India’s leading passenger car company Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) has had a number of firsts to its name over the past three-and-half decades of operations in the country. A prominent one among these is its claim of creating the mid-size hatchback segment, which it entered with the launch of the first-generation Swift in May, 2005. The Swift was has maintained its status of one of the top-selling models for MSIL, as well as one of the highest-selling cars in the Indian automotive industry to date.
About 13 years later and we see that the Maruti Suzuki Swift is still one of the leading cars in the automotive industry, having sold over 1.7 mn units since launch. The sporty hatchback has gone through two full upgrades, now making way for the all-new, third-generation 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift. The 2018 Swift has undergone major changes to the exterior and interior design, in addition now being based on a completely new vehicle platform. We drove the car between Pune and Lonavala and tell you how it stands against its predecessor, along with the developments gone into this new-generation model.
PLATFORM & SAFETY
The all-new Maruti Suzuki Swift is now based on Suzuki’s fifth-generation Heartect vehicle platform, making it the third model following the Baleno and Dzire in the B-segment. This leads to the Swift featuring changes in terms of proportions, interior space and overall efficiency. The new Swift is shorter in length by 10 mm, 40 mm wider and features an increased wheelbase of 20 mm. This makes it a bit more compact on the outside, while slightly increasing interior dimensions.
The hatchback is now about 80 kg lighter than its previous iteration in both petrol and diesel versions, which has been the result of the use of about 40 % high tensile steel in its construction. Use of high tensile steel not only provides the weight-loss that translates to better performance efficiency but also leads to improved cabin protection during a crash. Therefore this platform, which also seems to be the company’s architecture for future models, provides the best balance between safety, efficiency and driving dynamics.
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