The IBM office in Gurgaon does not have enough parking. Thank God !!Scenario: Because of the situation above, IBMers generally park their cars at a place called Leisure Valley (behind Bikanerwala) and take an office shuttle to and fro to the IBM building. Today, when I returned to the parking lot, I sat in my car and was about to move when I saw it. A red colored Swift Dzire ZXI.It was there for a shoot for TopSpeed (Sunday evening on STAR). The star news gentleman (forgot to ask the name) was kind enough to let me inside the car and check it out. I asked him about the diesel version and he pointed me towards a black colored one. That was the ZDI. He was also kind enough to let me take a short TD. Here are the initial impressions.Looks: It looks good in flesh. Its not a beauty like the civic but its much better than its competitors - Logan and Indigo. I found it to be much better looking than the Accent and at par with the Ikon. I know that this is a a sensitive topic but I think that looks wise the rear part of the car is good. Surprisingly, what I found a little funny was the front. I think the front looks very good on the Swift hatch but a sedan, IMO, should be sleek. This may look like an obese sedan to people who are very particular. If Civic is 10/10, then this is 6.5/10.Interiors: Beige + Black instead of the dark gray and black in the 2007 Swifts. I think this may be the same as the new swifts. The wheelbase has not changed but the inclination of the rear seat has changed from the hatch version. Definitely more legspace at the back. So that is a definite thumbs up. The rear seat has a centre arm rest like the SX4. The seat covers are beige. Climate control and steering mounted ICE controls as expected.Footwear: Crappy JK 185s/Performance: I drove the ZDI and manged to cut a few corners and curves. Performed as good as the hatch version meaning that the boot has been integrated well. I think that the only issue might be that it might suffer when the boot is loaded since its a huge 470 lit. The turbo kick and the engine refinement remain its high points ala the hatchback.Will add more to it later if I remember something that I have missed out.
