Maruti Suzuki Swift all set to be launched in 2018 Auto Expo
Maruti Suzuki India has already launched the Dzire sub four-meter sedan in the Indian market and with more than 30000 bookings garnered in less than a week’s time since its launch it sure is going to be a massive success replicating the way of its predecessors. You can read our road test review of the Maruti Suzuki Dzire sedan here.
The tradition of the largest Automaker of India has been usually to launch the Swift hatchback first, followed by the Swift Dzire sedan a couple of months later. This time, Maruti has clearly taken a bold step to drop the ‘Swift’ moniker altogether from the sedan and launch it as the ‘Dzire’ sedan first. So, what about the Swift hatchback, you ask?
Well, as per reports pouring in, the all new Maruti Suzuki Swift will be launched in our country in the 2018 Auto Expo with sales following soon. The new Swift is based on the same HEARTECT platform as its bigger brother Baleno and the recently launched Dzire sedan. Styling wise, the new Maruti Suzuki Swift will look very similar to the Dzire sedan but will have key identities to differentiate the bigger sedan from itself.
The new Swift is expected to be even lighter than the outgoing model tipping the scale around 890 kg. Maruti claims that the weight loss has nothing to do with deficiency in safety and says that the added reinforcements and stiffer platform ensures the little Suzuki stays up there with respect to safety.
The new Swift sits a bit lower than the model it replaces and with a wheelbase of 2450 mm, it is marginally longer between the wheels too. The biggest gremlins of the current generation Swift has to be its minimal legroom for the rear seat passengers and a laughable boot size for the segment it competes. With the extended wheel base, the second-row leg space should be taken care of. The boot space also seems to have increased to a respectable 254 litres.
As in the case with many Maruti Suzuki models for close to a decade, including the newly launched Dzire, the new generation Swift too will be powered by the familiar petrol and diesel mills- the 1.2 L K-Series VVT petrol generating 83 bhp and the Fiat sourced 1.3 L Multi Jet Diesel engine good enough for 75 bhp. As usual, Maruti engineers will ensure both the engines are tuned to give the best in class fuel efficiency figures and the lighter kerb weight of the new model should definitely help the cause.
Other than the traditional 5-speed manual gearboxes to do the transmission duties, Maruti Suzuki should also rope in its AGS (Auto Gear Shift) Technology to cater to the rising demand for automatic transmissions.
Features wise, you definitely would not go wrong if you expect top notch technologies like Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, steering mounted controls, touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and navigation, Auto Climate Control to make it to the hatchback.
As a further differentiating factor from Dzire sedan, expect the new Swift to adorn black interiors with sporty accentuations. Keeping in mind the market’s perception of the Swift as a sporty hatch, Maruti might also throw in the turbojet petrol in the Swift at a later stage.
Expect the new Swift to be priced at the least five percent more than the current generation model. Like any other Swift models, this too should taste success pretty easily!
[Credits: AutocarIndia]
