Volkswagen Polo Vs Maruti Suzuki Swift - Price, Mileage, Specs

Despite coming across as reasonably loaded, there are a few missing features, which we have come to expect from a car costing almost Rs. 10.0 lakh (ex-showroom). Even in the Swift top model with dual-tone and AMT automatic, you may miss features like a TPMS, front armrest, rear armrest, paddle shifters and sunroof.

On the one hand, you will notice that the base model of the Swift is quite well loaded for the asking price. On the other hand, you see the top model is also fairly well-equipped. But the mid variants not only offer poor value for money, they also lack several must-have features.

For instance, the mid-spec VXI (O) variant (or even the top variant) doesn’t get a front armrest, which is available in the Mahindra XUV 3XO at a similar asking price. The rear camera and cruise control are reserved for the top model. Both of these features are available in the Grand i10 Nios Sportz and Sportz Executive variants, which cost about Rs. 1.70 lakh less than the Swift ZXI Plus manual.

As specified in the previous point, the top variant of the Swift doesn’t get front and rear armrests and sunroof. Even if you are okay with missing out on power mirrors, the base variant doesn’t even get internally-adjustable outside mirrors and day/night inside mirrors. It’s just embarrassing to have to wind down the windows to adjust outside mirrors in 2024 in any car, let alone a well-established hot hatch like Swift.

The Swift has always had a 4-cylinder engine. The displacement has varied over the years but the refinement and rev-happy nature of a 4-cylinder engine is near-impossible to match with a 3-cylinder engine. It also reflects in the engine specs as the new engine makes max power at 5700rpm while the old Swift’s engine made peak power at 6000rpm.

As an enthusiast-friendly car, the Swift’s 3-cylinder engine doesn't do justice to the Swift brand name. While 3-cylinder engines are not only more fuel efficient, they are also cost efficient. So, this move comes across as a cost-cutting measure, especially when Maruti Suzuki already have an efficient 1.2L 4-cylinder petrol engine in mass production.

As if the 3-cylinder engine wasn’t enough, Maruti Suzuki also didn’t bother adding a turbo petrol engine, which they already have in production in India. The Taisor and Fronx get this 1.0L turbo petrol engine and it would have been a good fit to go with the Swift’s hot-hatch personality while leaving the efficient engine for those who value lower TCO (total cost of ownership) more than performance and driveability.

That’s not all! According to a leaked internal document, Maruti Suzuki have increased the rear suspension travel by 26mm. This softness is likely to take away some of the handling characteristics, which the Swift is known for. This further confirms that the Swift has gone soft and is no longer the hot hatch we expect it to be.

While the new generation Swift prioritises lower ownership costs with a more efficient, 3-cylinder engine, the lack of a CNG powertrain option at launch suggests that Maruti Suzuki haven’t chosen a clear path for the Swift yet. If lower TCO were a high priority, the Swift should have launched with a CNG bi-fuel option from day-1. After all, Maruti Suzuki have the biggest market share in the CNG segment. And with a wide CNG lineup, they have taught us that CNG is the way to go if lower cost of ownership is your priority.

If you have gone through our 2024 Swift Variants Explained article, you would know all that there’s to know about the new-gen Swift’s features. It gets a few new features but not one of those is new for a car at the respective ex-showroom price of the particular variant bringing those.

The base variant doesn’t even get internally adjustable outside mirrors and day/night inside mirror. The Grand i10 Nios gets internally adjustable mirrors as standard. 6 airbags have been stranded on the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Exter for about a year and they still have a lower starting price than the Swift. The Swift reserves height-adjustable driver seat for the ZXI variant (Rs. 8.30 lakh) while the Grand i10 Nios offers it from the Magna variant (~Rs. 6.80 lakh). Rear AC vents have been available with the Grand i10 for several years.

Cruise control is available in the Nios Sportz and in the Tiago XZ Plus (O) variant onwards. Both of these cost significantly less than the Swift ZXI Plus. Front armrest isn’t even available in the Swift top variant, but it’s available in the Baleno Zeta, which costs less than the Swift. The Mahindra XUV3XO and Sonet offer it as standard equipment for an even lower asking price when they should be commanding a premium for being an SUV.

For a Rs. 9.65 lakh ex-showroom, the Swift’s top variant should even come with a sunroof without even any addition in the asking price.

The 2024 Swift doesn’t bring anything noteworthy to the party besides the fuel efficiency. Not in terms of value. Not in terms of new features. Not in terms of starting price. When 40% of its pros (2 out of 5) start and end with its name — Maruti Suzuki Swift — you should know that it’s time to put the Kool-Aid down.

If the poor feature distribution wasn’t enough to keep you from buying the mid-spec variants, then the value angle certainly should. Even if you consider the base LXI variant of the Swift as a baseline, for the incremental asking price, the mid-spec VXI and VXI (O) variants offer terrible value for money. They offer such poor VFM that we’d rather suggest you to buy the lower LXI variant even though it doesn’t get many must-have features.