Swift Diesel (VDI-ABS) Experience

[eddy]

I bought the car on 24 September 2007. This post contains material that was posted by me on my Blog and other fora. Wanted to discuss and see how the bike crazy BCM forum would discuss a car .
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20 September 2007:

My first car ! My biggest spend since I started working about 15 months ago !

A Silky Silver Swift VDI with ABS.
I have just come back from the pre-delivery and registration check up of the car at the dealer godown. Let me just summarize on how I went about deciding, choosing and finally buying the car.

The journey begins...........

Decision 1 : Do I need a car ?

This was the biggest decision that I had to take. Since we already have an Ikon flair in the family and I get to use it thrice a week generally, I was managing pretty well with a car pool. So even though I wanted an exclusive car for myself for the independence it provides, I kind of kept delaying the decision since I did not want to spend on it.

However, my job profile changed and I was required to shuttle between a couple of offices in Gurgaon and Okhla. Plus my younger brother also started using the Flair a little more frequently. That was when I decided that I needed a car. I thought that I had made the toughest decision. Littlt did I know that there was more confusion to come...........

Decision 2 : What do I want out of my car ?

This was the phase that was the longest, most confusing and ultimately the most important. I simply did not know what I wanted to get out of my car. Do I need a vehicle that can take me from place A to B ? Or do I need a vehicle that is power packed and take me from A to B in the shortest time? Or do I need a car that is a jack of all trades and a master of none which every Tom, Dick and Harry Potter on the road would have ? Do I need a car only with economy in mind ? Or shall I buy one that looks very good even at the cost of FE ?

I simply did not have the answer to any of the above questions.

Decision 3 : Which car ?

Still no answers but I started on my search anyways. Classified my cars in the following categories:

--Pure Economy and no pleasure :
- Alto: Great VFM but too cramped for a family having 6 footers. Ruled out almost instantaneously.
- XETA CNG: Good economy but too many niggles. Ruled out.

--Alternate Fuel :
I wanted to get myself a CNG car but was scared of warranty issues. Waited quite a bit for Santro CNG to come out. Also spoke to a couple of dealers who promised to convert a WagonR into CNG and still honor the warranty but with too many riders. Sounded very fishy so dropped the idea. Drove a couple of CNG cars and did not like the sluggishness at all. "Hell, I am not going to compromise so much on the riding comfort for econmy ", a brave me decided. The queues outside CNG pumps were another deterrent.

-- Jack of all trade cars: Santro and Wagon R. Both good cars and I would have bought any one of them but for the news of their phase out and newer models coming up.

-- Total no-no: All Ford cars due to high maintenance. All fiat cars due to A.S.S experiences of friends and neighbors. (Markiv on this forum is a friend)

Then came the big day when I test drove the Swift VDI and I was in love. Looked like a perfect car to me. I love the Swift styling and this gave me good economy too albeit at a slightly higher initial cost. But I am the kind of a person who values the daily happiness derived from a visit to the fuel bunker. A run of 2000 km per month also meant that diesel would make more sense. So it was decided. A swift VDI.

If you guys think that I am too confused, let me tell you one think that was never in doubt - the color. My car, irrespective of which one, would be silver.

Small Hiccups:

Should I go for ABS ? I decided that 20k will be a small price to pay for safety if this feature helps. Since I do travel on the highway, though for only 20 odd km a day, I decided to go for it. But then came the bombshell.... VDI with ABS had a waiting period for 3 - 4 months. VDI without ABS was available in 3- 4 weeks. Some dealers even refused to book the ABS version and had many tales to tell.
" Sir, Swift has booster brakes. They are so powerful. Why the hell do you need ABS ? Wo to sirf paise kamane ka tareeka hai. Chonchlebaazi hai "

In parallel, came the HC order to evaluate phasing out diesel cars. I thought, what the heck !! But by now, I was in love and could not think of any other car so decided to go ahead.

The problem of waiting was also solved. Digged out a friend in MUL. He promised delivery of the car within 3-4 days for a non-ABS and 7-10 days for the ABS version. True to his word, I booked the car with Fair Deal Cars on 12 September and I did the pre-delivery inspection today. The delivery is expected to happen on Sunday.
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Initial Dealership Experiences
Once I had decided to buy the car and my friend in MUL was helping out with the delivery, I had to look out for a dealer through whom I could take the delivery.

Magic Auto, Dwarka: Smallish dealer at a very convenient location so very easily accessible. Was very courteous when I went to them and told them the situation. I asked for a test-drive of the car and to my shock, they came to me with a customers car for a TD. On inquiry, they said that the TD car was not available since the demand for the car was very high and hence they used customer cars for occasional TDs. I was pissed off and decided not to deal with the guy. I know this might be a common practice but still decided to give other dealers a try.

