Swift saloon to replace Esteem

Maruti’s plans to replace the Esteem with the Swift saloon have been laid bare with this scoop shot on Maruti’s assembly line forwarded to us by one of our readers. Codenamed the YV3, the Swift saloon is essentially the three-box version of the Swift hatchback, as you can see. However, behind the B-pillar it all changes. The rear doors, roof and rear section are different and have been redesigned but its clear that, given the high waist line and bulging flanks of the hatchback, integrating the boot has been a challenge. The outline of the rear door and the way it merges with the C-pillar sees one-too many kinks with wide panel gaps though, looks pretty awkward. The high waist extends all the way through to the rear, and merges into the sharply curved lights which bear the same ‘peeled back’ theme of the Swift, to ensure a strong family resemblance. The stubby boot has that ‘bustleback’ shape first seen on the BMW 7-series and now aped by the rest of the car world. A chrome strip above the number plate and fog lamps and reflectors integrated into the bumper give some relief to the bulbous rear.

There doesn’t appear to be any change in the wheelbase, which means that interior room won’t be far better than the hatchback’s. However, it’s possible that Suzuki has pushed the rear seats back to yield extra legroom. Beige interiors could give a more airy ambience inside unlike the hatch, whose all-black cabin gives you a sense of being cooped up. The interiors might receive a duo-tone finish, while the dash is expected to have some faux chrome and wood accents to give it a more upmarket feel. Twin airbags and ABS are expected on the top-of-the-line variants, which should retain the ZXi nomenclature.

Mechanically, the saloon will mirror its smaller sibling, sharing the same engines. These include the 1.3-litre G-series petrol engine currently doing duty in the car, and which can trace its roots back to the Esteem; the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre Multijet diesel will be the more popular option. The car is expected to retain the 14-inch wheel size while the rear suspension will be tweaked to account for the extra weight, which could increase by approximately 100kgs. Interestingly, most of the design and engineering has been carried out by Maruti’s own engineers here in India.

Maruti is targeting sales of at least 3000 units per month and to achieve that figure, one can expect the Swift saloon to come at an aggressive price. Expect the range to start at around Rs 5 lakh for the base petrol, going up to past Rs 6 lakh for the fully-loaded diesel. At this price, it will surely give the C-segment a wake-up call.