Maruti Swift Test Drive Experience. Review on Maruti Suzuki Swift

Folks, I test drove Maruti's Swift Vxi model last week. My experience is as follows: The car's looks are impressive and as you approach it - it looks big, really big. However once you step in, you wonder where all that space went. I believe the car has been bloated (DOORS etc) to probably make it safer. Once in, it appears only a bit roomier than say Maruti's Alto. Lets look at the dashboard. The glove box appears cramped. You get more storage space in Alto's thoughtfully designed on-dash storage and glove box. Swift's glove box door gives you a false impression of an equally roomier space inside. Disappointing. Lets see the boot. Its big for sure. But once you fold that rear seat - you don't get an even surface area (unlike Alto or 800). So, if you wanted to store a large 29inch TV - you would think twice as it would wobble due to that 8-10 inch height difference between the folded rear seat surface and the base of the boot. Again disappointing given that all Hyundai cars give you a neat double fold rear seats. The legroom for rear seat passengers is just satisfactory - nothing better than Alto or Esteem. It seems I am cribbing too much. There are good things about Swift too :-) The seats are fabulous - they are extremely comfortable - thanks to the better quality foam used. The rear passenger gets pampered too. With the thoughtfully designed waterfall like head rest you get a very comfortable rear seat - the best as compared to any other Maruti hatch. It reminds you of Corsa Sail's comfy seats. The console is stylish, controls very reachable and aptly placed. The power steering is gentle. But one wonders why the cabin light quality is shoddy - why couldn't they just retain the Alto style cabin light - Its so much better (atleast in the year 2000 Lx model that I possess). There is lots of storage for bottles, cans, an ashtray for rear seat passenger. The electric windows work smooth. The windows got smaller and give you a not-so-open a feel. But I hope it would cut down the heat transmission and help keep the cabin cooler. I could not assess the AC performace or the mileage. The power of the 87bhp engine was good and one could feel the zing upon pressing the accelerator. I agree Swift looks fresh, sporty, cool. I agree that its very comfortable. If the AC works great (in Vxi) and the mileage in City driving conditions turns out to be between 12 to 14 - I think we have a great car that folks would love to buy.