DriveBlog

Swift makes debut today

The entire nation, I daresay, can now let go of the collective breath it's been holding all these days in anticipation of the launch of the Swift. After much vacillation on both the launch price and date, the car 'officially debuted' today. The bottom-end LXi version has been launched at a cool Rs. 387000 (ex-showroom Delhi). The mid-range VXi option can be yours for Rs. 405000 and the fully-loaded ZXi (the one with the 'Z' is always, the coolest, isn't it?) comes in at Rs. 485000. Again, smart on the part of Maruti to price the 3 variants with almost a lakh of a difference between the bottom and top. Something for everyone to choose from.

And going by the reviews (read what BS Motoring had to say after they did the car), it looks like the Swift is the answer to both the Indian carbuyer's and Maruti's dreams and looks very unlikely to disappoint either. Or should I say it better not disappoint, because over 8000 of the cars have been spoken for already.

Update: The Swift will grace Indian roads only by the first week of June when customer delivery begins. And the mouth-watering prices at which it's been launched may not be the same for too long, but no one's confirming that yet.

Also see:
Inside the Swift
The average Joe's take on the Swift ('Registration required' link)
All the news on 'Maruti Swift' from Google News India
All the news on 'Maruti Suzuki Swift' from Google News India

Where is it, then?

Except for a TV commercial that has something to do with a clock, a one-second shot of the car zipping by in a velodrome like thing, and tries very hard to sound cool, there hasn't been much that I've seen, heard or read of the Swift in the past few days prior to its much-awaited launch. Well, as they say...tomorrow is another day.

PS: Next update likely only on Saturday as I will be at the receiving end of the hospitality of the South Central / South Eastern Railways starting tonight as I find my way back home to Chennai from Mumbai. If they do launch that danged car tomorrow and I happen to miss it, let me know what goes down. =)

Also see:
Some more pictures of and thoughts on the Swift.

Swift likely price announced

The Maruti Suzuki Swift will soon be available in 3 variants: the base Lxi, the intermediate Vxi and the fully loaded Zxi. Industry speculation is that prices may be around the Rs. 3.99 lakh range for the base version to about 4.75 lakhs for the top-end version. All variants will run on 1.3 litre petrol engines.

In terms of features towards the top end, the Swift seems like it packs a better punch than the Getz. The Zxi, for example, will be armed with an automatic climate control system and dual front airbags along with ABS. The premium-end variant of the Getz in comparison, the GLS ABS has only...well, ABS.

Update: Methinks it's going to be a smart move on the part of the Maruti to offer a 'pared down' version of the Swift starting at Rs. 3.99 lakhs. Reminiscent of the 'psychological pricing' tactic that Bata (yes, them of the Hawaii chappals) tends to use all the time, I think the average Indian car buyer is going to be very tempted by the proposition of the Swift being available at less than 4 lakhs (so what if it's only a 1000 bucks less?). An opportunity that perhaps Hyundai missed by pricing the base version of the Getz, the GL at Rs. 4.5 lakhs. Opinions have already begun to fly fast and free that some rethinking on the part of the Koreans may be in order.

www.marutiswift.com

The official website for the Maruti Suzuki Swift is live (Thanks, Sid), though you won't find a link to it from the Maruti Udyog group site just yet.

Quite a pleasant surprise, this site. Not what you would expect from the likes of MUL. But like I've surmised before, it looks like Maruti is looking at doing everything it can with the Swift to help break away from its straitlaced, no-nonsense, 'I-only-mean-business' image. Now while that can be a good thing, a little chutzpah never hurt anybody, right?

Tech specs of the car, however are not yet up. Those may be made available only post the official launch.

There are also some bootleg Swift sites out there, some of which score high if 'as much dope as possible on the car in one place' is your criteria.

Also see:
When the Getz website was found

The one where GM gets the drift

Industry pundits and market-watchers alike have long since been critical of, and been puzzled by, GM's determined non-participation in the high-volume compact car segment in India. Save for a rather lacklustre showing in the hatchback segment in the form of the Opel Corsa Sail, the world's largest carmaker has had us believe that the lack of its presence in the entry, B and premium-B segments has been part of a well thought-out strategy.