Marketing Times, Rajouri Garden: Again, pretty near to my place so went ahead and checked it out. They had a TD vehicle but the salesmen there had absolutely no clue about the car that he was trying to sell. I did not tell him about my friend in MUL just to assess these guys. Three people in the dealership including their manager asked me not to buy ABS since it is useless. "Swift already has booster brakes" and ABS is just a show-off. Guess they knew that the high waiting period for the ABS version might just put me off. Rejected thi dealer on grounds of misinformation.

Then my friend suggested Fair Deal Cars in Shahdra, the same dealer he bought his car from. Although it was a fair distance away from where I live, I decided to go ahead with it since it came with a good reference.

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Dealership Experience - Buying the car :

The guys were very courteous and updated me regularly about the status of the loan and the car. Finally, one day before promised, they called me to inform that the car had reached their godown in Samalkha (near Gurgaon).
I went there to inspect the vehicle and noted everything. All seemed well.

Delivery Experience: I reached the dealership at 11.30 am on Sunday 23 September. Could see my car, all spik and span, standing just outside. There was no number plate yet. Since I was visiting the dealer for the first time, the loan formalities took about 2 hours. It was a little frustrating signing so many times on n number of documents.
I think the dealer could have been a little more organized but probably that was due to the Sunday rush. Anyways, after a longish wait, I was offered a choice of 5 registration nos out of which I chose the one I liked the most. Made the downpayment and payment for the extended warranty for 3&4 years through cheque.

Another half an hour later, the car was ready with the freebies that the dealer had promised (Mudflaps, floor mats, steering cover etc). After a short little ceremony where the keys were handed over along with a coconut etc, I drove off............................................... .................
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3 October 2007: 700 km experience

The Ododmeter reads 738 km. I am hoping to complete 1000 by Saturday and give it for the first service. Here are my observations of the driving experience:

Looks: Subjective issue. I just love the Swift styling and it has been so ever since the car was launched. Regarding the color, after owning and trying to maintain a black Flair, I had decided that I will go for a Silver car and fall in Rudra's extremely lucky category. Fortunately, I found silver to be the best color on the Swift so there was no confusion.

Space: I have been driving all the while so have not had the chance to sit anywhere else in the car. Found the spacing to be quite sufficient even though I am a six footer. Family sitting at the back also did not complain although the rear seat comes absolutely nowhere close to the Flair.

Ride: The ride is comfortable but I am not too happy with the seating position. I am definately more tired, especially the lower back, driving the Swift than I ever was driving the Ikon. But I think its just a thing of getting used to the seating position and finding the best seat angle and stuff.

Visibilty: The biggest drawback. Visibility all round and especially rear is not so great. Hence parking and reversing will take some getting used to and little bit of guess work.

Engine & Gears: There is a definite grunt of the engine that reminds you that you are driving a diesel. Will try out different fuels and see if this reduces after servicing. Gear shift is short and precise. No problems here.

FE: The absolutely bestest part. I got an FE of 22kmpl driving in the city without AC. I am not exaggerating and there is little margin of error since I used the tankfull to tankfull method at the same bunk (IOC normal diesel from the company owned outlet right opposite Hyatt). Will let you guys know the FE with AC in the next fill.

Some Issues:

- The car pulls towards the left slightly and I think I will get the wheel balancing done at the first service to see if there is improvement.

- Turbo - I do not see any appreciable and noticeable surge of power at 2000 rpm. It was very remarkable during the TDs but not in my car. Any idea whats wrong ? Me slightly worried.

- The car surges ahead when being driven in the 2nd gear, even at low rpm. Is there an ECU issue here ? During bumper to bumper traffic, when I downshift from 2 to nuetral, The rpm suddenly shoots up when I press the clutch. Can someone please expalin ?

- The windscreen water jet only shoots water up to just below the middle of the windscreen. Is this normal ?


Overall Verdict: Its a damn good car, touchwood and I am loving it

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11 October: First Service Experience

1400 Kms and First service done at the dealers workshop ( Fair Deal Cars ).

Servicing experience: 7 on 10.

All issues sorted out. The car was pulling towards the left because of low air pressure in the tyre. That was corrected.

The turbo feel is there after the first service.

The cleaning and polishing of the car was absolutely top class. I was with the car throughout the service process. Since it was Shradh time, there was no rush in the service center and they gave full attention to the 5 cars that were there.

Changed the engine oil. 3.5 litres cost me 680 bucks. Another 10 rs for the glass cleaning fluid they added. Total cost 690 including all taxes etc.

FE noted on the third tankfull is 19.5 with 90% AC and 90% city travel. The servicing was also done during this period.

