New-gen Maruti Swift launch in May 1st half: What’s in store?

After making its global debut at the Japan Mobility Show in November last year, the fourth-gen Swift will finally head to India in the first half of May. The latest iteration of the hatchback has been in development for a very long time and test mules of the same have been spotted on numerous occasions over the past few months.

Maruti has sent us a block your date invite for 8th to 14th May which suggests the Indo-Japanese carmaker will launch the new-gen Swift around this time. Internally codenamed YED, the new Swift will receive refreshed exteriors along with heavily revamped interiors and added features.

New-gen Maruti Swift: Updated exterior

Suzuki— Maruti’s parent company— has retained the same overall design as the current model since the design of Swift is one of its biggest USPs. However, it has incorporated some clever touches to give the car a fresh appeal. This includes a new blacked-out grille with honeycomb mesh internals and gloss-black surrounds. It gets a new clamshell bonnet which is unusual for hatchbacks.

Further, the updated headlights are a little sleeker and house L-shaped LED DRLs. The MINI-like side profile remains intact with a flat roofline and cab-forward stance lending its inherent sportiness. The India-spec model is likely to roll on 15-inch dual-tone machine-cut alloy wheels. The rear-door handles will now move to a conventional place underneath the window pane. At the rear, the taillamps look more squarish with different internals.

New-gen Maruti Swift: Dimensions

Dimensions of the fourth-gen Swift are slightly different from the existing model with different height, width, and length. It measures  3,860 mm in length, 1,695 mm in width, and 1,500 mm in height. As a result, it is 15 mm longer, 30 mm taller, and 40 mm narrower than the outgoing model. However, the wheelbase remains identical to the outgoing model. 

New-gen Maruti Swift: Revamped interiors

Updates inside the cabin of the new Swift are expected to be more significant with a revised dashboard layout housing a new free-standing 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Other amenities expected to be offered include new air-con vents, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 360-degree parking camera with dashcam support, cruise control, automatic climate control, steering-mounted buttons, and push-button start/stop.

In terms of safety, the India-spec Swift is expected to offer six airbags, electronic stability program, and  ABS with EBD. However, the biggest addition in the equipment of the fourth-gen Swift is the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) with features like autonomous braking assist, automatic high beam assist, and more. However, ADAS features in the India-spec Swift are still doubtful.

New-gen Maruti Swift: New engine

As mentioned in our earlier report, the upcoming fourth-gen Swift will replace the existing 1.2-litre 4-cylinder, K12 dual-jet petrol engine with a brand new 1.2-litre 3-cylinder Z-series petrol mill. Codenamed Z12E, this motor will also be available with a mild hybrid setup as a standard fitment across all variants of the new Swift.

The new power mill is expected to churn out a similar output as the current 1.2-litre 4-cylinder unit which churns out 89 bhp and 113 Nm of peak torque. A 5-speed manual gearbox is expected to be a standard offering with a CVT automatic expected to be offered as an option. A CNG option of Swift will also be added at some stage.

New-gen Maruti Swift: Expected price & rivals

Upon launch, the new-gen Swift will lock horns with the new Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Tata Tiago. We expect prices of the new Swift to start around Rs 6 lakh and go up to Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom).