We all know what the Swift Diesel rides like. but the hatchback review section was looking kind of empty, so I thought, I'd put up what i thought about my favourite hatch.
The Engine
This car comes with the now famous "national engine" designed by fiat. a 1300cc Turbo common rail diesel engine. Pretty low on maintenance and fuel costs if driven and serviced properly.
So far, Maruti has done the best out of all the manufacturers dropping this engine into their cars.
75bhp at 4000rpm and 190nm of torque at 2000rpm

The power delivery is non linear. Which is why a lot of us enthusiasts like this car.
The turbo kicks in with such a forceful whoosh, it scares newbie petrol drivers. It is also immensely addictive to dieselheads who are used to low end torque. If you are driving a Swift in the Vdi trim, which comes with a tacho as standard, this soon becomes a game, watching the needle crawl to 2k rpm, then shoot up to a raucous 3.5k rpm, where the power starts to tail off.

the powerband of 1500rpm may sound meager to most of us, but smart gearing by Suzuki ensures that this car betters similar sized cars with its acceleration upto 120kmph, beyond which the car runs out of breath and progress is slow(relative to its performance at lower speeds)

Real life city mileage hovers around 16kmpl and highways can give upto 21kmpl, depending on the driving style.

Gearshifts/Transmission
Double synchro gearbox with a very nice feeling gear lever. The shifts and slick and feel great when slotting into place. Its good that the gearshifts feel so nice, because if you want to play boy racer, then a lot of work is needed on the gear lever to make rapid progress. Keep the engine above 2000rpm and the car will fly. if the incorrect gear is selected, it will bog down,or rev uselessly above its powerband, just like any other car.

Engaging 1st gear in traffic can be a pain. It will refuse to slot sometimes until the car has slowed down to an almost standstill. This can be fixed by quickly shifting into 2nd for a moment and then shifting into 1st from there. However ,it is annoying.

The 1st gear is really really short, it just gets you moving. it will be torture for the engine if you try to take it to even speeds like 30kmph.
2nd gear is relatively tall(compared to 1st) this causes a lot of heartache on hairpin bends while climbing ghats. By the time you upshift from 1st to 2nd, you've already lost the revs and fallen into turbo lag in 2nd gear. Not a happy place to be mid corner on a steep hairpin climb.

The annoying gap in between 1st and 2nd gear has to be lived with. of course if you are heartless, you could rev the crap out of the engine in 1st to get to the powerband in 2nd.

3rd gear ,4th and 5th are beautiful
for maximum acceleration,
3rd pulls well from 30-60
4th is best used from 60-100
5th from 80-120

3rd gear maxes out at 107kmph, but the engine hates it. dont ask me what 4th and 5th max out at, I have not tried it.

Suspension and Ground clearance

180mm ground clearance on a relatively stiff suspension set up. The undercarriage stays out of trouble most of the time, but the front overhang can be troublesome at very large speed breakers(which would scrape the underside of most road cars anyway)

The suspension in the Swift is pretty robust.especially the Diesel, it takes knocks from big potholes without the customary clang that you expect from Marutis.

The car is eager to turn in,understeer is not really an issue.
It is also eager to throw its tail out on the skinny stock tyres that maruti provide, especially under spirited cornering and trail braking(which is not recommended during daily driving anyway)
The car is extremely sensitive to undulations and camber changes in the road, and tends to require regular corrections on undulating and uneven surfaces.
High speed stability on a smooth surface is very good upto 160kmph(have not tested it beyond that). On an uneven surface the rear seems to get unsettled, but not enough to scare you.

Steering is very direct, and to me, provides excellent feedback. This may be disputed by other drivers, but I couldnt ask for more. Traction/grip loss is communicated well by the chassis and steering.

Body roll is not bad enough to discourage spirited cornering, but it is there to remind you that you are pushing the limits. Expect surprises from the body roll when swerving across road surfaces where camber goes from positive to negative in an instant.

Ride in the front seats is pretty good, the rear can be bumpy, but not uncomfortably so

Braking
Brakes pretty well for its segment. ABS is available as an option and is worth every paisa you spend on it(an extra 20k). the only issue being slightly longer waiting periods for the models with ABS as an option.
The rear tends to step out of line while braking hard from speeds above 100, but that is solved with a tyre upgrade, which is highly recommended for this car.

