New Maruti Swift Dzire
When the Swift DZire was first launched a little over four years ago, it was not the first sedan that
was sharing the platform of a sibling hatch, but I had expected it to be amongst the first to leverage
the under-four-metre size advantage to come up with a killer price-to-value package for buyers in the
entry sedan segment.
Viewed from the rear, the “Swift Sedan” looks decent, but the funny proportions are unavoidable, since
Suzuki wanted it to be below four metres in length to enjoy the Indian government’s excise benefits for
small cars. As a result, the stubby tailed new Dzire is shorter than the old one, which is 4,160 mm long.
The insides are now a two-tone affair, a welcome change from the Swift’s traditionally all-black interior.
The top half of the dash remains black (thankfully!) while the lower half is a light beige and it
undoubtedly adds a touch of class to the Swift, er, Dzire’s interiors. Most importantly, rear legroom
has gone up by 20 mm over the previous car and this has been achieved by creating a scoop in the
backrests of the front seats and by also fitting seats that are different than those in the hatch.
Also, the Dzire is 25 mm taller, 5 mm wider and has a 40 mm longer wheelbase than the current Dzire,
so the boost in interior space is a given. Another important development is that the rear door is now
larger, thus making stepping in and out much more comfortable.
The product of a Suzuki joint venture in India (which is by itself the largest automaker on the
subcontinent), the Swift Dzire is the new sedan version of the nimble little hatchback available
in overseas markets. And while the previous-generation version appeared to have added a trunk as
an appendage off the back of a Swift, the new version looks like it just lost the upper part of
the hatch for what looks like the smallest trunk this side of a newborn elephant.
(Cue the ballpark organ music.)
At the end of the day, what Maruti Suzuki has done is taken a car that is already a benchmark
(the Swift) and added a boot to it. Sounds like the original Swift-Dzire story right? Yes, but
we only hope that the automaker manages to transfer the now available excise duty benefit on
the Dzire, to the customer when it announces prices.
