New 2017 Swift vs rivals: specifications comparison

The Swift has for long been a formidable player, gobbling up sales numbers in its segment. While its meteoric sale has slowed down recently, the latest generation Swift seems well-poised to win back the lost ground. We’ve stacked the 2017 Swift against the current Swift and also its popular rivals, the VW Polo, the Hyundai Grand i10 and the Ford Figo.

Exteriors

	Current Swift	New Swift	VW Polo	Ford Figo	Grand i10
Length (mm)	3850	3840	3971	3886	3765
Width (mm)	1695	NA	1682	1695	1660
Height (mm)	1530	1500	1469	1525	1520
Wheelbase (mm)	2430	2450	2469	2491	2425
Ground Clearance (mm)	170	NA	165	174	NA

The 2017 Swift is one of the more compact cars in this segment, lying somewhere between the largest and the smallest car. Interestingly, when compared to the current Swift, the new Swift is actually shorter in length and height. However, with an increased wheelbase, the interior room, or at least the legroom, may turn out to be better. But against its rivals, it may still not match up its 2,450mm wheelbase which is better only than the Grand i10’s wheelbase. Thus, just like the current car, the next-gen Swift will not top the charts in terms of interior space.

Interiors
The recently unveiled 2017 Swift is the global version, and we are told that it may not be sharing its interiors with the India-spec car. However, we can reasonably expect it to boast of features such as a new instrument cluster; a new, more upmarket, steering wheel; and a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink, similar to the SmartPlay system featured in some of the company’s current line-up. This would put it at par with its rivals.

Engines

	Suzuki Swift	VW Polo	Ford Figo	Hyundai Grand i10
Petrol Engine	1.2-litre	1.2-litre	1.2-litre	1.2-litre
Diesel Engine	1.3-litre	1.5-litre	1.5-litre	1.1-litre
Gearbox	5-speed manual, 6-speed auto/CVT	5-speed manual, 7-speed auto	5-speed manual, 6-speed auto	5-speed manual, 4-speed auto

The 2017 India-spec Swift will come with the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines as the current car, though the diesel may be tuned to produce more power than it does right now. Maruti-Suzuki is expected to launch both cars with automatic variants, keeping in mind the current trend for automatics.

While the 1.2-litre petrol engine is in accordance with the segment norm, the 1.3-litre diesel is slightly smaller than the Polo and Figo’s 1.5-litre ones. However, this should arm it with better fuel efficiency, a character trait much appreciated in our market.

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