Suzuki Swift Sport Spied Again – Is It Actually Coming To India? | V3Cars

30 April 2022
By Amit Saraswat
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If someone utters the word performance car, we can bet that Maruti Suzuki won’t be the first brand to pop in your mind. While Maruti, India’s largest carmaker, may not be known for high-performance models, they have made attempts at launching sporty cars in the past, such as the Baleno RS.

The sporty version of the Baleno was Maruti’s attempt to offer affordable performance to the masses, but it failed miserably. And now, with the Swift Sport spied testing on our shores again, we can’t help but wonder if it has the potential to rekindle the hot hatch segment or become a dud like the Baleno RS.

The Suzuki Swift Sport is renowned in Europe for its powerful engine, agile handling and stellar value for money. Now, a Swift Sport has been spied on our roads, undergoing tests by ARAI.

The fact that the Swift Sport is undergoing tests opens up possibilities for its introduction in our domestic market. It also makes us wonder which route the carmaker plans to take to bring it to our shores? Will Maruti bring it via the CBU route or will it be assembled here from CKD kits? Until Maruti answers these questions, here’s what we think about the relevance of the Swift Sport in our market.

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Swift Sport

Let’s start with the basics, shall we? The Swift Sport employs a 1.4L turbo petrol engine that puts output 129PS of power at 5500rpm and 235Nm of torque at 2000rpm. To increase engine response, Suzuki has added a 48V hybrid system to fill the void created by turbo lag. It is interesting to note that the 2022 S-Cross, which was recently launched in the European market, also employs the same powertrain with the same power and torque output.

Maruti Suzuki will eventually replace the current-gen S-Cross with the 2022 S-Cross as a response to plummeting sales. So far, we believed that the 2022 S-Cross for our market will make use of the ubiquitous 1.5L normal petrol engine that is currently offered with the Ertiga and XL6. However, the Swift Sport undergoing tests here opens up new possibilities. Apart from launching the Swift Sport, Maruti Suzuki could consider equipping the next-gen S-Cross for India with the Swift Sport’s 1.4L turbo petrol engine.

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If Maruti Suzuki aims to sell the Swift Sport in healthy numbers, it has to be locally assembled. And that seems possible with the rise of interest for affordable hot hatches such as the Hyundai i20 N Line. Does that mean Maruti Suzuki is finally working on something that appeals to millennials? Only time will tell.

Also Read: Hyundai Venue N Line - India Launch Likely In May

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amit Saraswat

Born and brought up in Agra, he grew up reading magazines more than textbooks. With a keen interest in cars, he decided to make his future in automotive journalism and is currently helping in content at V3Cars.