Maruti Suzuki’s Swift facelift that has just hit Indian showrooms get a few styling tweaks and a bit more equipment. It retains the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines from the pre-facelift car but they have now been tuned to deliver better fuel efficiency. The starting price of the Swift petrol remains the same at Rs 4.42 lakh for the LXi trim, while the prices of VXi and ZXi petrol trims and the diesel range has increased by around Rs 10,000 to Rs 24,000.
The Swift is a popular hatchback in our country and the update enhances its appeal but it faces stiff competition from the recently introduced Hyundai Elite i20 and the Volkswagen Polo facelift. Here’s how the Maruti Swift facelift compares against its main premium hatchback segment rivals on paper.
Under the Hood
The updated Maruti Swift’s retains the same 1197cc, four-cylinder petrol engine, which is now marginally less powerful and makes 83.1bhp instead of 85.8bhp, and 11.62kgm of torque instead of 11.72kgm. The 1248cc, four-cylinder, diesel mill has the same power output of 74bhp and 19.37kgm as before.
Just like the Swift facelift, the second-generation Hyundai Elite i20 too carries over the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4-litre diesel engines from the previous model. The petrol trims get powered by the 1197cc, four-cylinder engine which is good for 82bhp and 11.7kgm, while the 1396cc, four-cylinder diesel produces 89bhp and 22.4kgm.
On the Volkswagen Polo, the regular petrol trims get a 1198cc, three-cylinder engine and for the diesels, an all-new 1498cc, four-cylinder engine. The petrol engine makes 73.97bhp and 11.21kgm, while the diesel engine produces 89bhp and 23.45kgm.
Space on Offer
Maruti has only given the Swift a cosmetic upgrade and its dimensions remain unaltered. So, it still has a 2430mm wheelbase as before. The Volkswagen Polo facelift gets a 2469mm wheelbase, which is 39mm more than the Swift facelift. The second-generation Elite i20 gets a 2570mm wheelbase which is a good 140mm more than the Swift.
The Maruti Swift facelift has a 3850mm length, 1695mm width and a 1530mm height. In terms of length, the updated Swift is shorter than the Elite i20 and the Polo by 135mm and 121mm respectively. It is narrower than the Elite i20 by 39mm, but wider than the Polo by 13mm. In terms of height, the Swift is taller than both the Elite i20 and the Polo by 25mm and 61mm respectively.
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