Well, you know that bit about doing as the Romans do. With every carmaker worth its salt scrambling over the other to grab a piece of the small car pie, it probably didn't take a genius to figure out and tell GM what they were missing out on. Ergo, very soon, car buyers in India will have the Chevrolet Aveo and the Chevrolet Spark (nee the Daewoo Matiz) add to what is increasingly becoming a bewildering (in a good way, you understand) range of small and compact automobiles to choose from.

Also see:
The Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX vs. the Opel Corsa Sail
The small shape of things to come

Mark off May 27th...

...on your calendars. And in red, preferably. Because that's the date that seems to be on everyone's lips these days. As are various opinions on what the price tag on the Swift is going to be.

Update: Well, it looks like my Jamaican friend was right. This good piece on the reasons for the slow but sure emergence of the new B+ segment in India does in fact, confirm that the Swift will officially be launched on the 19th of May.

Respect for da' tip off, mon! =)

In youth we trust

More on the Swift. Hey, don't look at me...I'm just the messenger! =)

In an attempt to 'establish a connect' with potential buyers, Maruti will be using a dedicated, specially recruited sales force of young people to sell the Swift. Called 'energisers', these individuals will do everything from answering initial queries and assisting in the buying process to giving you service reminders and wishing your wife on her birthday!

At face value, the rationale seems to be two-fold. One: MUL ensures that by having such 'relationship custodians', it manages to stay that much closer in touch with the customer. Feedback on a project as vital to them as the Swift therefore becomes easier to source and act upon. Two: the Swift launch seems like it's going to be nothing short of a blitzkreig with Maruti pulling out all the stops, larger-than-life 'launch' included. An endeavour of this scale, crucial as it is, will need to be pulled off without affecting sales and existing customers of their other bread-and-butter brands. The solution? A dedicated, specially trained, fresh and raring-to-go bunch of just-out-of-their-teens waiting to make their mark on the new and exciting landscape that is the Indian car market today. Here's hoping that their enthusiasm turns out to be infectious.

It's also probably a smart move by Maruti to use youth as the 'face' of the Swift. Possibly the first 'attitude' product from their stable, they could be looking at establishing right from the start the perception that the Swift is young, hip and contemporary but means business and knows what it's doing...just like the guy who is selling it to you.

Also see:
Maruti's greatest hit.

One Swift update

OK, this is that post where I get done with posting the stuff that everyone's obviously looking for. It's also obviously the one that's gonna get me loads of hits from Google. =)

Yup, of all the car launches being looked forward to this year, this one, whether the folks at MUL like it or not, is being billed as the biggest. Pressure or what, like I've said before. But what exactly is it about this car that has every other car company chewing its collective fingernails and soon-to-be car owners holding out for just that month longer ?

Is it the fact that the Swift could be, quite simply, the best looking car ever to have to rolled off the Maruti / Suzuki shop floor? Is it that the launch of the Swift will create a new segment altogether, or add some more buzz to a segment that's been grabbing the imagination of the average Indian carbuyer of late? Or is it just that we're damned proud of the fact that for the first time, Indian automobile engineers are actually being involved in the design of a 'world car'?

Well, whatever the reason behind the excitement, one thing seems sure for the time being: you just can't have too much of the Swift.

Pic courtesy: IndiaInfoline.com

Also see:
A pinch of Jazz.
Fab, ya?

May may see Swift

Oooh! Things are about to get exciting all over again. Parent company Suzuki has approved Maruti's proposal to roll the Swift out by May. To be manufactured in only 4 countries across the world, the Swift will make it's global debut right here. Expected price - somewhere in the region of Rs. 4.5 Lakhs. It'll be interesting to note how Maruti finally prices it vis-a-vis the Getz.

Also see:
The global Suzuki Swift website.
Reviews, previews, call them what you will.

Maruti's greatest hit!

Talk about your reputation preceding you. Being billed as Maruti's first 'real' launch in over 20 years, the Suzuki Swift seems like it's going to make its debut in a market that's laden with big, big expectations. But by the look of things, Maruti's premium compact (which will put a whole new spin on the whole Getz vs. Fusion battle - one that the Fusion admittedly seems to be winning at the moment) seems like it'll be able to take all that and more well within its stride. And what's more, it seems set to make a rather starry-eyed debut!

Also see:
Autocar reviews the Suzuki Swift
The Swift promises bigger, better, more