New Maruti Swift vs rivals: fuel efficiency compared

Maruti Suzuki has just launched the fourth generation Swift hatchback in India with prices ranging between Rs 6.49 lakh-9.50 lakh (ex-showroom). One of the most exciting things about the new Swift is its all-new powertrain – the Z Series, three-cylinder petrol engine that has a claimed fuel economy of 24.80kpl with the manual and 25.75kpl with the automatic. Here, we are taking a close look at how it compares with its rivals.

1. New Swift petrol-MT returns a claimed 24.80kpl
2. Petrol-AMT returns a claimed 25.75kpl
3. New Swift is 2.42kpl-3.19kpl more efficient than its predecessor

​Also see: New Maruti Swift price, variants, features explained

New Maruti Swift walkaround video

Maruti Swift fuel economy vs similarly priced rivals

As you can see from the table above, the new Swift is 2.42kpl more efficient than its predecessor in manual guise, and 3.19kpl more efficient in automatic. For this comparison, we have not just considered Swift’s direct rivals such as the Tiago, Grand i10 Nios and C3 but also similarly priced sub-compact SUVs like the Punch, Exter and Ignis.

The new Swift is clearly the most efficient among all its rivals, with its own predecessor being the second closest. The Tata Punch, meanwhile, is the least efficient of the lot.

The Swift’s new three-pot engine produces 8hp and 1Nm less than the outgoing four-cylinder K-Series unit, but Maruti Suzuki's high fuel efficiency targets have been achieved through improved volumetric efficiency; each cylinder is now 400cc in capacity. Moreover, it's also better suited to the Swift’s primary use in the city.

Maruti Swift fuel economy vs premium hatchbacks

Prices of the new Swift overlap with several models from the premium hatchback segment, which is why we've compared the fuel efficiency against the likes of the Baleno, Altroz and i20.

Here again, the Swift is the most efficient by a fair margin, Maruti’s own Baleno comes second (along with its badge-engineered sibling, the Toyota Glanza), while the Tata Altroz is the least efficient. It is, however, important to remember that all these hatchbacks are larger and heavier, which makes them less efficient. And apart from the Baleno (and Glanza) which come with an AMT gearbox, the i20 uses a CVT and the Altroz uses a DCT, which aren’t as efficient as AMTs.

Also See:

Mahindra XUV 3XO vs rivals: Fuel efficiency comparison