Maruti Suzuki expected to launch the new Swift and Swift RS at Auto Expo 2018; RS spotted in the wild as bookings open for Swift 2018

The third gen Suzuki Swift was previewed first in 2017 in Japan. While the camouflaged test mules and spied images had almost revealed the new design of the Swift, it was at the Frankfurt Motor Show, that we got to get a closer look of the hatch. **Maruti Suzuki** is expected to launch the new Swift at the **2018 Auto Expo** . [caption id=“attachment_4291307” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The 2018 Maruti is expected to be showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo in India. Overdrive[/caption] The company dealerships across the country have already started accepting bookings for the same for a token amount of Rs 11,000. We expect deliveries to begin in February 2018 across the nation. The Swift is based on Suzuki’s new Heartect platform, which also underpins cars like the Baleno and the Ignis. It is lighter than the previous platform and more rigid which, according to Suzuki, enhances “fundamental vehicle performance”. The new Suzuki Swift is 10 mm shorter than the older car, but the wheelbase has gone up by 20 mm. Considering that the older model was infamous for its crammed rear kneeroom, this increase in wheelbase could be a boon. In addition, according to a report by CarBlogIndia Swift RS was spotted in the wild just as Auto Expo 2018 approaches. It is likely that we will get more information and images of the Swift RS in coming weeks leading up to the expo. [caption id=“attachment_4291253” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] 2018 Maruti Swift RS. CarBlogIndia[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4291251” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] 2018 Maruti Swift RS. CarBlogIndia[/caption] Additionally, boot space has gone up too by 54 litres, giving it a total capacity of 265 litres. The new car is also 40 mm wider, which could translate to better shoulder room. While the height has been reduced by 15 mm, the seats have been lowered too. So while headroom shouldn’t be an issue, ingress and egress could be one. According to the brand, the new car is 120 kg lighter than its predecessor, and one of the variants weighs as little as 840 kg. While that is 25 kg lighter than the lightest Baleno sold in India, Suzuki could be talking about the Euro-spec car which gets a different set of engines. In India Maruti is expected to employ the same 1.2-litre K-Series petrol motor (84.3 PS at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm at 4,000 rpm) and the 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine (75 PS at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm at 2,000 rpm). The engines are mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Maruti could also thrown in an optional CVT automatic gearbox, given the rising popularity of such transmissions. Maruti Suzuki is also set to introduce the Baleno RS with a 1.0-liter Boosterjet engine, and it may introduce it in the new Swift too. In the new Swift RS perhaps? With inputs from Overdrive.