Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), country's foremost passenger car maker, earlier rebadged the previous generation model of its iconic Swift DZire and added the moniker of 'Tour' with its existing name, while placing it in the taxi segment. In the present scenario, the company has come up with a move to introduce the same car in the passenger vehicle segment of the Indian auto industry.
Reportedly, at that time, the auto major framed plans to mark its presence in the commercial vehicle segment after achieving immense appreciation from the passenger car segment. In January this year, MSIL introduced a new Compact Sedan (CS) model of Swift DZire in the Indian auto industry by discontinuing its normal sedan model. The auto major then very smartly renamed the old DZire as 'Swift DZire Tour' and routed it in the taxi car market, keeping the obsolete Swift DZire still in the market.
The Swift DZire Tour model is basically a tone down version of the popular Swift DZire sedan and has compromised on many essential credentials, which were counted as a USP of the model.
Backed by the long waiting periods for its compact Swift DZire, the company has decided to deliver its Tour model to private passenger cars owners as well who are tended to look for other options available in the market, like Mahindra Verito and Tata Indigo CS. This decision of the Maruti Suzuki officials is termed as a 'smart move' by the industry experts.
Evidently, MSIL deprived the Swift DZire Tour with many basic features of its parent model Swift DZire, including left wing mirror, central locking and body-coloured front and rear bumpers as well as door handles and outside mirrors.
However, the company has made a provision for its customers for offering body-coloured bumpers, door handles and a wing mirror at a generous amount between Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 15,000. MSIL has also planned to provide central locking and a left wing mirror coupled with some other add-ons in the package of Swift DZire Tour, if the buyers are willing to spend a little extra.
The company has introduced Swift DZire Tour in both diesel (LDi) and petrol (LXi) guise, catering to the demands of a large number of buyers. Unlike the compact DZire's body coloured exteriors, DZire Tour has black coloured front and rear bumpers, black outside rear view mirrors, which are present only one one side, black painted door knobs and stickers instead of the standard chrome plated inscription on the boot.
The introduction of Swift DZire Tour will ease some pressure off the MSIL's head, which is currently dominated with the Manesar happenings. The popular Swift hatchback and the DZire sedan are manufactured at the company's Manesar unit and owing to the facility's a month lockout, the production witnessed a severe impact on the waiting period of company's most demanded cars. With new moves and strategies, it seems that the company is really working a lot to reduce the waiting time for its DZire models that currently has a stretch of six months to a year.
