Rumour – Maruti Suzuki Swift facelift launch on 16th September?

The facelifted Maruti Suzuki Swift hatchback has already begun rolling off the assembly line at Manesar. The facelifted hatchback is lined up for a launch very soon and a report on TheEconomicTimes suggests that the Swift Facelift will be launched on the 16th of September, 2014, which is barely a week from now.

The report goes on to add that the Swift will also get an automatic transmission to go with the facelift, which is the big surprise that Maruti Suzuki seems to be having in store. The exact details on which Swift variant will receive the automatic transmission remains a mystery, if at all Maruti Suzuki goes ahead and launches the Swift Automatic here.

Adding an automatic gearbox option to the petrol powered Swift should be a straight forward affair given the fact that the Dzire compact sedan, which is essentially the Swift in a sedan body style, has been offered with the 1.2 liter K-Series petrol engine-4 speed automatic gearbox combination for a while now.

Even a Multijet diesel powered Swift going automatic isn’t out of the realm of possibilities considering that the recently launched Tata Zest compact sedan, which also uses a Fiat Multijet 1.3 liter turbo diesel engine, comes with an automated manual transmission (AMT). So, the automatic gearbox options are out there, for Maruti Suzuki to shoehorn into both the Swift Petrol and Diesel variants.

Adding an automatic gearbox to the Swift Petrol/Diesel will push up costs, but then again, the Indian car market us maturing fast and the demand for automatic gearbox equipped cars is on the upward trajectory, even in the budget classes. In this light, a highly fuel efficient diesel powered Swift with an AMT could really redefine the automatic segment in the Indian budget car market.

Talking about the facelifted Swift, the changes on the car will be minimal and incremental at best. Minor stylistic changes with the addition of day time running LEDs, a tweaked front end and mild changes on the interiors front with additional is what you can expect from the Swift Facelift. Expect a marginal price revision upwards, for the facelifted Swift hatchback.