Its been a momentous achievement for me personally with any car I owned. I’ve cleared 30k kms with a vehicle which I can deem an asset. While most fuel inefficient vehicles and uncomfortable ones end up being liabilities, I can atleast feel proud to say that this car is every Indian’s asset for a long time to come. Before I proceed further, thanks FIAT for the wonderful engine, and thanks MARUTI for the great service that you have been known for all this while.
If you have read my earlier 10000 and 15000 kms review, by now you would know what the car is all about. The car still feels like showroom condition after 2.5 years every time I switch on the ignition. Generally the car is rugged to handle roads well as long as the roads are not too undulated. My car has gone through some real rough road patches but handled well, mostly due to the great Michelin tyres I’ve added onto the car. The car has been scratched on the mirrors and the underside of the bumper a few times. While the mirrors are too large to avoid getting scratched, the visibility issue while we sit within the car is another reason for misjudging a few manoeuvres.
Being a single user, and driving alone most times, sometimes with one or two other people, I must say this car has reasonable amount of power at the tap for a city user. The continuity in the accelerator response and the eagerness to pickup which occurs at all gears uniformly has made this beauty the darling of many a car owner in Benglauru. Just with the help of the torque of this car, I was able to negotiate the car upwards a ramp from the basement to the ground floor of the building, while in first gear with my foot off all pedals. Shows how much we can utilize the car to the best extent in city traffic to give some rest to those weary legs.
The front row comfort is good, cabin feels involving, dashboard soothing, and its generally airy. I would have felt great if the Swift VDi was a two door version. The back row is good so as not to cause too much body roll, but as far as space is concerned, Maruti will have to work quite hard to get to the level where TATA is currently with its Indica and Manza offerings. Generally I would include claustrophobia as one of the features of the Swift 🙂 The boot is good for not-much-luggage drivers and there ends the argument. If you want to transport truck loads worth of baggage, well – then buy yourself a truck! The rattling windows are a gift from Maruti for the Swift and I might just end up spending another 6-7 years more with these rattles. These rattles are like extra noises within the family life. 😀 Just got to put up with it. There is a lot of dust accumulation over a period of time on the dashboard but hey that’s part of growing old of any car isn’t it?
The mileage has dipped over time, and each time I service it to change the engine oil, it bounces back to a healthy 16kmpl. So this is a car that satisfies the FE hungry junta of India. I can stretch it upto 19kmpl but with normal tyres and mostly higher gear driving the latter being an impossibility in the city. The tyres seem great even after 30k of driving, and Michelin knows its business better than anyone else out there. It should be good for another 20k to go. I am you customer one more time after that Mich!
To summarize on the drive, the car has been extremely well mannered where required, has displayed enthusiasm required for a rally mood where required. Its agile, easy to manoeuvre in the city, good for two people, sturdy, great engine, FE and service and it will rock the Indian Car Scene for some more time until newer more well designed comfortable cars come up at this price. Till then enjoy the drive!
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