2024 Maruti Swift road test, review

The fourth-generation Swift is off to a great start, cementing its place in the list of bestsellers. Sure, like most cars today, even the Swift is offered with some discounts for a stronger sales push, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that buyers have taken a liking to this new version. So what has been driving demand? Is it its new petrol engine with tall claims of fuel efficiency; or all the modern niceties it packs in; or simply because it carries forward the Swift’s winning formula? We put it through our exhaustive tests to get an answer.

The fourth-generation Swift is largely an evolution of the outgoing version, with which it shares its ‘Heartect’ platform, albeit with changes to its front stabiliserbar, tweaked rear suspension and some other structural enhancements. Like before, the company focused on lightweighting and efficiency, but the addition of side and curtain airbags, new equipment and some mechanical bits have made this new-gen 20-25kg heavier, with the top variants tipping the scales at 920-925kg. Interestingly, despite being significantly larger in dimension than the first-gen Swift, this new car is still about 90 kilograms lighter.

But compared to its predecessor, it is 15mm longer, 10mm lower and its front track is 5mm narrower; however, its wheelbase, width and rear track are identical. And like its underpinnings, its body shell also appears to be an evolution of the version it replaces. It is an unmistakable ‘Swift’ silhouette, with design elements that are rounder and body lines that are softer and curvier. New L-shaped DRLs, an oval-shaped front grille and a chin finished in a contrasting shade add freshness to its appearance, while its clamshell-like bonnet and a neatly defined body line (that runs the length of the car from the headlamps to the tail-lamps) add to its character. It sits on 185/65 R15 tyres sporting new diamond-cut alloys.

The rear door handles have been repositioned from the C-pillar (in the Gen 3) to a more conventional position on the doors (like Gen 1 and 2 cars). The tailgate neatly dips between its stylish, new trapezoidal tail-lamps with C-Shaped LED elements. The inclusion of a full-size underbody engine cover, which, along with smooth body lines, redesigned C-pillars, repositioned rear door handles and a roof spoiler, are said to enhance aerodynamic efficiency.

Like its predecessor, the Swift carries forward an all-black interior colour scheme with silver touches scattered to break the monotone. The design philosophy is similar to the Baleno’s, with a layered dashboard and a free-standing screen taking centre stage. What’s nice is that the fit-finish is pleasing and like the third-gen, it is quite well-built too, so the interior doesn’t feel prone to rattling. That said, the excessive use of hard and scratchy plastics feel rudimentary and reeks of a budget car vibe, and the lack of vibrancy and soft-touch materials don’t help its case either.

It carries forward a flat-bottomed steering, which feels great to hold. The instrument cluster is new – the analogue dials are neat and easy to read, and the needles look premium. However, the outgoing version’s hooded dials with vertical needles and red detailing felt a bit more special. Also new is the coloured MID (multi-information display), which packs useful information, including turn-by-turn navigation while using Google Maps, though it can’t be turned off when using navigation on the center screen.

The front seats feel sporty, with chunky side bolstering and ample support, although those with larger body frames will find these a tad snug. True to a Swift, its driving position is very sporty and ergonomics, in general, are excellent.

An added advantage of the repositioned rear door handle is that the glass area is now larger, and its new quarter glass enhances the sense of space. Its rear bench is comfortable and supportive, and there’s adequate room for two six-footers to sit one behind another. Also, being wider than its direct rival – the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios – makes it easier to accommodate a third rear passenger. However, no head restraint and a protruding rear air-con console will compromise comfort for the passenger seated in the middle.

As far as practicality is concerned, there are ample storage and cubby areas all across. The 265-litre boot is adequately sized for a car in this segment and there’s the option to fold the rear seats 60:40 to accommodate more cargo. But a high boot lip makes it a bit of a challenge to load or unload heavy luggage.

Like its predecessor, the Swift carries forward an all-black interior colour scheme with silver touches scattered to break the monotone. The design philosophy is similar to the Baleno’s, with a layered dashboard and a free-standing screen taking centre stage. What’s nice is that the fit-finish is pleasing and like the third-gen, it is quite well-built too, so the interior doesn’t feel prone to rattling. That said, the excessive use of hard and scratchy plastics feel rudimentary and reeks of a budget car vibe, and the lack of vibrancy and soft-touch materials don’t help its case either.

It carries forward a flat-bottomed steering, which feels great to hold. The instrument cluster is new – the analogue dials are neat and easy to read, and the needles look premium. However, the outgoing version’s hooded dials with vertical needles and red detailing felt a bit more special. Also new is the coloured MID (multi-information display), which packs useful information, including turn-by-turn navigation while using Google Maps, though it can’t be turned off when using navigation on the center screen.

The front seats feel sporty, with chunky side bolstering and ample support, although those with larger body frames will find these a tad snug. True to a Swift, its driving position is very sporty and ergonomics, in general, are excellent.

An added advantage of the repositioned rear door handle is that the glass area is now larger, and its new quarter glass enhances the sense of space. Its rear bench is comfortable and supportive, and there’s adequate room for two six-footers to sit one behind another. Also, being wider than its direct rival – the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios – makes it easier to accommodate a third rear passenger. However, no head restraint and a protruding rear air-con console will compromise comfort for the passenger seated in the middle.

As far as practicality is concerned, there are ample storage and cubby areas all across. The 265-litre boot is adequately sized for a car in this segment and there’s the option to fold the rear seats 60:40 to accommodate more cargo. But a high boot lip makes it a bit of a challenge to load or unload heavy luggage.

With the Swift, Suzuki debuts its brand new engine – the Z12E. It is a three-cylinder unit, but its displacement remains identical to the outgoing K-Series four-cylinder unit at 1,197cc. Obviously, its bore and stroke have been revised to 74mm and 92.8mm, respectively, (from the near square 73mm and 71.5mm of the previous unit). For better thermal efficiency, its compression ratio is rather high at 13.0:1 (versus the older unit’s 11:1), and it has an electric water pump that lowers the direct load on the engine. Also included isa high porosity catalyst and a Lambda sensor to keep a check on emissions.

Maruti hasn’t opted for a mild-hybrid system with this engine, which is available in international markets; however, it retains the automatic stop-start system to save fuel and help with emissions targets.

The three-cylinder unit comes to life with a bit of a shake. In comparison, the older four-cylinder unit was completely vibration-free. You will feel some tremble at idle, particularly in the front seats. But these vibrations smoothen on the move, and things get better from thereon.

The Z12E’s 82hp and 112Nm of torque are modest, and are 8hp and 1Nm lower than the outgoing petrol the Swift, but Maruti has tuned this engine with a clear focus on drivability. Throttle responses feel crisp and it takes off in a reasonably peppy manner. Power delivery is very smooth and till 3,000rpm, there’s more than enough performance to potter around town and even keep up with highway traffic. Hence, a majority of owners will find no reason to complain.

Driving enthusiasts, on the other hand, who enjoy spinning the motor harder, will yearn for quicker progress in the mid-range and at higher revs. There’s a mild spike in performance beyond 5,000 revs, but the revs max out at 6,000rpm (300rpm lower than before), which feels restrictive.

Its gearing is very similar to the outgoing (K12M) – the final drive ratio, and the first three gear ratios are identical, but its fourth and fifth gears are taller than before to keep the revs lower (than before) at cruising speeds to reduce fuel consumption. The 5-speed manual gearbox has been re-engineered with this generation, and the result is that in terms of smoothness as well as shift quality and precision, this unit is the best in the market. Complementing this manual is a new hydraulic clutch, which feels less snappy than before and extremely light to use.

We put it through our performance tests and learnt that in terms of outright acceleration, this new Swift has taken a step backward. In manual guise, it sprints to 100kph from a standstill in 13 seconds, which not only makes it over a second slower than the outgoing car but interestingly, it is also slower than the Gen 1 2005 version. However, this new three-cylinder redeems itself in terms of rolling acceleration times, which are similar, and in some cases, even better than all its previous generations, making it the most drivable Swift till date.

