2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift
Third generation Maruti Suzuki SwiftIBT Media/ Ken Sunny

One of the showstoppers during media days of the ongoing Auto Expo 2018 was the launch of the new Maruti Suzuki Swift. The company launched the third generation of the Swift on Thursday for a starting price of Rs 4.99 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.

Emerging reports indicate that prospective buyers will have a tough time getting their hands on their Swift as bookings for the car are on the verge of touching 50,000 units.

As per recent reports, bookings for the new Swift has already crossed 40,000 units. Maruti Suzuki opened bookings for the 2018 Swift on January 19. Even before the price announcement on February 8, the hatchback racked up over 30,000 bookings.

Since the price for the new version is just premium by Rs 20,000 (base model), bookings are expected to get a further boost in the coming days.

New Maruti Suzuki Swift price
New Maruti Suzuki Swift priceIBT Media/ Ken Sunny

Maruti Suzuki commenced deliveries of the new Swift from Friday, reports NDTV Auto. Maruti Suzuki dealers have confirmed that the waiting period is now from two months to four months, depending on the location.

Based on the Heartect platform that also underpins the new Dzire compact sedan and the Baleno premium hatchback, the new Swift comes in LXi/LDi, VXi/VDi, ZXi/ZDi, and ZDi+/ZXi+ variants.

New Maruti Suzuki Swift
New Maruti Suzuki SwiftSuzuki

Under the hood, the new Swift comes powered by the tried-and-tested 1.2-liter K12 VVT petrol and 1.3-liter DDiS 190 diesel engines. The petrol mill is tuned to churn out 83hp of power and 113Nm of torque while the diesel unit develops 75hp of power and 190Nm of torque.

The new Swift gets five-speed manual transmission and five-speed Auto Gear Shift (AGS) transmission in both petrol and diesel trims.

The diesel model of the new Swift claims to offer a fuel efficiency of 28.4 kmpl, which is 12.7 percent higher than the outgoing Swift. On the other hand, the petrol model of the Swift offers a fuel economy of 22.0 kmpl.

New Maruti Suzuki Swift
New Maruti Suzuki SwiftPR Handout