2016 Maruti Swift DZire is one of the latest offering with a new front and some upgrades on the inside. Since its launch in 2012, this is the first major upgrade for the DZire. The new DZire now even comes with an AMT option too. We have done a detailed review of the DZire AMT separately. Read here.

Three years is a long time though, even if sales show no signs of abating and Maruti was aware of just how crucial it was to ensure that the Swift DZire continued to wear the best-seller crown for a long time to come. So, this year, in 2015, the manufacturer decided to give the people’s compact sedan a much-needed update. The chances aren’t that many to begin with, but given the thought and manufacturing muscle behind them, it will remain to be seen just how the kind defends his crown.

Maruti DZire - Front Full

2016 Maruti Swift DZire Exterior

At the front, the Swift DZire refresh gets a prominent chrome strip that runs across the length of the grille, splitting it horizontally into two. The Suzuki logo sits proudly at the centre of things, just like before. The headlamps flanking the new grille, get a mild-smoked effect that looks infinitely better in the flesh. Maruti have redesigned the bumper, opting for circular fog lamps in the bottom corners. Chrome accents as seen on the new-Swift hatch make their presence in the 2015 Swift DZire as well, injecting a bit of oomph into things. Ten-spoke alloys adorn the wheels and are a standard offering in the top-end ZXI trim. The lower trim levels get similar looking plastic wheel-caps instead. The alloys up the appeal of the car and look great when in motion. The rest of the car remains unchanged on the outside, both in profile view and from the rear. The visual updates have done their work and the 2015 Swift DZire refresh does look smarter than before. There is no mistaking the fact however, that the platform is indeed starting to show its age. While the DZire never was the best looking compact sedan out there, some of the recently launched competition has hastened the feeling that it is time for a more comprehensive overhaul.

2016 Maruti Swift DZire Interior

Maruti DZire - Steering Wheel

Step inside and you’re greeted by the familiar, Maruti interplay of beige and black. The latter dominates the top-half of the dual-tone dashboard, thereby reducing glare when driving. The brushed silver accents and the faux-wood strip that runs along the length and across the door-pads give the cockpit a premium look, while the steering wheel gets the same silver accents in the top-end, ZXI trim. The fabric colour on the seats and the door-pads, matches the lower half of the dashboard, making the entire cabin look bright and cavernous. Watch out for smudges though and sticklers for cleanliness are going to have a tough time here.

Maruti appear to be sitting on the fence with the features offered on the Swift DZire. The 2015 refresh was a great opportunity, but it does seem to have missed the point somehow. Make no mistake, the Swift DZire 2015 refresh comes with important stuff such as keyless go, Bluetooth connectivity, reverse assist sensors, etc. all of which make life easier for owners. However, the absence of reversing camera, leather seats and leather wrapped steering, etc. do stick out like a sore point.

Maruti DZire - Music System

2016 Maruti Swift DZire Engine

Thankfully on the engine front, the Swift Dzire 2015 refresh does leave its mark. Our car had the familiar 1.2 litre petrol motor under the hood. It sports power figures of 83 Bhp and 115 Nm torque, both of which seem more than up to the task in real world driving conditions. Whisper-smooth at idle, there’s a fair bit of eagerness in getting off the line. Bottom and mid-range is good and the five speed manual gearbox makes it a dream to shift gears with its smooth and precise manners. Being a brand-new car, we didn’t quite push it high up the rev-range, but expect a bit of a struggle to step in on the limit. In the city, the well-chosen gear ratios means that shifting is kept to a minimum and one can easily stay in third gear for most of the time.

Maruti Swift DZire - Taillamp & MS Badging

2016 Maruti Swift DZire Ride

Ride quality remains sufficiently plush with the DZire soaking up the bumps on broken roads without the occupants being disturbed inside the cabin. Larger craters do however upset the dynamics, but that’s expected and isn’t something that can’t be tackled. Forward visibility is good, though one still struggles to gauge the corners, so good luck if you are a new driver. The addition of parking sensors helps when things are going backwards and one can reverse with higher confidence than before. Grip levels remain sufficient, though spirited riding in the compact family sedan would call for swapping out the JK tires that came standard on our car.

Maruti DZire - Bluetooth Controls

The steering is a delight to hold (we did sorely miss the leather wrapping though). It is precise to turn and offers good feedback on the behaviour of the wheels on the road. Those Swift genes may have faded away a bit, given its family car aspirations, but the DZire still darts around on the road with glee. The light build, perky motor and the eager driving characteristics mean that one can still have a fair bit of fun behind the wheel. Braking is handled by a disk/drum setup, fore and aft, bringing the car under control with ease, should the driver start to get carried away a little.

Maruti DZire - Boot Badging (2)

2016 Maruti Swift DZire Mileage

Maruti plays the king-of-the-ring card again when it comes to fuel-efficiency figures, with the Swift DZire claiming a bump from 19.1 km/l to 20.8 km/l (both, ARAI-figures).

Should you buy 2016 Maruti Swift DZire?

There is no denying the fact that the 2015 Swift DZire refresh is but, a stop-gap measure, designed to keep the interest going in the model, against the new launches from the competition. However, with the platform starting to show its age, Maruti will be working towards launching the next-generation car in double time. As for the pricing, well, the INR 8 lakh (on-road, Mumbai, for the top-end, ZXI trim) may appear to be a lot of money for the entire package on offer, but that hasn’t deterred buyers one bit, has it!

 

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