A review of Maruti Swift.

For a discussion on the general aspects of the small car market, see: A guide for the Indian car buyer.

The most happening car market in the world after China. The heaven of small cars. Fifth Estate examines the most happening segment in the Indian car market from the perspective of the most popular model - Maruti Swift.

1. The looks.
Of-course Maruti Swift is not the best looking car in the segment. At the time of its launch in 2005, it was a revolutionary change for the Indian eyes, and it did make a fashion statement with its lavish curves over the seemingly protruding front wheel arches - a novel approach then. But now, after seven long years of its reign in India, Swift looks rather aged. Time has changed and the Indian roads are now filled will new European, American and Japanese advents. Chevrolet Beat has a new-age aggressive look. In-fact it appears larger in the hood. I10 and i20 from the Hyundai stable have cute looks. Punto (Fiat) has a revived European look. Micra is a good looking new age beauty. Tata's Indica might have been designed in Italy, but it fails to fare among the new age beauties. Also the 'taxi' brand on Indica makes it less popular among the private owners. The Ford Figo is in no way a 21st century design. They have apparently borrowed a design from the Ford archives :-)

2. The engine.
Maruti Swift diesel features one of the best diesel engines in the world (in this segment). The same engine built by Fiat is used by at least two other brands including Tata Indica diesel and Fiat. Hyundai, the pioneer in diesel revolution in India, features one of the best and proven engines from the Hyundai stable.

Maruti Swift petrol version feature the most modern K-12 engine from the Suzuki stable. If you are going to buy a hatch back, then be informed that Suzuki makes the best petrol engines in the world for small cars. and the K series engines are the newest generation. The Hyundai i-series features the Kappa series of engines which are also one of best ones in small sized petrol engines. There are some brands like Nissan who collaborate with Suzuki in the small car segment. All the others are specialists in large cars.

3. Transmission.
The transmission is good in the Swift. But this is one department where Hyundai fare better. The Hyundai siblings (i10 and i20) give a crisper shift.

4. Interiors.

1. Finish: Maruti gives good interiors for the price. But Hyundai fares better in this, in fact Hyundai is the best. In Ford Figo, the finish of the plastic in the dash and elsewhere is too bad for the brand and the segment. Toyota also does bad here with lesser quality plastic in the interiors of Liva. Indica gives good finish in the higher priced variants. The finish is really good in Micra and Punto. In Beat it is just okay.
2. Space: Swift gives enough leg room and enough space. In this, Figo is the one which fares best. The legroom is more than enough for Figo. The boot space is largest too. For Beat, the rear leg room is not good enough for the price. The problem with leg room is that it gives you problems in a long drive.

5. Features.

Swift Petrol is of-course rich with features. The premium variant in petrol come with four door power-windows, electric mirrors, rear-wiper, rear-defogger, and a music system. But even the premium variant of the diesel version lack some of the features. So look out for what you should not miss. And when it comes to the other brand in competitive prices, some of these features are not available even the premium variants.

5. Mileage.
This is exactly where the Swift wins the game. It is the most fuel efficient diesel in the segment. Even-though two other cars use the same engine, Swift gives the best mileage.