Swift Zxi- Pure Drivers Car!. Review on Maruti Suzuki Swift

Bought - June 2007

Model - Swift Zxi

Dealer - Mandovi Motors, Bangalore

Driven - 10000 Kms

I had an Alto Lx for about 3 years and did not have any issues with the car. It was good to drive, had a great milage and was trouble free for all the years I had it. The few aspects I did not enjoy in that were performace and interior space. That is when I decided to upgrade to a Swift.

Among all the cars available in the 5 lakh budget, the swift appeared to be the one with the best performace, looks and a tried and proven engine(the 1.3L Esteem engine, next gen). The next thing to decide was the model. Price for features, I felt the Vxi was the best.however I wanted ABS and alloy wheels. Maruti does not offer any change of wheels and it falls pretty expensive trying to buy the car and then get alloy wheels fitted, could set you back by around Rs30, 000(alloy rims+ new tyres for the rims). That is when I narrowed down to the Zxi as it had all I was looking for+ climate control which I felt may not be much use, only looked good on the dash!

There have been a lot of reviews written on the swift, so will not go into those, will just put a few points from personal experience:

Strenghts:

1. Good performance, able to get to speeds of 140kmph on clear roads. Does not take long to reach such speeds. Able to accelerate fast and overtake even at speeds of 80kmph. Cornering is good at speeds, the wider tyres of the Zxi help avoid skidding.

   
   




2. Comfort is good, front seats provide adquate support and have not felt tried even during long journeys of 6 to 7hrs. The seat adjustment on the drivers side on the Zxi is a good feature as it lets you adjust the seat to a proper driving position for your height. Seats also feel large enough for an average Indian frame, the seats of the Alto felt a bit small.

   
   




3. Fuel economy was decent for its engine size, on an average I get 14Kms to the litre with a mix of city and highway driving with A/C on. Always used speed(higher octane rating), don't know if that made a difference, but drive is very smooth and milage is also good.

   
   




4. ABS on the car is a very good safety feature. Most people think it is good for high speeds, but I have experienced it on low speeds of 30 to 40 kmph. While driving behind a truck on a road with loose sand, the truck suddenly stopped for a speed breaker. I was too close to the truck to react and slammed on the breaks.its the ABS that saved me from skidding and hitting the truck! Has happened more than once and maybe cause the car is able to acclerate pretty fast that one tends to do that quite often!

   
   




5. Climate control is not so useful in Indian road conditions. This I say, cause the climate control tends to adjust the fan speed and inside/outside air circulation. When the control automatically switches to external air circulation, its a problem in our city driving conditions!

   
   




6. Wide tyres on the Zxi add to extra comfort. I felt the difference in comfort levels in the Vxi and Zxi which maybe due to wider tyres on the Zxi.

   
   

Opportunities:

1. Luggage space is an issue. For short trips, cannot take luggage for more than 3 adults.

   
   




2. Rear visibilty is not all the good, backing and parking in tight spots tends to be tricky

   
   




3. The front fender is pretty low. This leads to its getting hit quite often

   
   




4. Sides of the car are not straight, leading to judgement errors and hence have to be extra careful

   
   

Summary:

Great drivers car for the price! Good performace and fun to drive. May need a larger car once family starts growing.

16April2009

Updates at 20, 000Kms+.

The car is performing very well and no issues there. There has been a slight drop in milage to 12.5Kmpl maybe due to usage of normal fuel now. I am not using speed anymore and have noticed a drop in the milage. One of the major updates I would like to give is regarding the safety aspect of this car.

I was waiting at an intersection to make a "U" turn in the night when a pizza delivery scooter coming without headlights and riding at more than 50 to 60 kmph came and hit the drivers side door with full impact. Apart from a loud thud, I did not feel anything and was absolutely fine inside. When I got out of the car, I saw the damage to the door, completely smashed and had to be changed. The scooter was badly damaged and its entire front was smashed. The point I would like to make here is that the car is very safe even from a direct impact and Maruti has done a good job here in the safety of their cars.