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BY A CORRESPONDENT
23 August, 2005:
BS Motoring says that a new diesel Maruti Suzuku Swift is on
its way to India. How so? It seems that Suzuki UK has already started selling a diesel version of the
Swift in the UK. The diesel car is identical to the petrol variant of the Swift in almost everything - but it has a 68 bhp, 1300cc common rail diesel engine that offers a torque of 17 kgm at 2000 rpm, and it is turbocharged to boot.
Makes excellent sense, even more so in India, where we are all oh-so-fuel efficiency conscious.
The engine in the diesel Swift is the 1300cc DDiS engine, a derivative of the Fiat Multijet engine, says BS Motoring. Maruti has a plant in India to manufacture exactly this diesel engine in India - it only seems logical that it will find its way in to the Indian Swift too.
Maruti's profits are holding steady thanks to the high demand for the Swift. The market should go crazy when the diesel Swift is introduced, we feel. For the first time, Maruti may have a diesel success on its hands - the diesel variants it had produced in the past all have evoked meagre attention from the Indian automobile customer.
Oops, we forgot to mention the mileage! Its a
claimed 22 kmpl! Even more than the claimed mileage of the diesel Skoda Octavia? Yes. Now get out and run to the dealer.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
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