Maruti Suzuki Swift has dethroned its own sibling Alto and became the bestseller hatchback of the country . Maruti Suzuki India time after time has sold about 20,000 units of Swift hatch, and apparently a huge chunk of these figures have been garnered by the diesel powered Swift. Maruti seeing the success story of Swift hatchback plans to launch even more powerful and alluring Swift Sport in India. This new version of Swift is aimed to attract petrol car buyers as the petrol powered models sales are falling. Apparently, the Swift Sport is going to introduce in India is not the same car available in European market that holds a M 16 A 1.6L petrol engine that yields a torque figure of 160Nm and a peak power of 135PS.
Maruti Swift Sport was unearthed at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year and reverberates the feel of original Mini with its inexpensive and chic outlook on performance engine. The global version of Swift has a six-speed manual gearbox, stiff suspension, 17” inch wheels and a sporty chassis with projector headlamps. Now lets face the music, the Swift Sport that is going to be rolled in India will not have as many features as the global one. To begin with, the 3-door version will be converted to a five door one, and MSI will also dump the M 16A petrol because of the increased excise duty. Maruti India is likely to retain the sporty chassis however; the projector headlamps will be dumped. The hatchback from the stables of Maruti might get a stiffed suspension and attractive alloy wheels.
The market also hopes that Indian Swift Sport gets feature rich and come with a traction control system creating a radical difference from the current version. Maruti Suzuki Swift Sport hatch in India will likely come along with a1.4L K series petrol engine seen under the hood of newly launched MPV Ertiga or the 1.6L engine used of the old timer SX4. Swift Sport will turn the heat against Volkswagen Group 1.6L Polo and Skoda Fabia, albeit the cost of Maruti’s new hatch might be on higher side than its archrivals. Maruti obviously has a winner in its hands in terms of looks, however we need to see if the car can garner sales with a price tag of Rs.7-8 lakh when the same money can buy you a more spacious 7-seater MPV/MUV.
