Cars Q&A

Hi,
Maruti Swift has proven performance record and worth going for the same. However there is tough competition among the segment with Swift,i10,Vista,Punto. Punto has the advantage of better style and updated features.

Generally it is a common fact that Petrol is costlier in India than Diesel. Reliabilitywise any day Diesel is better,that is the reason why all Commercial vehicles like Trucks and Buses have Diesel engines.Further there is a bit more of vibration and roughnessness which you will not experience in Petrol.Further reliability is that it will not stop in Raining period,as the spark is by heavy compression and not electric assisted.The engine life should be slightly more than Petrol.The other drawback is the slightly costlier and the engine capacity is a bit more
than Petrol for the same vehicle with Petrol engine and hence it may be slightly heavier and also due heavy pressures in the cylinders,the engine construction has to be sturdy to take up the stresses.
In case of Swift, it has an added advantage,that FIAT engine is fitted and it is a proven design to lessen all the above facts and make it a true great Engine at a cost more.
The top speed may be slightly less than the petrol version,but you have to check with Swift Dealer ,the top speed of these Swifts,with petrol or diesel as the case may be.At times they adjust the gear and final ratios to get an equal speed.
In Driving,a Diesel is better,as you can lug the engine due to its superiority in higher torque at lower speeds. It is highly technical answer and hence I had to explain in details.But for common person ,you can take a drive on both these models and decide yourself.
Dr P C Rao (pcrao10@gmail.com),Pune