We were the first to reveal that Maruti was secretly working on a sub-four metre-long Swift Dzire and this spy shot taken by one our readers in Gurgaon is concrete proof that Maruti has done just that.

At a length of under four metres and engine capacities under 1.2 and 1.5 litres for petrol and diesel, respectively, the car would enjoy benefits of a low excise duty of just 10%, as opposed to 22% on bigger cars. Only the Indigo CS can boast of the same privilege so far.  This would mean that the Dzire could start at an all-new price that is substantially lower than the current model and we estimate a cost benefit of around Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 to the customer

According to sources, the shortened Dzire will be ready for production in November 2011 but the actual launch is likely to happen in January 2012 at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.

For more details pick up the May 2011 issue of Autocar India.

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