The Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire has been upgraded after a highly successful run in the Indian market for the past nearly four years. We drove both the petrol and diesel variants on the Buddh International Circuit recently
The Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire has been highly successful in the Indian market with over 3.3 lakh units being sold in less than four years since its launch in the country.
However, the passage of four years also signals the fact that the product needs to an upgrade with a view to keeping up with the changing trends. A car manufacturer has to be competitive on various fronts such as passenger comfort, driving pleasure and conveniences, up-to-date styling and, most importantly, fuel efficiency. The new DZire is about all this.
At the very first look it becomes quite evident that the new DZire has borrowed its front-end design from the new-generation Swift. There are a few things, though, that differentiate it from the Swift such as the grille with a prominent horizontal split instead of the honeycomb design on the Swift. Even the creases on the front bumper that run between the fog lamps and headlights are unlike the ones on the Swift, which run vertically and merge into the inner edge of the headlight. At the rear, the DZire speaks an altogether new design language with its sharp tail-lights and a boot-lid that has an integrated lip spoiler.
The other external changes in the styling of this car include turn indicators integrated into the outside rear-view mirrors and newly designed 15-inch alloy wheels.
The new DZire’s interior also testifies to major updates that include a modern instrument cluster with multi-information display, an integrated music system, dual-tone (black and beige) colour combination and steering-mounted controls, etc. All these features have basically been carried forward from the Swift with a few changes. For instance, the brushed aluminium trim in the Swift’s interior has been replaced by wood finish in the DZire and the single-tone dash has been replaced by a dual-tone one.
However, looks are not the only upgrade in this sedan. The new DZire has a 40-mm longer wheelbase than the outgoing version and thus a little more legroom for the rear passengers. At the same time, Maruti Suzuki have cut short the overall length from 4,160 millimetres to 3,995 mm to fit into the sub-four-metre bracket. That gives the company a 12 per cent relief in the excise duty (cars over four metres in length attract 22 per cent of excise duty while those under four metres attract 10 per cent). The combined effect of a 40-mm increase in the wheelbase and a 165-mm decrease in the overall length is reflected in the boot space, which has shrunk by 124 litres – from 440 litres in the old DZire to 316 litres in the new one. Similarly, seen from the outside, the new tail-lights and the lip spoiler boot-lid have given the car a stylish rear end, although the design flow feels to have been cut short abruptly by the curtailed length of the boot. As a result, the car now looks more like two-and-a-half-box instead of a proper three-box one.
The new DZire comes with both petrol and diesel options. The company has retained the D13A 1.3-litre diesel mill in the new car, which produces 75 PS of peak power and 190 Nm of peak torque. On the other hand, the K12M petrol engine with variable valve timing (VVT) replaces the plain K12 engine that powered the old DZire. With the introduction of the VVT, power and torque have improved from 85 PS to 87 PS and 113 Nm to 114 Nm respectively. Though these figures might not sound like a big improvement, the way power and torque are delivered certainly do. A full road test with a roll-on acceleration test will tell us exactly how much the new car has improved.
The DZire is being offered with two transmissions options now: a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic box. The AT box is a torque-converter type transmission and makes a lot of sense for a car in this segment. And though it sounds like an old-school box, it works quite well with not much of an elastic feel to the gear shifts. At the same time, four-speed also means that this upgrade will suffer on the fuel efficiency front.
The DZire is supposed to be the urban daily commuter’s car with a few weekend trips thrown in. However, Maruti Suzuki gave us the car for a test on the Buddh International Circuit, a place where the car will never be taken. Nevertheless, it gave us a fair idea of how the new DZire will act when it is shown the twisties at a considerably high speed.
The suspension of the car has been stiffened up a bit, making it a little better while pushing hard through corners. However, the characteristic understeer that is also seen in the new Swift still haunts when the car is pushed to the limits.
The overall package of the new DZire definitely sounds more tempting than before. Better styling, better legroom, better engine (petrol variant) with AT option, improved dynamics and an upmarket feel of the cabin makes this DZire an excellent upgrade over the old one, though the boot space is disappointing. With the excise duty benefit, Maruti Suzuki should be able to price the DZire more competitively now. And if they do so, the competitors had better be prepared, for this one fares very well on almost every front.
Story: Adhish Alawani
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
