Jan 07, 2005 11:46 AM
60846 Views
(Updated Sep 27, 2005 05:37 PM)
23 Sept 2005: It seems the car is a smash-hit. Loong waiting lists greet the new customers, if you need specific color then god help you! I wonder what would be the situation when diesel version is launched with Fiat's 1.3 multijet engine.
27-May-2005: Wow! The car looks gorgeous in person. I just LOVED the Red one, looks stunning. The fact that 8 colors are available makes it just great. I am gussing this is the next big thing for Maruti after 800. Lets see how it performs on road. Already my dad is thinking of selling Palio for the new Swift! :)
Maruti-Suzuki: The company/alliance that changed the complete Automotive landscape in India from mid 80s. 800/Omni became the buzzwords and Maruti sold them in large numbers for more than a decade without any competition. Over these years they made precious little changes to these cars. They realized that Indian consumers wanted lower fuel costs, lower service & spare part costs and of course easy availability of spares.
The Indian consumer also didn't seem to care much about power or MPFI, they were happy with carbureted engines that can be repaired at any Auto-Works in a small village etc. Maruti introduced Zen in early 90s (at the same time as Jo Jeeta wohi Sikandar). Esteem made it to India as 1000 & then in 1.3 liter format in 95 I guess. (98/99 saw it gaining MPFI)
NOT After mid 90s. Daewoo, Fiat & then Hyundai completely changed the market for good with their latest & best from the world markets. Daewoo Cielo was a dream car for 3/4 years. It had the latest technology from the company. Maruti had to act and give better engines with MPFI, better exhaust to meet emission regulations.
During all these years Maruti never introduced an all new product or display of state-of-the-art technology. They just kept churning out the (so called) new models of the same old stuff. Calling Wagen-R as all new is an insult to 'all-new' phrase! The safety of their cars is mediocre to say the least. Have you ever seen how Maruti cars look after even a minor accident. This was all good until average speeds in India were below 80 & people didn't use their vehicle for intercity drives. Now with increasing speeds and broadening roads safety has become an imp issue. India will need to enforce some safety standards real soon with authorized crash testing results easily available for public (like in USA you have NHTSA.org or National Insurance Agency Website)
The wait for an all new product from Maruti-Suzuki is now over!
Suzuki is planning to launch SWIFT in India in late 2005 or early 2006. This (finally!) all-new model plans to play in the same segment created recently by Hyundai Getz. Suzuki hopes that consumers develope enough maturity to pay 5 lac for a big hatchback instead of a conventional sedan with a boot.
The Swift is similar to Getz in proportions. The styling is much better though. It reminds me of Infiniti G35 Coupe from the front (specially in the Red color). The Swift is supposed to weigh around 1000kg & offer various engine options. Let us look at some factors one by one.
Styling: It looks modern, stylish & worth the money! The upswept head-lamps that fit flush in the front bumper look gorgeous! The front bumper itself is bigger and very well finished. I think the fog lamp would be circular or elliptical given overall styling. The A-Pillars are surprisingly black and look just stunning. They give a feel of an open top and roominess. The rear styling is also attractive and compliments the front very well. The rear glass is slopping in stylish manner adding to the overall looks. The grab(hopefully) door-handles might improve looks further (upscale). The rear-styling is complimenting the front but a tad louder for my tests.
Interior: The dash is conservative, single unit and simple. The materials quality remains to be seen. Hope they provide at least Getz quality if not City! :) The elevated seats and overall tall-boy design would certainly give good front legroom. The width looks average and might provide good shoulder room. The rear seat legroom might be a interesting proposition, it is a balance between luggage space in the back and room for passengers. Given the price, it would be prudent to give the rear bench that can slide back-n-forth. Except Palio levels of comfort but with better seat fabic and overall use of better materials.
Overall, shorter front & rear-overhangs liberate lot of space for passengers in the car of the longer wheelbase.
Engine/Transmission:
(1) Esteem's 1.3 liter engine is a natural choice and of course is the best 1.3 liter engine (all-aluminum) in the market. Provides enough spunk and also fuel economy. Of course higher than esteem kerb weight would lower the average. They have tweaked the engine (now 1 more hp) for better breathing with numerous changes. The transmission ratios are different than esteem and seems 4/5 are quite taller than esteem.
(2) The significant engine would be all-new 1.3 liter Multi-Jet Diesel Injection developed under license from GM (actually a Fiat engine). Maruti-Suzuki recently established a 350 crore facility to produce this engine which would be functional in early 2006. This engine might have a 'whaaaaa?' effect on the market. It promises unbelievable figures! 72 hp with 90+ torque! i.e. petrol like hp, diesel like Torque but Diesel like fuel efficiency too! Fiat will also use this engine in soon to be launched Panda (European car of they year 2004) in India. We will also get to see a new transmission for this engine again shared with Fiat Panda?
(3) The 3rd engine which is 1.5 liter (1.6 from Baleno might not fit in the small nose?) and might not be offered in India until later. I hope it makes it sooner than letter. Will make it a hoot to drive. This might very well inherit Baleno's tranny for ease of manufacturing?
Ride/Handling: The swift is the best handler among the B segment hatchbacks. It beats Getz, Palio comfortably. Despite the car beign raised for Indian roads for better ground clearance the car provides good cornering abilities and also the steering is crisp and will surprise you with the feedback. Overall it is a delight that they chose to keep European roots intact in Indian market. Palio/Getz do offer better ride though.
Pricing & Competition: There are 3 variants priced from lower than expected (3.94 for Lxi, 4.12 for Vxi and 4.85/5 for the ZXi). The Zxi is going to have alloys, tubeless, ABS and front air bags, automatic climate control! It is GREAT given the price range for the car. I think spread from Vxi to Zxi is quite big. Need to have something inbetween?
Getz is the only other vehicle in this range but old-horse Palio and soon to be launched Panda might fight it out with it for the market share. Palio is going to receive a face-lift soon with a changed nose and rear. The real competition is 1.3 liter conventional sedans like Indigo (diesel), Ikon, Accent.
Conclusion: What remains to be seen is whether Indian consumers lets go the conservative attitude of buying formal boot/trunk sedan for anything commanding more than 4.75 lac! This is the key to the success ratio of these expensive premium hatches. Indian consumer is all but going to benefit from the increased choice and competition.
