Maruti is gearing up to launch the 2015 Maruti Swift, and here are 12 changes we know for certain on India's most popular premium hatchback.
1. Petrol engine mildly reconfigured
Engineers have tweaked the petrol engine of the car to produce less power, but more torque. This has been done by increasing the compression ratio from 10.0:1 to 11.0:1, and as a result, the 1.2-liter K-Series engine makes 84.3 PS (83.11 bhp) at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm of torque @ 4,000 rpm, as against the older model’s 87 PS (85.77 bhp) at 6,200 rpm and 114 Nm @ 4,000 rpm.
2. Diesel engine gets no power/torque changes
The 1.3-liter Fiat-sourced DDiS diesel engine sees no changes to its power or torque outputs. On the 2015 model, it makes 75 PS (73.94 bhp) at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, just like before. The ECU, however has been tweaked to get a higher mileage.
3. Fuel Efficiencies up by 10 percent
The new Swift petrol is claimed to deliver 20.4 km/l (up from 18.6 km/l) and the Swift diesel has an ARAI rated 25.2 km/l (up from 22.9 km/l).
4. Engine starter button
The top-end ZXi and ZDi variants get an intelligent keyfob (similar to the Ciaz's) with keyless entry and an engine starter button. The button, which is similar in design to the Ciaz's, is neatly located on the right-side of the steering.
5. Electrically adjustable and folding wing mirrors
The mid- and top-end variants (V and Z grades) will get electrically adjustable and folding mirrors. This feature has always been present on the Swift's arch rival, the i20, and its high time Maruti introduced it on the Swift.
6. New LXi (O) variant
The Swift range will get a new LXi (O) variant. In addition to the features of the base LXi, it gets silver accents on the interior trims, front power windows with driver side auto-down function, central door locking, keyless entry and an alarm system. The LDi variant gets all the features of the LXi (O), and hence there is no LDi (O) trim.
7. ABS standard on mid-level VDi trim
The VDi trim of the 2015 Swift will come standard with ABS, EBD and brake assist. Sadly, the VXi trim still misses out on these features.
8. Silver Bezel for the foglights
The mid- and top-end variants of the Swift will get silver L-shaped bezels for the foglight enclosures, while on the lower LXi/LXi (O) and LDi, the bezels will be black.
9. Music system and Bluetooth
The top-end Z variants get a Bluetooth enabled system with 4 speakers, 2 tweeters and steering mounted Bluetooth controls for taking and ending phone calls. The mid-level VXi/VDi get the music system but without the Bluetooth, tweeters and steering mounted controls.
10. Three new colors
The Swift will be offered in 3 new colors namely Fire Red, Granite Gray and Mysterious Violet. Other colors carried over from the previous model include the White, Silver and Grey shades.
11. Alloy wheels and wheel caps
Top-end variants get newly designed 12-spoke alloy wheels. The mid-end trims get new wheel caps of a different design to better distinguish themselves from the earlier model.
12. Prices
Naturally, the Swift's prices have increased. Our sources say that there is a INR 24,000 price hike on the top-end variants, between INR 17,000 to INR 21,000 on the mid-level variants, and a INR 10,000 hike on the LDi.
