2024 Maruti Suzuki Swift review - Return to form for India’s favourite hatchback | @autocarindia1

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iconic it's a word marketing people just

love to beat us over the head with isn't

it but in the case of the maruti Suzuki

Swift I think it's Justified you see we

don't have too many truly iconic cars in

the Indian car market but the Swift is

certainly one of them and that you know

it doesn't have anything to do with its

price with its spec sheet or even its

sales which are by the way incredible

it's regularly in the top five selling

cars in India and at the moment it's on

the verge of 3 million units in fact by

the time you watch this it'll probably

have cross that but no to be iconic is

something far more emotional it's about

the look it's about the feel it's about

aspirational value and it's about

winning the hearts of the people and

when you think about it maruti Suzuki a

brand that's generally All About Numbers

that's quite a tall order and it has big

shoes to fill well here we are

Generation 4 Swift I'm Gavin dza and

have they done

it over the course of this video we'll

try and answer that question is it nicer

on the inside have they modernized it

enough and does it still drive like a

dream but first and maybe most important

of all does it look like a Swift

to be iconic is to be instantly

recognizable and I think they've

succeeded in this regard but what do you

think let us know down in the comments

do you like the look of the new Swift if

you do give this video a thumbs up and I

hope you subscribed to autocar India and

have clicked that Bell icon to stay

notified but yeah one look at this and

you know it's the brand new Swift now

it's of course entirely new but they've

done that familiarity by keeping the

shape more or less the same as it's

always been that means narrow at the top

slightly wide and rounded at the bottom

the contrast roof sure helps but even

without it you know this is a Swift at

the very first glance but yep everything

is brand new and it starts with that new

grill that's gloss black on top variants

and these headlamps that come upwards

like this and have an L-shaped DRL

pattern dare I say it looks a little bit

Maserati but hey if you're going to draw

inspiration you might as well do it from

the best I think it comes together

really well the Suzuki logo has moved up

from the grill to the Bonnet and

speaking of the Bonnet it's this new

clamshell Arrangement which on its own

is really quite interesting it's just

that the execution in places is quite

distracting like it creates a bit of a

gap here above the headlamp and you will

constantly be looking at that but

overall I think it works well with the

Swift design that's what it's like from

the front let's go look at the side and

the

back now at the side again the profile

is quite recognizable and that's what

makes it a swift it's the roof line that

tapers slightly towards the the end that

really gives the game away now one thing

that's changed from the last generation

Swift is that the rear door handle used

to be up here in the C pillar and now

it's down here on the door in a

conventional position another superb

detail I think is this thick very

prominent line that runs the length of

the car from that clam shell Bonnet all

the way to the tail lamp and these

pronounced flanks both at the front and

the rear with a little bit of a crease

of their own it just gives a lot of

muscularity to the Swift and sets it

apart from your average family

hatchback I do wish though they've gone

for a larger size of wheel maybe 16in

it's stuck with 15-in wheels and though

they look quite nice just a little bit

meek for the sporty Hatchback model

don't you

think the rear in my opinion is the

least interesting angle of the new Swift

yes it is instantly recognizable once

again but it's not particularly unique

like the rest of the car is these tail

lamps for example they're a squarish

shape and they have this interesting LED

light pattern on the inside which I

quite like but the rest of it is very

much hallogen now at the back here you

do get the Suzuki logo the rear camera

the Swift logo a rear washer and wiper

and this rather standard looking antenna

not a shark fin one some people might

have preferred that now if you open the

boot it's about 265 L which is a good

size for a hatchback and the space is

quite usable yes there's a bit of a lip

to load stuff over but it's not as bad

as say some compact SUVs so I think

you'll be okay for a weekend trip in the

new

Swift All Things Considered then I think

the exterior of the new Swift is a job

well done by maruti but can we say the

same about the

inside when it comes to the new Swift's

interior I have mixed feelings but let's

start with the stuff that I really like

for one it feels very much a Swift

Driving position the seating position is

just right get these upright slightly

upright a pillars that are

characteristic of a Swift and you get

big glass areas at least for the front

half of the cabin I also like the

steering wheel yes it's quite familiar

but it works well it's got all the

controls you need I like that they've

changed it to gloss black from the old

silver looks a bit more upmarket and

Suits the Swift really well I like those

diales yes they're traditional analog

they're not digital but I think that's

okay in this segment plus they're really

really clear and easy to read with big

fonts and a nice color mid and I really

really like those needles they're very

sporty looking and it all comes this

very cool sporty binle what else I like

that there's been an improvement in

plastic quality and fit and finish

overall compared to the last Swift