The car is running like a dream, touchwood

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20 November 2007: Dont flame me, but there is space in the swift

We loaded the car with seven..yes..7 adults on board from Gurgaon to delhi. The car still drove like a dream with no apparent loss of power.

The FE hovers around the 21 mark without AC in good city driving conditions. Still using the IOC / IBP regular diesels. Total run 3700 km

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12 February: 10,000 km and the third service update

What a car !!!!!! (Touchwood)

I have completed 10000 kms in just over 4 months. Thank God i bought a diesel. )

My drive has been limited to the city but generally on good roads. Highway experience has been limited to the daily trips to Gurgaon and one trip to Murthal (excellent paranthas at Sukhdev ka dhaba ).

Drive: Fantastic. Has more than enough power just when you need it. I have graduated from driving an Omni and an Ikno flair to this car and just about gotten used to the torque the car delivers at low revs. The forward thrust in the second gear used to scare me earlier.

FE: Good driving conditions, a light foot and no AC usage has resulted in FE of 20+. Have to see if this can be bettered on the highway but I doubt it.

Fuel Used: IOC Regular for all but one of the tankfulls. The pumps that I frequent regularly, in order of preference are:
1. IOC Regular Rohini (Between Rohini West Metro station and Japanese park)
2. IOC COCO Dwarka
3. IOC COCO Opposite Hyatt.

Handling: A lot has been said about the good handling of the swift and I agree with that. It could have been better in my case coz I am still on the stock footwear and plan to remain so till they wear out.

Braking: Very prompt and the car behaves pretty well when braked hard. A question to the gurus out there. Should I test my ABS just to check ? If yes, how ?

Service Experience: All three services done with FairDeal Motors in Sahibabad. Got oil changed at 1k, 5k and 10k. Using mineral oil Mobil delvac super1300 15 w 40. Got the oil filter changed at 10k. Service costs are 690, 950 and 1600 bucks.

My rear seat belt buck has started touching the door panel and rattles. Have to keep it hooked to prevent the rattle and has worked so far.

ICE: Sony Ericsson w580i. Will get my actual system in March.

NVH Levels: I think it is as quiet as a diesel can be and am pretty satisfied with it. However, the stock tyres are terribly noisy.

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To - Do List:

- Use System D. Is it advisable ? Where do I source it from ? Is this the product ? IFTEX OIL & CHEMICALS LTD. The link to contact us doesn't work

- Do I need to put in any additive in the engine oil. The service center guys did mention about putting some additive but were out of stock so I did not put it not could find out any intelligent details from them.

- Anything I can do to increase the headlight visibility ? Which bulbs can I switch to ? FairDeal didn't have any recommendations. I do not want an expensive option. Heard 90/100 with relay will cost me about 1000. Thats ok but I am wary of the increased wattage leading to burning or heating up etc ? Any bulbs in the original wattage that can do a better job than the stock ones ?

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Phew !!! Plan to keep posting as and when I munch the miles

[hitanshu]

chalo ji good report, and advance congrats on your roka this weekend

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Eddy nice nicely written review and experience of Swift. You can try out System D, it should be safe. I have been using System G for a while now in my motorcycle, I only use it once every 2-3 tank full. Best option would be to buy it from a BP petrol pump.

As for headlamps, check out Philips Vision Plus or Osram Silverstar (if you can find it, let me know as well).

[eddy]

chalo ji good report, and advance congrats on your roka this weekend

Thank you hai jee.... How do you know ?

Eddy nice nicely written review and experience of Swift. You can try out System D, it should be safe. I have been using System G for a while now in my motorcycle, I only use it once every 2-3 tank full. Best option would be to buy it from a BP petrol pump

Hmmm.. So a system D from a BP petrol pump along with IOC regular diesel !!! Will try it in my next tankful.

And how much would the headlights that you mention cost ? Are they 90/100 ?

[Yogesh Sarkar]

55/60w, both of them should be between 300-450 bucks for a pair. You can always get a pair of Hids imported for ~4k, that would be the best bet for you.

[manik058]

good and exhaustive review.
has watched some vdi's in traffic and they surely pull like crazy and it seems most of the drivers are lovin it

[hitanshu]

but interestingly I was disappointed to see that petrol beats it in 0-100 by a FULL second!

So the ZXi+CNG would be the ideal dilliwala's safe car

[eddy]

The torque is addictive and I drive a lot in the 2k+ rpm now because:
-- I am now used to the additional thrust forward
-- Have finished with the 10k run-in period and now started ripping it a little

[manik058]

but due to CNG there is gonna be a power loss, and especially in lower revs.
santro looses around 5-8bhp due to it, and of course with a/c its power is comparable to a loaded Omni.

[popsha]

Nice review Eddy or is it ADDI,

Roka????

Cheers
Eric