Ergonomics/Visibilty
This car is easy to drive on the highway, but a pain in bumper to bumper traffic. For short people, seeing where the bonnet ends is impossible. The high shoulder line makes it difficult to gauge how close that mad auto is(the one thats trying to squeeze into your lane)
You can forget about rear visibilty.
Make good use of the RVMs, both internal and external, to make parking easier. Inspite of all this, the car will benefit from a proximity sensor for reversing.

The flared wheel arches dont help in negotiating crowded streets either.

The Driving position and the seating is lovely, the controls are all placed exactly where you'd want them. the control stalks for the lights/indicators and wipers are all kept where they can be reached by outstretched fingers, without your hands coming off the wheel.

The horn switch is placed in the centre, where it can be put to use by the forearm, again, without lifting the hands from the steering. Love that.
The swifts ergonomics makes the driver feel at home straight away. there is no "getting used to things in a new car" business

Interiors, Plastics,NVH

For that segment, it is adequate. Not as good as the Hyundais though. The black and grey interiors are not spectacular, but they get the job done without arousing any strong positive or negative emotions.

The NVH is definitely satisfactory for a Diesel car.

Please note- Interior trim and doorpad rattles are an OEM accessory that come with this car. Do not try to uninstall them.

Space
It is spacious up front. The rear seat leg room may be compromised if you have a tall driver who likes stretching out. The boot space is enough for two medium sized suitcases and lots of knickknacks. or one large suitcase and lots of knickknacks.

Overall
Fun to drive engine and suspension package, with diesel economy and maruti peace of mind
Buy if
1. you're looking for a car that will make your office commute interesting- acceleration/handling/braking
2. you like smirking at other vehicle owners at fuel pumps
3. You are looking for aftermarket mods- ICE/bling/performance

Do not buy if
1. Space is the most important factor
2. You hate rattles with a vengeance
3. you hate buying what everyone else is buying.

The following users thank rippergeo for this useful post :

avinash, v_power

Way to go, ripper. Nice rounded review.

Thats pretty well written ripper.
Will add my two cents once i have a drive on mine. Hopefully the run in period should be done by the time I reach there .

rippergeo wrote:The power delivery is non linear.

And on some days non-existent .

to a raucous 3.5k rpm, where the power starts to tail off.

If you are a nagger like me, its is 3,250rpm to be precise .

the powerband of 1500rpm may sound meager to most of us

Actually, I really have no clue how this engine won the IEOTY award .

upto 120kmph, beyond which the car runs out of breath and progress is slow

Your car actually moves beyond 120 ? Mine and a few other cars I have driven, feel like every nut and bolt is going to fall off beyond 120kmph. I don't understand how an engine like that can lose breadth at such low speeds. I expected it to go atleast upto 150 easily, without hic hic....

Real life city mileage hovers around 16kmpl and highways can give upto 21kmpl, depending on the driving style.

Good FE is the only thing I really like this car for. I can go to Goa in a tank full and 1k is all the damage to my wallet. But then again, even the Getz returns similar figures if driven at average speeds. But then, you always have that wicked pedal you can go down a lot harder on and voila....... Damn, I hate my car.

then a lot of work is needed on the gear lever to make rapid progress.

Actually, its quite easy to flat shift on the Swift. Getz sucks at it.

dont ask me what 4th and 5th max out at, I have not tried it.

Likewise here, haven't had the guts to push it beyond 140kmph. And that is coming from me.

The car is eager to turn in,understeer is not really an issue.

Not pushing too hard into corners are we Doc? It does understeer quite a lot (assuming we are talking on stock tires) owing to the front heavy engine.

Steering is very direct, and to me, provides excellent feedback.

Yup, I agree. The worst steering I have come across so far is the Accent's.

Body roll is not bad enough to discourage spirited cornering, but it is there to remind you that you are pushing the limits.

I feel the FTD factor seizes the minute you get better tires. Its so much fun on stock tires (not while braking though) specially when the handbrake comes into play .

the rear can be bumpy, but not uncomfortably so

Those bench seats are crappy. I can't sit for 2hrs without getting sever backaches.

Please note- Interior trim and doorpad rattles are an OEM accessory that come with this car. Do not try to uninstall them.

I think they must actually add this freaking line in the brochure IN BOLD.

2. You hate rattles with a vengeance

Is someone willing to do a flat exchange for my swift with a Getz/Innova?

Some points the mad Doc might have forgotten to what I observed after having lived with a Swift Vdi for 42,000 kms as on date.

1. I have driven almost every car that has come with a crdi unit in the under 12L category. I am yet to come across another engine that has as much tappet clatter as this engine. At times, the clatter (most times louder than the knocking on my baleno engine and I can tell you my baleno would knock like crazy) just gets on my nerves. And no one at MUL seems to be doing anything about it.

2.Has anyone closely observed the way that engine behaves? One morning you wake up and find out that its just another Naturally Aspirated engine. You cannot feel the turbo kicking in at all. The next morning you will wonder what the hell is wrong with the engine, because it finally feels like a turbo car.

Doc, thanks for starting this thread and preventing me from going into a LONGER rant if I had start this thread on my own. I so hate my swift.

Mclaren 1885, you dislike the car so much but i think you are over critical about it. Now, let me stop at this

i actually like Swift, my perception. Brilliant Review there Rippergeo

Thanks all.
@rahul- are you sure you're driving a swift and not some cheap chinese knockoff picked up from JC road?

rippergeo wrote:@rahul- are you sure you're driving a swift and not some cheap chinese knockoff picked up from JC road?

Ah, totally forgot to update my recent findings on this thread.

My Swift had a boost leak issue for a while now. One of the inlet hoses had gone kaput. So finally got it replaced day before. Got out of the showroom and first thing I notice is the car is running in NA mode . Drove the car around for around 40kms and not once did I get the violent push from the Turbo. Hopefully, that will change in the coming few days.

I gave the SA an earful saying, when I come to take the delivery I shouldn't hear even a single rattle from anywhere. I don't know what they have done, but even on bad roads the car wouldn't make a 0.0001 DB of noise . Turbo works or doesn't work, a Swift that doesn't rattle is such a bliss to drive in city. Louis, get the rattles fixed on your Chinese knockoff will ya ?

PS: I really miss the sound the boost leak used to make. It was sooo much fun. Used to scare away bikers around me, prevent pedestrians from crossing the road in a hurry, other cars would give way. Chah! Time to figure out how to fix a BOV now.

mclaren1885 wrote: Louis, get the rattles fixed on your Chinese knockoff will ya ?

Actually, I did today. they fixed all the rattles that were coming from the doors and the rear seat.
Now there are only 2 rattles left.
A completely new one from the right rear door
and the steering damper rattle that i dont intend to get fixed.

This is the first time i have tried to fix the rattles. waited 40k. my regular SA was surprised when i told him to sort them out. he'd been begging me to let him do it. finally, today i relented and he fixed them all free of cost.

Gear oil, coolant,brakefluid and fuel filter changed today. all the other stuff was done at Pete's

rippergeo wrote:
This is the first time i have tried to fix the rattles. waited 40k. my regular SA was surprised when i told him to sort them out. he'd been begging me to let him do it. finally, today i relented and he fixed them all free of cost.

Gear oil, coolant,brakefluid and fuel filter changed today. all the other stuff was done at Pete's

What are the other stuffs done at Pete's?

kodivasanth wrote:
What are the other stuffs done at Pete's?

Oil flush and change. OWS turboracing.
intake manifold and EGR system cleaning. done manually.
front left strut was making a slight sound. needed grease+clean. The top strut washer was dry.

rippergeo wrote:Oil flush and change. OWS turboracing.
intake manifold and EGR system cleaning. done manually.
front left strut was making a slight sound. needed grease+clean. The top strut washer was dry.

Hmm... I thought you got something done with the tuning box from Pete's

Ripper can you elaborate on OWS please.

What about it? Its the best feeling oil i have ever used. Car keeps rolling even after your foot comes off the accelerator. There is no nosedive when you lift off the power at 4500rpm that you expect with other oils. Revs seem to drop slower.
Have not needed topups in the last 15k kms.
Less NVH, compared to other swifts. Its supposedly specially formulated for turbo cars. There is no API grading on the can, but i know that all of the pete's cars with major mods run this oil. Thats good enough for me.
@kvk- didnt get you. What do you mean something with the box?
The box is off. Now, a remap takes care of the fuelling

rippergeo wrote:
180mm ground clearance on a relatively stiff suspension set up.

Typo ? Isn't the GC 170 mm ?

Nice write-up .

rippergeo wrote:@kvk- didnt get you. What do you mean something with the box?
The box is off. Now, a remap takes care of the fuelling

Earlier I was in the assumption that you had a pete's tune box