Maruti Suzuki Swift spied testing in Nurburgring

This is probably the first time that a Suzuki hatchback has been spied testing in the Nurburgring. Suzuki had earlier honed the dynamic skills of its flagship Kizashi sedan in the ‘ring. Suzuki is determined to position its Swift as a sporty model and its intentions have been made clear. All of the world’s best sports cars have been honed around the Nurburgring to make them dynamically perfect. Even hatchabcks like Mini and hot Renaults were tuned after numerous runs at the ‘ring.

As we have reported earlier, the new model is an evolution of the current model and is styled on similar lines. It will crucially be a little bit longer than the outgoing model and sport Kizashi inspired nose. Suzuki describes it as “a design evolution of the current model. It looks more grown up, but will have the same sort of appeal”.

The spy pictures show a ‘heavily’ disguised 5-door model and from the pictures it can be easily guessed how the car will look. The Swift was Suzuki’s first truly global model which was then followed by the Kizashi. Interiors also borrow a lot of cues from the Kizashi. Read our report on the Interior spy pictures here. The Swift is a big seller in Europe and India particularly, where it averages over 10,000 units every month.

The new Swift rides on a completely new platform and features a new range of engines from the K12M to turbocharged and direct injected 1.2L/1.5L to improve economy without sacrificing performance. A Swift hybrid is rumoured to join the model range at a later date. The booster engines could possibly replace the 125bhp 1.6L VVT that powers the Swift Sport. VW’s 20% stake in Suzuki opens up a new range of engines for Suzuki and the grapevine has it that the 1.3 MJD could be replaced by the 1.2L 3-pot diesel from the Polo. VW’s TSi engines are a possibility as well but we are unsure of any such plans.

Maruti Suzuki will position the Swift as a premium model in India and but would be priced below the Polo, probably starting at Rs 4.25 lakhs for the base LXi. It is expected to make its debut in late 2010 followed by an early-2011 launch in India.

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