Maruti Suzuki Swift on self drive hire

Who the Swift suits

Couples, a family of three or four, and anyone who is going to be parking in Nagercoil town rather than only on the highway.

What it is like to drive here

The steering is light and the turning circle is small, which is what you want in the streets around the Nagaraja temple and the market, where a wider car has to be reversed out of things. The flip side is a firm ride: over the broken stretches inland towards Thiruvattar you feel more of the road than you would in a Grand i10. On the Kanyakumari highway it sits comfortably at highway speeds and is quiet enough to talk in.

• Easy to park anywhere in town, including the older streets
• Light clutch and gearshift, which tells in stop-start traffic
• The best fuel economy of the hatchbacks we keep

Questions about the Swift

Is the Swift available as an automatic?

The Swift we keep is a manual. If you would rather not use a clutch, take the Glanza Automatic — it is the automatic in our fleet and it is the same size of car to park.

Will a Swift take five adults to Kanyakumari and back?

For the twenty kilometres to Kanyakumari, yes, comfortably enough. For a full day with five adults and bags, a seven-seater is the honest answer — the Swift's back seat is a three-person bench, and the boot is the limit before the seat is.

What mileage does it give on a Kanyakumari trip?

On a mixed run of town and highway you can expect somewhere around 18 to 20 kilometres to the litre with a light foot. Fuel is yours on a self-drive hire, so this is a real difference between a Swift and a seven-seater over a long day.