drove it - smooth, sturdy and swanky. I'm just over 6 feet and I have never had a problem getting in or out of the car. The large dia tyres very easily dealt with the gross injustice that the govt has done with the tax payers' money in the name of laying roads. In the first few months, I was getting an average of 11 kmpl with AC in the city and when I took it on the highway early in the morning without the AC on, I got a whopping 20 kmpl on the trip. Thought I had got the best thing in the world and was expecting the city mileage to improve after the first couple of services.

But then, the best part seemed to be getting over. Very soon, after about 6 months, the vehicle started rattling even on the smallest humps on the standard city roads - I mean, these were not thuds that you would see if there are problems with the suspensions, but more of rattling, as if all the parts had got loose. And then, I noticed a "tik-tik-tik" sound from one of the wheels (it's still there and it annoys me a lot). And the city mileage refused to go above the 10 kmpl mark with the AC on. I thought these would be fixed during the subsequent services, but nope, they have just refused to go. Today, I have accepted that these are just the characteristics of the car.

Got the services done by UM Cars on Airport Road - I had been with them for almost 8 years with my M-800 and there has never been an issue. But with the Swift, I have always been disappointed with the service. After each service, the car feels older than what it actually is, and a new problem seems to be introduced every time - steering wheel not centered, music system misaligned, increase in rattling etc. I get a feeling that the service folks are not well-trained to handle the Swift.

So, in the last 1 year, the overall performance is less than what I had expected or experienced in the first 6 months. And whatever I have mentioned above doesn't look like it's going to change.

Another interesting event that I wanted to share here and wanted to know if anyone else has experienced it - a couple of weeks back, the rear windshield just shattered by itself and collapsed. I was completely shocked and when I took it to my nearest Maruti service center, they said that this sometimes happens when air pressure builds up inside the cabin when the car is parked in basements. But this is Bangalore, not outer space!!! And I had parked it for hardly 8 hours in the upper basement of my office, which is just a few feet below the ground level!! Does it mean that the windshield can't withstand even the slightest pressure? I have driven in different countries under extreme weather conditions, where the temperatures varied by upto 50 degrees in a year, and this has never happened. I got a new windshield fixed for 3900 bucks and this has really left me grumpy. Has anyone faced this problem before?

I was talking to a friend and he tells me that Maruti (and other companies too) are facing cost pressures and are doing indiscriminate cost-cutting. And the result is that they indulge in using low-quality parts and material whereever possible. I'm not sure how true this is, but the Swift is giving me some indications that this may be true.

Overall, I think that this is a good city car, something that you can use to drive around with your small family in the city, but don't expect it to be trouble-free. My M-800 probably is 10 yrs old and I think that it will hold its own for another 10 years, but I'm not so sure of the Swift.

Hope this review helps readers to make informed choices.