I still can't believe that I bought a car, a looooooongggggg time dream comes true and on top of that I am writing a review of it tooo......
Ok, so coming straight to the point. He is what I have got
Swift Vxi with ABS (Pre-Owned) bought at (Mahindra First Choice) Bangalore
56k Done at the time of purchase
Paid 3.4L for it (I know it is a little more than an average dealer may have quoted, but comes with a warranty on the engine, gearbox, transmission and road side assistance as well) So most important parts are covered.
I opted for the petrol version as my usage is very less, maybe around 200 - 250 kms a month, and a decent diesel variant would be set me back by another 1.5 lacs which according to me is a huge sum to pay upfront for a used car, and to break even I would need to use it forcibly everyday, which again makes no sense. My office is nearby, just 5 kms from home and moreover I get cab facility from office as I work afternoon shifts, so doesn't make sense to drive to work when you get free transportation. So my only usage would be on weekends when my family needs me to take them for a drive or to see some relatives in the city or maybe on a highway drive once in 2 months or more.
Alright, so I got the delivery and took it for a spin straight away, of about 30kms, The engine revs neatly and was a smooth ride really, However the clutch was adjusted so I had to release it completely and rev a little to get a push, I got this changed as I was revving excessively to push the vehicle ahead from a standstill.
The ride quality of this car is neat, I mean it is sturdy, makes me feel really confident of the turns I take and also during maneuvers I execute during overtakes makes me feel real confident. It does make me feel each and every bump or potholes though, however that doesn't really bother me as it has a real sturdy suspension.
Most important thing that I feel makes this car feel good to me are the turns, while turning I do not feel any drag and it just does what to say, nothing more and nothing less.
Brakes on this car are superb, another thing that would give its driver the confidence.
I didn't like the horn on this car (UPDATE -- Stock horn is made by some company called Padmini), changed it with Minda dual horns (same ones as on Skoda, I love the way it works) get attention right away on roads and it sounds classy and at the same time means business.
I feel that being a Vxi, it should have had electrically adjustable ORVM's, but it has manual ones, adjustable from inside the car.
The fuel efficiency is somewhere in the the 13kmpl range, I am going to change the stock air filter with a K&N Stock Air filter for swift, I do not want to go for performance air filters as I am pretty happy with its current performance and do not really need a lot of speed. The K&N stock filter will kick in a few more horses and with a boost of around 1-2 kmpl more in terms of Fuel Economy.
I would wrap up now, I am not sure if I have covered all the points that I wanted to, but will add more as and when I recall or based on my future experience with this car. Overall, I feel it is a decent buy and the car is in Great Condition.
EDIT / UPDATE
Hi Guys,
Thank you for finding this review useful. I missed out on a few things that I would like to add now.
I refueled the car with Shell Normal Petrol just enough petrol to judge the mileage, and kept around 5 liters of petrol in a bottle to fill up the car when the vehicle stalls (Its not a good thing to run on an empty tank, but I wanted to try it) and my god, I can see that the difference in mileage is good, I got close to 15.6kmpl (Thats about 2.6kmpl more to a litre than when I used HP Petrol) in the city (I cant believe it either).
I live in Bangalore and have heard from many people over the internet and also through friends that most Petrol Stations here trick you into a conversation and actually pour in less petrol (Never a complete liter). This I feel might be the reason I was getting less mileage per liter. Shell charges just 1 rupee more than the average petrol pumps, which is fair if you can drive close to 3 kilometers more to a liter.
I must say that I am going to refuel my swift from Shell and none other.
Hope this helps :)
EDIT / UPDATE 3/2/2011
After thinking a lot I gave the car for a General Service at Green Cars, Bangalore (Authorized service center for Maruti). Even though the guys at Mahindra First Choice said that the car has been serviced already I found the Air Filter pitch black on both sides and saw carbon residue on the air intake valve passage, I was a little worried and thought I should give it for a thorough checkup and Service.
There were a few things that were done on the car today.
1) Decarbonising of the engine as well as the Air filter intake area. (Decarbonising clears off all the carbon residue inside the engine)
2) Changed the air filter as the one inside the car was not in great condition.
3) Spark plugs were in good condition so basic cleaning of the plug tip was done.
4) Brakes were cleaned, the Rear drum brakes were new (Replaced by Mahindra or maybe the previous owner) so nothing was needed to be done on those. Front brake pads were also good.
5) Car was cleaned from outside and inside (Was kind of a shoddy job though)
6) Gear was a little stiff, so that was taken care of as well as the clutch was set right.
7) The engine was idling at around 1100 rpm, which was a little on the higher side, Ideal rpm during engine idle is between 850-900rpm, so had that set right as well.
Once I had the vehicle after service, I can really feel a lot more punch in pickup and the engine sounds really smooth, clutch play is great now and the gear shifts are smooth as well. Overall a good job done.
I was told by the service advisor to consider replacing the clutch assembly, however I wasn't really prepared for that today, so didn't get that done. I will observe the car for a while before I do anything.
Will update again, when I have more info.
