Suzuki Swift DDiS: A whole new definition to diesel
S. Muralidhar / hindubusinessline.com
The Swift diesel has everything it takes � powerful and refined engine, high fuel efficiency and low NVH � to leave the competition standing.
Maruti's days as a petrol passenger car manufacturer are numbered! As in, being only a manufacturer of petrol-engine cars.
After the rather forgettable attempts at borrowing diesel engines for the original Zen and the Esteem, Maruti will finally make a serious foray into the world of diesel cars later this month. And importantly, unlike its previous effort, this time around Maruti will have the right car and the right engine.
The Suzuki Swift DDiS will be launched next week and its humming heart will sip diesel. Being the country's largest car manufacturer, with over 50 per cent of the passenger car market under its hold, Maruti has sorely missed having a serious, consistent presence in the diesel car segment.
The diesel passenger vehicles segment (including multi-purpose vehicles) was a small portion, with a single-digit market share of the overall car market about five years ago. Today it is estimated to be anywhere between 25 and 30 per cent of the market. With no presence in the diesel vehicles segment, Maruti has effectively been competing with the remaining about 70 per cent of the market constituting petrol-engine vehicles.
Maruti's previous attempt at launching diesel cars was a feeble effort because of a lot of other issues, which together made the Zen-D and the Esteem-D unsuccessful bids at breaking into the segment.
For one, the diesel engine that was being used in these models was the Peugeot TUD-5 from Peugeot-Citroen of France. That was an older generation engine and Maruti also had to contend with importing the engines, which automatically made it difficult to match their supply with the car's demand.
Another issue that would have affected the market for the diesel versions of the Zen and Esteem was the fact that these cars were just not made to handle a diesel powertrain. Both the Zen and the Esteem had a short, narrow bonnet area. And though it was commendable that Maruti's R&D department managed to shoehorn and pack the TUD-5 diesel engine into the small engine bays that the two cars had, it still was not the best of matches. The chassis and suspension of both the Zen and the Esteem also required quite a bit of strengthening for handling the additional weight and the increased vibration of the diesel engine.
The right car
But, in the Suzuki Swift, Maruti has the perfect car for a diesel powertrain. The Swift was built to be able to not only accommodate petrol engines of various sizes, but also diesel burners, and the Suzuki-GM-Fiat Multijet engine was part of the original plan.
The Swift petrol, which was launched in the country in 2005, was already built to the same global specifications that Suzuki had for the European markets, where the diesel option was on offer from as early as the first quarter of 2006. So, the car remains unchanged in pretty much every respect even for the new diesel engine, which will be on offer from next week.
One other obvious reason why Maruti would have got its diesel act together with the Swift is simply the dream diesel engine that will throb under the bonnet of the car. The 1.3-litre Multijet DDiS diesel engine features common rail direct injection and multiple injection technologies.
Look-alike
The new Suzuki Swift DDiS will look identical on the outside to its petrol-engine cousin except for the badging at the rear. The Swift is a great looker and even for those who thought that the design was a bit too radical and squat, the car's looks must have grown on them by now. But the Swift's design continues to be fresh and nearly unchallenged, so Maruti really didn't have to do anything to bolster the appearance of the diesel version.
Maruti is planning to launch two trim variants � LDi and VDi � of the diesel version. The Swift's suspension set-up and the chassis continue to be the same, even though the new diesel engine is 65- 70 kg heavier than the petrol counterpart.
Therein lie the amazing abilities of this compact diesel engine. The turbocharged, intercooled diesel engine is a delight to drive with the loads of low-end torque that it delivers. The fixed geometry turbocharger takes a while spooling up and that really is the only drawback of this engine. Turbo lag is every evident in the engine's low-rpm levels.
The Opel-Fiat DDiS engine's torque curve is low and there is a massive 190Nm of peak torque available on tap from as low as 2,000 rpm. So, though the spread of in-gear acceleration is sumptuous, there is an evident lag in acceleration up until the engine revs cross the 1,500 rpm level. After that point, the Swift diesel simply takes off.
The turbo lag will only catch the attention of the impatient driver or during a really tight overtaking manoeuvre. It is unlikely to distract the predominantly city driving Swift owner. The 75bhp of maximum power that the diesel engine offers is also more than adequate to ensure top-end whack, for taking the speedo past the 180 kmph mark. ( See box for more about the technologies in use in this engine.)
Taking on a test-drive
Maruti had organised a test-drive on the Swift diesel for us from Mumbai to Aamby Valley, off the expressway to Pune and the combination of city and highway driving gave us a good taste of the car's abilities. Loaded with the latest generation technologies, the engine is extremely refined and is an eager performer.
Noise and vibration inside the passenger cabin have been contained extremely well. Except for the idling cycle, when a bit of the rat-a-tat that is a trademark of a diesel engine is evident, there is nearly no additional noise and vibration in the Swift diesel compared to its petrol variant.
The 22-km route from Lonavla to Aamby Valley has a bit of ghat section and long, lazy winding roads leading up to the luxurious private property. The Swift diesel held its line right through the route, even after we excitedly threw the car at tight corners and hairpin bends. The heavier weight of the engine has not affected the ride or handling characteristics of the Swift DDiS. With the engine's low-end torque, the Swift diesel takes to the hills with ease.
Dieselisation fever
After the `dieselisation' of mid-size sedans, the day is not far when many small cars in India will also be able to offer a contemporary diesel engine in their portfolio. Hyundai is hard at work putting together diesel engines for the Getz and the Santro. The recently launched Chevrolet U-VA will be offered with a diesel engine and the new Dicor engine for the Tata Indica is also on its way.
With the new Multijet engine in the Swift, Maruti will have a head start and this engine could well turn out to be the benchmark against which the competitions' will be judged and rated. Buyers in this segment are unlikely to be too bothered about the bit of turbo lag that seems to be a drag on low-end performance. Though this could marginally affect the car's performance in city driving conditions, the diesel Swift's performance on the highway will more than make up for this deficiency.
The buyers for a premium hatch are as yet an unexplored lot. But simple arithmetic should be enough reason for a big shift from other premium petrol hatches to this cracker of a diesel small-car.
There could be a shift in buyer preference from the petrol Swift to the diesel version too, but Maruti couldn't be too upset as long buyers continue to remain within its fold.
Positioning matters
We hope Maruti does two things to make the Swift diesel the most wanted premium hatch in the market. One, of course, is that Maruti should position the Swift DDiS as a performance diesel hatch and not as an economising, cheaper fuel option for customers who are staggering under the influence of high fuel prices.
Our test drive of the Swift diesel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway till Lonavla and then on to the short hilly stretch up to Aamby Valley could not help us gauge the car's fuel economy numbers. But with an estimated fuel efficiency average of 4.6 litres of diesel for a 100 km combined cycle (city and highway) in the same-engined European model, the Swift diesel should be able to log a 15-20 km per litre average in Indian conditions.
That would be a difficult average to beat even for the most frugal petrol engines. The cheaper fuel advantage is already a plus for the diesel car.
The other point that we hope Maruti will do is to price the new Swift DDiS aggressively, keeping the differential between the petrol and the diesel variants to a low Rs 50,000-75,000.
Maruti officials are still tight-lipped about pricing. But, we would like to see a tag of Rs 4.5 lakh (ex-showroom) for the LDi variant. The comparable LXi trim variant of the petrol is currently about Rs 4 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Maruti should also consider introducing a ZXi trim-level variant for the diesel too, with a few premium features, twin airbags and ABS with EBD (anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution) as part of standard fitment. That will also serve to boost the Swift diesel's image as a premium, performance hatch.
