The new Maruti Suzuki Swift is finally here. You can now buy one from any Maruti Suzuki Arena showroom (as its regular showrooms will soon be called) for as little as Rs 4.99 lakh for the base petrol LXI variant, or if you want all the gizmos, you can go in for the top-spec ZDI+ variant that’ll set you back by Rs 8.29 lakh (all prices are introductory and ex-showroom, of course). This, I believe, is a particularly impressive set of prices that you should probably jump on immediately. Time is of the essence, and all that.

The new Swift gets a whole host of changes to its exterior and interior (as is painfully obvious by the pictures) and it’s all the better for it. Well, for the most part. The bit I didn’t quite think fit was the C-pillar-housed door handle. It looks cool, but it takes time getting used to it by not being where you’d expect it to be, and it’s also a bit awkward to open the rear doors that way.

Aside from that, though, it’s all fine. The wheels are new and have an interesting design, the front is nearly the same as the Dzire, but that’s not a problem since it looks so good anyway, and the rear has been tastefully done. The new Swift is 40 mm wider, and has a wheelbase that’s 20 mm longer than the previous one. What this means is more rear leg- and head-room, and it shows. The interiors are neat, too. A smart, functional and sporty theme is dominant and the seats are plenty comfortable for long drives.

Where the Swift hasn’t changed is in terms of the drivetrains. It has the same 1.2 petrol and 1.3 diesel powering it. Now, though, there’s the option of getting an AMT on the petrol and diesel variants aside from the regular 5-speed manual. Maruti claims 22 kpl for the petrol and 28.2 kpl for the diesel. Not bad.

Here’s the full list of prices:

Petrol

LXI – Rs 4.99 lakh

VXI – Rs 5.87 lakh

ZXI – Rs 6.49 lakh

ZXI+ – Rs 7.29 lakh

VXI AGS – Rs 6.34 lakh

ZXI AGS – Rs 6.96 lakh

Diesel

LDI – Rs 5.99 lakh

VDI – Rs 6.87 lakh

ZDI – Rs 7.49 lakh

ZDI+ – Rs 8.29 lakh

VDI AGS – Rs 7.34 lakh

ZDI AGS – Rs 7.96 lakh

All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi and introductory.

The new Swift should make everyone else run for cover, and rightly so. For the full review, head here, or have a look at the video review below: