[Music] [Music] 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 Drving 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 [Applause] 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 [Music] 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 [Music] 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 Drgon 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.
