Why the Swift Dzire continues to sell in such huge numbers

Last week was a reunion of sorts. Old friends came down to Delhi for a short holiday in Rajasthan. We had planned to drive and hence hired a couple of Swift Dzire self drive types from Avis.

Since this is not a travelogue, I would like to point out what I liked about the car.
The cars we were driving were pretty run down one having done 65k and the other around 85k, pretty high considering that this is a rental.

Few scratches and dents apart the car was a shiny gaga black. Personally I do not like the shape of the Dzire as the boot attached to a Swift does not necessarily make it look good. My choices apart, Maruti have created the ideal package for the value searching Indian consumer. A petrol sedan at 5.5 lakhs and a diesel one at 6, both with engines proven in India are runaway box office successes. And so it has been. More than two years since its launch, DZire continues to command unmatched demand for any sedan and even manages to outsell some of the hatches in the Indian market.

The diesel one though commands more interest and the ones that we driving were diesels too. That gave me an ample opportunity to check as to what makes this car tick.

The highway driving on this car in the normal rev bands in okay, the kinds you tend to expect, smooth, though at times you feel the sense of a turbo lag in the 1600-1800 rpm band. Press the pedal and in kicks the turbo at around 1900-2000 rpm. It is an exhilarating feeling for someone who is driving a diesel car for the first time. The zip from 80 - 120 kph is seriously noticeable. It sort of pushes you back in your seat. I personally loved it.

For those who want to kick out of a traffic jam in city driving, the numerous ones that we faced in Jaipur. The turbo does kick in nicely if press the pedal and zoom you are on your way. Though I would personally prefer my petrol swift for tackling city traffic. A high revving petrol motor appeals to me more for my daily use.

Now comes an intermittent leg of our journey, a drive from Jaipur to Ajmer. This is where we saw the full top end power of the diesel kicking in. One of the cars clocked 160 kph (impressive by any means). Moreover the Dzire coninues to give the unmatched road feel which not too many cars in the Indian market match up to.

Now the best part, this 1248cc 4-cyl DDIS rev-happy diesel motor returned a measly 21 kmpl on our return trip. Kick ass indeed. This is why it fits into the Indian dream car definition. Quick, good to drive and very fuel efficient.

Only if Maruti put in some though to the interiors. The OEM ICE lacks the punch. The nose drones out due to the engine noise. maybe aftermarket speakers could solve the problem.

Nuff said..
Cheers..