Recently, Suzuki had launched a facelifted version of its Swift in the European nations. The new version showcased a lot of cosmetic upgrades to suit the style and standard of the Europeans. Now the Japan based company has launched a facelifted version of Swift in its domestic market as well. Unlike the European facelift, this Japanese facelifted version has focused more on features and technology rather than focusing on the car looks largely. This new version has a lot to offer to the Japanese. With the changes made to this model, Suzuki now claims that Swift will be able to give a fuel efficiency of 26.4 km /liter owing to great energy conserving features.
The European facelift as I said focused more on the looks of the car. It had little to offer and the notable changes made were inclusion of LED day time running lights, some more colour schemes, 16 inches wheels and few other cosmetic upgrades like the new seat covers etc. But for the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Swift facelift has a lot more to offer in addition to a crisp look.
All Swift variants will continue to have ESP ( Electronic Stability Control) as a standard feature. The car will have a redesigned console with illuminated graphics which measures the efficiency level while driving. The colour on the Speed-o-meter changes depending upon your driving skill. This judges the ‘Eco friendliness’ level and thus promotes eco friendly driving. Talking about the exterior of the car, it now show cases a re-designed honey comb grille accompanied by an aggressively crafted bumper. It also includes the LED day time running lights just like the European model. The RS variant will also get the luxury of a sportier body kit.
Talking about the energy saving feature, this Swift exclusive for JDM as if now, is using Suzuki’s DJE (Dual Jet Engine). This uses a ‘Dual injection system’ on the existing 1.2 liter engine in Swift. This engine basically allows fuel to enter 2 intake ports rather than just one per cylinder. This technology is using a combination of idling stop system and regenerative braking system which has made it more fuel efficient.
This regenerative braking concept arised as the automobile manufacturer were trying their best to create vehicles which do not harm the environment significantly. As a result there are electric vehicles and hybrids coming up. But the technology used in these vehicles is of no use to the fuel run car which is a major portion of the Auto world. This regenerative braking is a concept dominating in electric vehicles wherein the energy used while applying brakes is converted back to electrical energy which then charges up the battery powering the vehicle. This thus offers more mileage to the car. Applying this concept in cars like Swift, the energy used while applying brakes like in on / off traffics, is converted to electrical energy which is then used to supply power to the car’s equipments like AC system as well other electricals. This saves a lot of energy and makes the car highly fuel efficient.
Using this DJE, coupling regenerative braking with Idling stop, Suzuki has managed to bring the fuel efficiency of this vehicle to 26.4 km per liter as tested by the JC08. This JC08 is like ARAI in international markets.
The car will offer a 5 speed manual transmission and will also be equipped with a CVT gear box which will offer a front wheel or an all wheel drive. The driving option depends upon the car variant which are as if now 7- XL-DJE, XG-DJE, XS-DJE, XL, XG, special edition models Swift XS and Swift RS.
The car will be offered at a price of 1,279,950 Yen which is Rs. 7.54 lacs for base variants and going upto 1,787,100 Yen which is Rs 10.54 lacs for higher end variants. Looking at the price range, it is unlikely that Suzuki will launch this Swift with refined technology in India anytime soon.