Get Swifty

The fourth generation of the Swift gets a new styling package a smorgasbord of new features, and a brand-new threecylinder heart. Here's how it lives up to the legacy

- Dipayan Dutta

The Maruti Suzuki Swift was launched in 2005. Everything since, as they say, is history. A history that I'm sure you don't need me to retell. The Swift was a runaway success; it has become an unrefuted icon of the Indian automotive space.

In the fourth generation the Swift also sees the introduction of wireless charging

The question we are asking today is what was the magic sauce that went into making the Swift the success it is today and whether Maruti Suzuki has retained that magic, 19 years, 29 lakh Swifts and four generations later with this brand new Swift that you see on these pages.

All-black interiors are accented by textures and a silver insert that divides the upper and lower half of the dashboard.

One of the things that I remember distinctly is just how the Swift pushed the envelope of what a hatchback was. Compared to the hatchbacks then, the Swift had curves, it had a shape and character that stood out as premium and up-market. Skip forward to 2024, and the car you see is still distinctly identifiable as a Swift but it pushes that envelope a little further.

Climate control gets an auto-function on this generation of the Swift.

The front end is the most distinctive part of this new generation and it is polarising. I like the tall front bumper and the way it defines the sinewy flares of the fenders. It also gives the bonnet a clamshell-like design. What this means is that despite retaining that distinctive swept-back headlamp design, this new Swift integrates the headlamp into the bumper and the flared fenders.

The analogue speedometer and tachometer flank a small but neatly integrated MID.