there's a bit of grain and texture to

the Plastics and there's also some

relief in the form of this silver finish

here the gloss black for the AC controls

speaking of which the AC controls I

think they work really well yes they are

from the Baleno and the FRS but using

these toggles is easy on the move and

these physical buttons down here I also

like that this wireless charger can hold

a very large

smartphone and there's a nice lip to

prevent it from sliding around and these

seats they're comfy they're sporty

they're familiar but they're nice and

snug and Soo the car's character really

well I also like those speaker grills at

an interesting touch they look like

they've been maybe borrowed from an Audi

but the way they executed is quite up

market and now onto the stuff I'm not

such a big fan of yes plastic quality

and fit and finish have improved but

it's just all so dull and gray this

could have been a great opportunity to

liven things up with a bit more color

but it's just not this texture here well

finished but it just could have been

nice these AC vents also very nice but

you might miss them because they just

blend into the background even over here

a little bit more soft touch material

would not have gone a mess it's all hard

plastic apart from this elbow pad over

here and of course the classic Swift

window switches are back they will never

get rid of those storage in this cabin

is not great either you get a pretty

small glove box only average size door

Pockets these cup holders can take small

bottles and maybe a little bit more than

this but they're not huge and down here

you only get tiny cubby holes there's no

armrest or box to keep stuff in and

finally this touchcreen I really like

the touchcreen it's a 9in unit and

maruti smartplay pro interface is really

nice it gives you lots of information

it's quite slick but I don't like the

fact that it's propped so high up on the

dashboard and has such a huge housing

there 3 Ines on either side of it of

just thick black plastic that doesn't

serve any function and though you can

see the road just fine it's a constant

distraction that's in your line of sight

I wish they had placed it a little bit

lower but that said they have added

quite a few features to the new Swift so

let's go take a look at them right now

in tops spec ZXI plus guys the Swift is

well equipped with the likes of

automatic LED headlamps a wireless phone

charger autoclimate control a rear view

camera and cruise control the

aformentioned 9-in touchcreen meanwhile

is slick to use and includes Wireless

carplay and Android auto connected carch

and even some voice commands clearly

then the front seat occupants are well

catered to but what about those in the

back the back seat proposition hasn't

changed too much from the previous Swift

it's got about the same amount of space

as before and that's to say it's pretty

good I'm just under 5'8 that's set to my

position I've got plenty of knee room

and quite a bit of head room too of

course you have a larger driver and a

larger passenger behind that could

change a little bit there's loads of

space for your feet under the front seat

though thigh support on this rather flat

bench is not all that great I'm pretty

impressed with the view out of this

window and this rear quarter glass does

make quite a difference it does give you

that slight sense of Greater airiness

compared to the previous Swift where

there was just a door handle in that

space over there now interestingly

there's no rear armrest back here and

that means no chance of rear cup holders

either in fact the doors just get one

slim bottle holder each there's no

Center headrest but there is a

three-point seat belt for the center

passenger there are now AC vents which

is a nice addition to the Swift a usba a

and a USB C port and while there is a

pocket in the back of this seat there's

no pocket on the back of this one for

some

reason so things are still very much

geared to the driver in the Swift but

now we have to safety and as I mentioned

the Swift now gets three point seat

belts for all seats as standard also

standard are six airbags ESC and hillh

hold assist which should help with a

crash test rating should it be submitted

for

one incidentally the new Swift scored

four stars at a 90% rating in the Japan

endcap test but it's also worth

remembering that the previous India spec

Swift which uses the same hardtech

platform as the new one scor just one

star under the new Global endcap

protocols in 2022 we just have to wait

and see and with that let's hit the road

because we Doo want to see what all the

fuss is about under the

hood it's good to be back at the wheel

of a swift again a brand new Swift but

one that gives you a very familiar feel

from the driver's seat of course there's

one fundamental change right away and

that's the engine it's called the z2e

and while it still displaces one .2 L

it's down from 4 cylinders to

three it's a big change and a big

departure from the petrol engines of the

Swift of the past because they've always

been four-cylinder ones right from the

g13b which started it out the 1.3 to the

various K12 1.2 L engines and here we

are in the Z series with a

three-cylinder

the headline figures are Ari fuel

economy ratings of 25.75 kpl for the AMT

and 24.80 kpl for the manual what

definitely helped was the engine Auto

Stop start function but it has to be

noted that this is not maruti's shvs

mild hybrid system however what's really

got the commment sections up in arms is

that with 82 horsepower and 112 n m it's

less powerful than the previous engine

and right away let me put you at ease

because it is a very very good

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engine first Common issue with

