Indians love three-box cars. Indians love boots. Indians love sedans. So after Maruti discontinued the Esteem in 2007, it needed a competent replacement. Some bright spark in the company took the Swift hatchback and stuck a boot on it – and thus was born the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.
A decade later the same car has been refreshed and brought back as the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire... sorry, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire (the Swift branding has been dropped). This car is based on the Heartech platform – the same platform on which the Maruti Baleno hatchback has been built – and has nothing to do with the older Dzire, save for the engine options.
We were recently invited to hot and humid Goa to sample the all-new Maruti Suzuki Dzire. The car is available in 14 variants, six of which are automatics or rather automated manual transmission models.
The company seems to have thought of everything with the new Dzire to beat competition. Earlier the Honda Amaze was the most spacious compact sedan, but the new Dzire has put paid to that claim. The Hyundai Xcent was the most feature-loaded compact sedan, again something Maruti has tackled with the new Dzire.
While engine choices remain the same with the 1.2 litre petrol engine putting out 82 bhp of power and 113 Nm of torque, and the 1.3 litre diesel engine putting out 74 bhp of power and 190 Nm of torque, the new car drives a lot better. That's because it is nearly 105 Kg lighter and has an improved suspension system.
After spending a couple of days with the car, we think this car, which was a market leader selling over 15,000 units a month, will continue to rule the roost. We could nitpick and tell you about the light beige interiors being a dirt magnet or the slight lag with the AMT transmission on the diesel, but they are not deal-breakers. It is a much more desirable car now, like its name suggests, and does justify the Rs 40,000-odd price increase over the previous one for the top-end variants, while the base model is actually slightly cheaper than the outgoing model!
Also Read: All-new Maruti Dzire features and specifications explained
Cameraperson: Abhay Sharma
Video Editor: Puneet Bhatia
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)