Significant changes made to the styling and under the sheet metal.
Ahead of its launch on May 16, Maruti-Suzuki gave the media a preview of the 2017 Maruti Dzire and revealed most of the specs and variants at launch. Here's a brief pictorial comparison between the new Dzire and the Swift Dzire.
Exterior:
The exterior of the new Dzire has been completely restyled, with inspiration borrowed from the international-spec Suzuki Swift and Maruti Baleno. The generic lines of the old Swift are dropped for Suzuki's Liquid Metal flow sculpted lines that we've seen in the latter two models which, with the increased width, give it a better road presence. The design of the roof line and boot lid also helps the car look more proportionate than the previous model.
The 'Impact Design grille' is upright and has a thick chrome bezel, flanked by segment-first LED headlamps with LED DRLs, has chrome highlights on the bumper and bootlid for a premium look, and new taillamps with LED light guides.
The new Maruti Dzire measures 3,995 mm long, 1,735 mm wide, 1,515 mm high and has a ground clearance of 163 mm. Compared to the previous Swift Dzire, the new Dzire is 40 mm wider and 40 mm shorter in height.
The front overhangs have been reduced, while the rear overhangs are extended to liberate more boot volume. Ground clearance has also gone down by 7 mm to 163 mm. The infographic above gives an idea of the new Dzire's dimensions compared with the outgoing car.
Interior:
Inside, the design has been completely revamped for a cleaner and more premium look. While the previous Swift Dzire and Swift shared the interior design, the new Dzire has a few unique elements.
For instance, the Dzire has a polygon-themed elements like instrument binnacles, central HVAC vents, conventional buttons for automatic climate control and chrome rings for the instrument dials. There's also premium burl wood ornamentation on the new flat-bottom steering wheel, dashboard and door cards, as well as urbane satin chrome accentuation.
The cabin has been made more spacious, offering 30 mm more shoulder room for rear occupants, 20 mm more shoulder room for front occupants, 25 mm lower seating position and 55 mm more legroom than before. Boot capacity has also been increased from 315L to 376L, which is still not class-leading, but an improvement.
The Dzire gets dual airbags and ABS as standard across the range. Top-end variants come with a 7-inch Smartplay touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirrorlink, rear AC vents, and a larger multi-info display.
Engine and Gearbox:
The Dzire's engine lineup retains the 1.2L K12B motor producing 84 hp and 115 Nm of torque and the diesel gets the 1.3L DDiS motor with 75 hp and 190 Nm of torque. Both engines can be had with a 5-speed manual or 5-speed AMT (from V grade onwards). New to the petrol variant is the 5-speed AMT which replaces the 4-speed automatic gearbox of the outgoing car.
Thanks to the new HEARTECT platform, the 2017 Maruti Dzire is lighter by up to 105 kg for the diesel variant and 85 kg for the petrol version compared to the outgoing car. While the fuel efficiency figures were not released, it is likely to beat the 26.59 km/l and 20.85 km/l mileage figures of the diesel and petrol versions of the Swift Dzire easily. Even though it's lighter, the new Dzire is compliant with frontal and side impact regulations, as well pedestrian safety regulations.