three-cylinder engines refinement it's

very good yeah you can hear a little bit

of Rumble and clatter when you're

standing outside the car but when you're

sat inside it's really not that bad it

won't be quite as smooth as the

4-cylinder K12 engines and yes you'll

feel a little bit of Rumble through the

pedal as you go up but again I'm

nitpicking here on its own in isolation

it is actually very very

good as an advantage what it brings Is

some much needed low end torque now the

reason I say much needed is because as a

city car you need that to get going and

stop and go traffic yes the Swift is

meant to be the fun to drive one but you

won't always be revving to the red line

speaking of the red line that is now

down to 6,000 RPM so it's a little bit

lower and yes before you even get to

6,000 you'll feel a drop off in power

somewhere around 5 and a half so yes

assuming you are chasing those revs all

the way to the red line you will feel a

little disappointed as you get towards

the end it's a different character not

what we remember from Swifts of old but

it's not a bad thing in any way now

you'll notice I'm not shifting gears

that's because I'm driving the AMT

version it has to be said maruti's amts

have come a very long way and now are

amongst the best they've gotten a whole

lot smoother more

intuitive and once you're driving at a

relaxed space you really don't notice

it's

there the thing is an AMT is an AMT and

it's always going to give you that head

knot the moment you start picking up the

pace if you want to drive quickly and

you might want to do that in a car like

the Swift you do have to contend with

that lag that little Gap that head knod

that comes between gears and the harder

you push the more prominent it

is I suppose it's good that there is a

manual mode for when you want to drive

fast and when you don't want to drive

fast the automatic mode is possible but

I can't help but feel that this would

have been a great opportunity to

introduce a better gearbox for the Swift

a new engine coming in perhaps they

could have brought in a new gearbox too

maybe a CVT if not a torque converter

and I know they had it in the last

generation as well but the AMT is just

not in keeping with the sporty and

premium nature of the Swift

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now they say they've made some changes

to the rear suspension they've stiffened

it up in the interest of better handling

and I think that works I'm on a highway

right now but a little while ago I was

on a slightly Winding Road and the body

control is just very very good in this

car the old one the third generation

Swift got a little bit roly poly but

they've tied it down nicely with this

fourth

generation has it compromised the ride

quality not too badly but rear seat

passengers might feel bumps and portoles

a little bit more than in the previous

car overall however it's an improvement

riding with greater maturity helped also

by a revised front stabilizer

bar what has also seen a market

Improvement is the steering gone to the

days when Swift steerings would not

return to Center where they were overly

light that in between phase somewhere

between generation 2 and a lot of

Generation 3 it's all being corrected

now I'm happy to report there's a lot

more weight in the steering it gives you

a lot more confidence out on the highway

and through the corners and it's getting

back slowly to that original Swift feel

it's not there yet but it's a step in

the right

direction that is a huge Revelation the

Swift is correcting course to return to

its Dynamic Heyday the engine is

surprisingly good too but to experience

it at its best you simply cannot have

the am

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now that is more like it a manual is the

gearbox this new engine deserves and

indeed what a swift

deserves now that I have better control

over the revs I can tell you that yes if

you keep it in a certain Zone close to

the 4,000 RPM mark you do get a lot of

that three-cylinder

grumel but I also have to say that it's

not a terrible sounding noise in fact it

reminds me a lot of Ford Dragon series

engines the 1.2 and the 1.5 both three-

cylinders which are some of the best

three-cylinder engines out

there also very apparent is the new

hydraulically actuated clutch it's no

longer cable operated and you can tell

that in the sort of heft with which it

moves it's very smooth and not Snappy

like the one before that said I do feel

the clutch pedal travel is a little on

the long side slightly detracting from

that quick shifting driving pleasure but

really I'm nitpicking at this point it's

a very good transmission the gear shifts

as ever are nice and light and slick and

Slot into place with that satisfying

click and here with the manual you can

really get the most out of this new

engine you know when to keep it at the

low revs like when you're moving around

town and you just want that nice lowend

talk and when you're cruising out of the

highway like I am now you can move it up

into the mid-range which is just above

3,000

RPM priced between 6.49 lakh to 9.5 lakh

rupees X showroom the Swift has

predictably moved up in price with the

new generation making it more expensive

than a grandite 10 Neos and putting it

awfully close to its Big Brother the

Baleno the good news is that the Swift

makes more of an effort to set itself

apart this time thanks to its new z2e

engine although let's face it this will

find its way into other maruti small

cars in due time but it's also thanks to

its return to fun to drive Dynamics and

a more modern take on the classic Swift

design that will make you love this

hatchback as much as you did its

predecessors iconic you bet

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