[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/48687510501/[/flickr]
The cabin is very practical and quality levels are decent
The interior has pretty decent fit and finish but there are quite a few plastic parts which kind of feel built to a cost. You get hard plastics all around but thankfully the Swift has a black interior instead of the beige theme that you get on the Dzire. Ergonomics inside the cabin are spot on and Maruti has loaded the car with more than enough storage spaces to keep stuff. All doors get 1-litre bottle holders and the front doors also get generous space to keep other belongings. Driving in Mumbai’s traffic can be very tiring and I used to make sure I’d have a fresh bottle of water and a pack of cashews/almonds in the driver’s side door pocket all the time.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/48687509931/[/flickr]
The cabin has a hint of sportiness with the black theme and flat-bottom steering
With keyless entry and push button start on offer, you don’t really need to use the remote at all!
Talking about driving in traffic, the front seats are something that I absolutely love in the Swift. These seats hug you from the sides and offer a good amount of comfort. I never really sat in the rear seat for long distances but we did use the boot a lot of times on shoots to stuff all our video equipment and it gobbled up everything with ease. The SmartPlay infotainment system throws out good sound quality but the head unit itself is a bit glitchy. It would randomly shut off and restart on its own while there were times when Apple CarPlay would just not connect. The LED projectors on the Swift offer great illumination and are quite powerful.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/48687683217/[/flickr]
The diesel engine suffers from considerable turbo lag
Now the Swift diesel comes with the same engine as the first generation Swift. The 1.3-litre engine sourced from Fiat is very noisy and has a fair number of vibrations which are felt while starting and shutting off the ignition. The engine scores high in terms of fuel efficiency but it also scores high on turbo lag which gets on your nerves in the city when you constantly need to upshift and downshift. The mid-range power delivery is super and honestly, the turbo lag is the only issue that I have with this engine. The clutch is thankfully very light and gear shifts are precise too.