On the other hand, its clutch-free, 5-speed automated manual transmission or AMT demonstrates how this technology has evolved. At moderate pace, shifts are mostly smooth and the pause between them is minimal. And even though this transmission upshifts to the highest possible gear at the earliest, in the interest of fuel efficiency, it is reactive to accelerator inputs and won’t hesitate to downshift two or three gears, if needed. Further, there’s a tiptronic or manual mode, wherein it will not upshift automatically and give you full control over the transmission; it will downshift automatically if the engine speeds fall too low to prevent the engine from stalling.

However, a sporty hatch like the Swift deserves a better auto gearbox. It’s fine in everyday stop-go traffic, but the engine-gearbox calibration should be smoother. Spirited drivers, in particular, will be left disappointed, as the AMT truly makes the Swift feel underpowered. Under hard acceleration, the pause between the AMT shifts is more pronounced, and from a standstill, it takes nearly 3 seconds more than a manual Swift to hit 100kph.

Does the Swift live up to Maruti’s claimed fuel efficiency of 24.8kpl for the manual and 25.75kpl for the AMT? In our city cycle, the manual version achieved 14kpl, while the AMT achieved 12.7kpl. Its stop-start system performed smoothly and turned off the engine while halted, in order to save fuel. On the highway, the manual returned 19kpl, and the AMT managed a similar 19.1kpl. The engine spun at 2,600rpm while cruising at 100kph in top gear, which is 100rpm lower than its predecessor.

While these efficiency numbers aren’t close to Maruti’s claimed figures, these are impressive by segment standards. Also, its overall average is higher than the K-Series Swift’s, which for reference, were 12.6kpl/19.3kpl for the manual and 11.4kpl/18.6kpl for the AMT for city/highway cycles, respectively.

The Swift features a larger diameter front stabiliser bar, and with some smaller tweaks, the fourth-gen’s steering feel as well as cornering abilities have been elevated. What’s nice is that its steering is smooth and fluid but also feels reasonably precise, much more than the third-gen’s lifeless unit. It certainly gives you better control while zipping in and out of traffic or driving in a spirited manner on a winding road. Furthermore, its returnability (unaided return to original position after a turn) is very natural. However, it doesn’t steer or handle as precisely as the first-gen.

That said, with its wheels stretched to the extreme corners of the car, mechanical grip is impressive and body roll is well in check. It rides on the firmer side, but smoothens bumps and potholes nicely at low speeds. On the flipside, sharp movements do come through quite sharply at highway speeds. At 163mm (unladen), ground clearance is adequate and it deals with the worst our roads have to throw at it. Braking, too, is confidence-inspiring, and in our panic braking tests from 80kph, it performs similarly to the outgoing version.

Maruti’s familiar 9-inch touchscreen has been carried over. It is easy to use and responsive to touch. Further, it is equipped with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which takes the user experience a couple of notches higher. A dedicated bar with shortcut keys makes accessing various menus quite easy. It gets four speakers and two tweeters, and even though the sound is tuned by ARKAMYS, its quality isn’t as good as a similarly priced Tata Altroz. Lastly, it packs in several SIM-based connectivity features, which can be accessed via the Suzuki Connect mobile application.

This new Swift is a practical, well-equipped and fuel-efficient hatch. Its handling is more fun and engaging than its predecessor and thus, the new Swift moves closer to the ethos of the first-generation car. It’s a pity the engine leans more towards efficiency than performance, which is what a car like the Swift deserves. What could be a bigger deterrent, though, is the price of its top variants, which are simply too close to the more premium, comfier and better-equipped Baleno.

But don’t write off the new Swift just yet. Its new Z12E petrol engine is very fuel-efficient and owners will particularly appreciate its light controls and overall user-friendliness. The AMT is the nicest by class standards, and the 5-speed manual is among the best gearboxes out there. And true to its character, its aesthetics, both inside and out, are youthful and sporty, easily making it the most charming Maruti hatchback on sale.