If you have ever believed that carmakers’ claimed mileage figures are gospel, allow the Maruti Swift 1.2L petrol-automatic (AMT) to politely remind you that marketing departments and real-world traffic have different definitions of the word “economy.” This review dissects the Swift’s real-world fuel efficiency numbers from a methodical tank-full-to-tank-full test — 100 km in city traffic and a highway run around Sohna on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway — and then tortures the results with math until they confess the truth. Who is this car for? People who want the Swift’s cheeky styling and sprightly engine, and who either live for cruising on motorways or don’t mind refuelling slightly more often than the brochures suggest.
Key Features
1. 1.2L Petrol Engine with AMT
The Swift tested here pairs a 1.2-litre petrol engine with an automated manual transmission (AMT). Translation: you get the efficiency and lightness of a small petrol motor and the convenience of not fussing with a clutch. AMTs are efficient, compact and cheap to service — and occasionally remind you of their mechanical roots with shift pauses and the kind of personality only a gearbox can have.
2. Real-world Tested Mileage Figures
The numbers are painfully honest: a city mileage of 13.78 kmpl for a 100 km Delhi NCR loop (average 40 kmph, 4.5 hours) and a highway mileage of 22.18 kmpl over 110 km at a steady 100 kmph. The claimed figure used in the comparison is 25.75 kmpl, which will be a recurring punchline in this review.
3. 40-litre Fuel Tank and Practical Range
The Swift’s tank is a modest 40 litres. With real-world mileage, that translates to a full-tank range anywhere between about 459 km in brutal city conditions and up to 739 km on open highway hauls — assuming you’re mercifully highway-biased.
4. Practical Urban Packaging and Maruti Support
Beyond mileage, this is still a Swift: compact footprint, sporty styling, and the reassuringly vast dealer and service network that Maruti owners love. For fuel economy skeptics, the support ecosystem is a real plus.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Excellent highway fuel efficiency (22.18 kmpl) if you consistently cruise at 100 km/h.
- AMT gives stress-free city driving compared with a manual — clutch-less convenience for stop-start traffic.
- Compact size, agile handling and the usual Maruti reliability and service coverage.
- Realistic full-tank range is decent for mixed use (around 599 km on a 50/50 split).
Cons:
- City mileage is disappointing at 13.78 kmpl — nearly half of the claimed 25.75 kmpl (a -46% deviation).
- Claimed mileage figures are optimistic; expect a meaningful gap between brochure and daily life.
- AMT can be jerky under aggressive throttle inputs and is less smooth than a CVT or torque-converter auto.
- Fuel cost in city conditions becomes conspicuous — Rs. 6.89 per km at Rs. 95/litre.
User Experience
Driving the Swift in the city is like having a small, energetic dog on a leash: it’s fun in short bursts but a bit exhausting when the world resists. The 100 km city loop in Delhi NCR averaged 40 km/h and took 4 hours 30 minutes — stop-start traffic, frequent lights, AC on, the full urban opera. After that, the tank refill revealed 7.33 litres consumed for 100 km, which converts to 13.78 kmpl. That’s not just disappointing; it’s a reminder that urban driving is a fuel economy antagonist.
Flip the script onto the highway and the Swift perks up. A 110 km run at an average speed of 100 km/h toward Sohna yielded a very respectable 22.18 kmpl, after refuelling 5 litres at the end. The AMT settles into a steady cadence on long stretches where gear-change quirks are less intrusive, and the engine hums along efficiently. Long drives feel composed and economical — the Swift only shows its limits when forced into a parade of low-speed crawling.
Practicality-wise, the Swift doesn’t betray its hatchback class: easy parking, usable boot for weekend bags, and enough interior comfort for two adults to eat long highway miles without complaining loudly. A full refuel at Rs. 95 per litre will set you back about Rs. 3,420 for 90% of the tank — not a bargain, but not ruinous either.
Comparison
If you’re comparing the Swift to other city hatchbacks — say, the Tata Tiago or Hyundai Grand i10 Nios — the Swift’s personality and highway economy give it an edge on longer runs. However, on tight urban commutes, some competitors with more conservative claimed-vs-real gaps, manual options or CVT choices may be kinder to your wallet. The important takeaway is this: the Swift’s strength is highway efficiency and overall charm; its weakness is that the city will reveal the limits of AMT and small petrol engines when traffic conspires against you.
Practical Scenarios: Where It Excels and Where It Falters
Excels:
- Weekend highway trips: Expect up to 22.18 kmpl and an effortless 600–700 km range on a single tank if your itinerary favors open roads.
- Mixed commutes with a high ratio of highway miles: With 70% highway and 30% city driving, the Swift averages ~19.66 kmpl (around Rs. 4.83/km), which is quite reasonable.
- City to occasional highway owners who value low running costs on intercity stretches and easy maintenance.
Falls short:
- Daily heavy urban commuters: At 100% city driving you’re looking at 13.78 kmpl and Rs. 6.89 per km — not the most economical daily driver if fuel economy is your north star.
- Drivers wanting seamless auto transmission feel: AMT’s occasional shift pauses and mild jerkiness will remind you it isn’t a CVT or torque-converter automatic.
- Buyers who expect claimed mileage to match their city experience: the Swift’s city deviation of -46% is an unpleasant surprise.
Who Should Buy This
Buy the Swift 1.2L Petrol-Auto if you:
- Do significant highway driving (commuters on intercity routes, frequent weekend travelers) — the 22.18 kmpl highway figure is convincing.
- Prefer a compact, spirited hatchback with low running costs on open roads and the reassurance of Maruti’s service network.
- Want an easy-to-live-with automatic for mixed use where highways form a meaningful portion of mileage (40–70% or higher).
Skip it if you:
- Are mostly city-bound and hyper-sensitive to fuel bills — the per-kilometre city cost can be painfully visible on monthly statements.
- Require the butter-smooth automatic experience of a CVT or torque-converter for bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Value for Money
Value isn’t just sticker price; it’s the cost of ownership writ large. The Swift’s price (which varies by trim) has to be weighed against its real-world fuel costs and the frequency of refuelling. On paper, a claimed 25.75 kmpl sounds like a money saver; in reality the Swift delivers 13.78 kmpl in the city and 22.18 kmpl on the highway. At Rs. 95 per litre, that means running costs between Rs. 4.28/km (highway) and Rs. 6.89/km (city). For a typical 50/50 split you can expect about 17.98 kmpl and Rs. 5.28/km — reasonable, but not jaw-dropping.
Also consider Maruti’s after-sales network: serviceability and parts availability tend to reduce long-term ownership pain, which is a non-trivial part of value. If you’re buying primarily for highway economy and low long-run service anxiety, the Swift offers fair value. If your life is mostly urban stop-start and fuel economy obsession, there are cheaper-to-run alternatives over time.
Ultimately, this is a car that rewards sensible usage patterns. Use it the way it likes to be used — steady speeds, relaxed cruising, regular maintenance — and it will repay you. Force it into city madness, and it will cheerfully drink your fuel while reminding you that real life is not a brochure.
My honest recommendation: If your driving leans heavily toward highways or you want a compact hatchback with sprightly character and the convenience of an AMT, buy the Swift. If 90% of your miles are through urban stop-and-go traffic and you worship the claimed mileage figures, look elsewhere — or at least bring a calculator to the showroom.