Maruti gears up to launch Swift facelift 2021
New Delhi: Desi carmaker Maruti Suzuki’s Swift was the best selling car in the country last year. In an effort to ensure that the hatchback continues to rule the charts, the Indian carmaker has decided to give Swift a midlife refresh. This facelift model is expected to be launched this week and has been teased by the carmaker via its social media handles. The teaser doesn’t reveal any significant information about the model except that it will go on sale here soon. But we already know that. We also know about almost all the changes that we will see on the new Swift, thanks to the facelift that was launched in Japan last year. The model hitting our shores will be quite similar to the Japan-spec variant, which means the changes on the car will be limited. This doesn’t surprise us considering that Maruti Suzuki always employs a restraint while giving a car mid-life refresh.
The changes on the 2021 swift will be observed at the front; the hatchback will get a new honeycomb grille with a chrome slat, a sculpted front bumper, and new design for the alloy wheels. We also expect the new model to get a redesigned rear bumper. Save for these and the addition of new colour options, we do not expect the new Swift to sport other visual changes as opposed to the outgoing model.
New Swift facelift’s interior layout will remain identical to the existing one but the company could introduce some new panels on the dashboard to spruce up the cabin. Even the feature list will more or less remain the same — a seven-inch Smartplay system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, push-button start, automatic AC, a semi-digital instrument cluster with 4.2-inch colour MID, electronically adjusted outside rearview mirrors, cruise control, etc. The word on the street is Maruti Suzuki could equip VXI variant with touchscreen infotainment instead of the integrated double-din music system. This could make the variant slightly expensive than before but a constrained price hike could boost the variants’ sales.
Another major change on the hatchback is likely to be the option of 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine with SHVS hybrid technology. This powertrain is already available on Baleno and puts out 89 bhp instead of 82 bhp along with 113 Nm of peak torque. We do know for a fact that the new Swift will feature idle stop-start system.