All-new 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift review: The old soul gets a youthful, peppy re-birth

NEW DELHI: The all-new

2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift

, which is perhaps the year’s most awaited car is finally here. Bookings are open and the car will officially be launched at the

Delhi Auto Expo

next month.

This is the third coming of the Swift, which has been one of Maruti Suzuki’s most popular offerings -- clocking a whopping 17 lakh units in sales till date. The first generation rolled out in India in 2005, and over a decade later India’s largest carmaker has once again reincarnated the old soul - which seems to be in no hurry to achieve ‘nirvana’, any time soon. In fact, in its latest avatar, it feels more youthful and more peppy than ever before.


We got to drive the

new Swift

ahead of its launch, in the picturesque settings of the pretty little hill town of Lonavala, just outside Pune. And here’s what we thought of the car --

Looks

The first thing that strikes you about the new Swift is its bold styling, and youthful looks.

For us, this is by far, the best looking Swift till date. The front is all new and is based on Maruti Suzuki’s latest version of its compact sedan - Dzire. But the Swift has a more sporty look, with all the chrome missing from the grille and is all-black. The new headlamps have a sharper look and come with daytime running lights and projector lamps-- which is fairly standard with most cars these days.

If you look at the car from the side then it’s got that classic Swift styling of tapering at the back. The door handles to the backseat are gone and can now be found on the C-pillars adjacent to the rear passenger windows -- just like Chevrolet’s hatchback Beat. The alloy wheels are new and there are two variants-- the precision cut two-tone alloys that come with the manual-transmission variants of the car and the rather simple and drag looking ones that come with the automatic-transmission versions. The two-tone alloys look smart and classy; the other variant, we don’t care too much about.

As far as the back is concerned, it looks different from its earlier avatar and has a rather Toyota Etios Liva inspired look. The tail lamps wrap around the fenders and add an edgy look. Unlike its earlier generations, the new Swift does not have the variant badge mentioned at the back. There’s just the Suzuki logo and the Swift branding.

The new Swift is available in six colours-- Lucent Orange, Midnight Blue, Fire Red, Arctic White, Silky Silver, and Magma Grey.

Space

There is both a lot more cabin space and boot space in the new Swift, thanks to a longer wheelbase (20 mm longer). The boot space is a big surprise, with 28 per cent more space (58 litres more than before) compared to the earlier version.

As far as riding at the back is concerned, there’s definitely more leg-room than before. In fact, Maruti Suzuki claims that two people of 6 feet height can comfortably sit in the front and at the back, at the same time-- a claim that seems legitimate. But with the door handle being placed in the C-pillar, you may feel a bit claustrophobic, riding at the back, and the cabin feels smaller than it actually is. The headspace is decent, but again, taller people may find it a wee bit uncomfortable, with the roof tapering and the C-pillars giving a cramped feel at the back.

Interiors

The dash is all-black plastic. It feels fairly premium save for a silver panel that’s thrown in, which we find a bit tacky. This silver accent also features on the otherwise black steering. For a car of this segment, there’s ample cubby space to keep your things.

The 7- inch infotainment screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which is now a familiar feature in Maruti Suzuki cars is there in the manual variants, but is surprisingly missing from the automatic versions.

New circular central AC vents along with big rotary controls for climate control, add a nice touch. The instrument cluster is new as well, with twin hooded binnacles for the speedometer and the tachometer.

USB and Aux ports are conveniently placed and can be reached by the driver easily.

The driver seat is comfortable with good under-thigh support and the side bolstering on the seat adds a nice snug feel.

The cabin is tilted 5 degrees towards the driver, which Maruti says makes the driver feel more engaged. However, amidst all this, the speedometer placement has become such that when you’re driving at 60 kmph, you may get the illusion of driving at 30 kmph seeing the needle placement.

What’s under the hood?
The engines remain unchanged, the 1.2 litre k-series petrol and the 1.3 litre ddis diesel are still at the heart of the new Swift. The petrol engine delivers 83PS at 6,000rpm and a peak torque of 113Nm at 4,200rpm. The successful 1.3-litre Multijet engine sourced from Fiat produces 190Nm of torque at just 2,000rpm while offering a power output of 75PS at 4,000rpm. Both the engines come mated to a five-speed gearbox with the AMT (automatic transmission) option available in selected variants.

How’s it to drive?

The 2018 Swift is based on the heartect platform, that’s shared by the likes of

Baleno

and the new Ertiga, which makes the chassis a lot lighter. And you feel that while driving-- it feels lighter, sportier, peppier. But even while it feels much lighter than before (around 85 kgs lighter than the previous model), you feel assured while driving at higher speeds and the car feels planted even as you’re cruising at three-digit speeds.

The pick up is smooth and swift but in the mid range it can feel a bit flat. But revv it a bit harder and the engine comes alive above 4,000 rpm. The braking is impressive and very responsive.

During our testing, we drove the petrol and diesel variants in both manual and automatic versions. In the automatic variants, the gear shifts didn’t feel seamless and smooth. Every time you’d revv it a bit-- as the gear would shift, you’d feel a lag and a jerk. In fact, the said jerk feels even more exaggerated while driving uphill.

As far as fuel efficiency is concerned, Maruti Suzuki claims the new Swift will deliver 22 kmpl on the petrol variant and 28 kmpl on the diesel variant.

Verdict

Going by how popular the Swift has been in India, Maruti Suzuki may well have a winner on their hands. The car is expected to be priced in the Rs 5-8 lakh range and will compete with the likes of Ford Figo and the

Hyundai

i10. The company believes that its Baleno hatchback and the Swift are unlikely to cannibalize each other, as the former is positioned as a more premium offering for a more mature audience. It would be interesting to see what kind of numbers the new Swift adds to its already impressive sales tally till date.