2024 Maruti Suzuki Swift vs Citroen C3: Hatchback Rivalry

The Indian hatchback market is abuzz with the arrival of the latest Maruti Suzuki Swift, now in its fourth generation avatar. It's set to challenge the Citroen C3, which is a contender to the Swift in India. Before delving into a detailed road-test comparison, let's first examine how these two cars stack up against each other on paper. 

Dimensions

*Without roof rails

It is pretty evident from the table above that the new-gen Swift is smaller in overall dimensions when compared to the Citroen C3. The C3 also has a longer wheelbase and a better ground clearance than the Swift. 

Feature Highlights

When it comes to comfort and convenience features, the Swift is better stacked than the Citroen C3. It gets niceties such as cruise control, automatic climate control, projector headlamps and 16-inch alloy wheels, which the C3 misses out on. On the contrary, the C3 is a larger vehicle when interior space and dimensions are considered. It also features a larger infotainment screen. 

Safety features in the Swift encompass six airbags, ESP, Hill-hold assist and ISOFIX child seat mounts as standard across the variants. While on the other hand, the Citroen C3 just gets dual front airbags as standard. Moreover, Citroen had recently informed that it will be equipping the C3 with six airbags as standard in the near future. 

Powertrain

The new-gen Swift gets a single Z12E series 3 cylinder 1.2-litre NA petrol engine, which can be opted with a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT automatic transmission. On the other hand, the Citroen offers the C3 in two different engine options: a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre unit producing 82 PS identical to the Swift and a 1.2-litre turbocharged unit producing 110 PS. The naturally aspirated engine can be opted with a 5-speed manual and the turbo petrol unit can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission. There are no automatics on offer at present, but Citroen India can introduce them pretty soon. 

Prices

All prices ex-showroom

Both the cars are moderately priced with the C3 starting at Rs 6.16 lakh (ex-showroom), which is Rs 33,000 less than the entry level LXI variant of the Swift. The top-spec variant of the C3 also undercuts the ZXI+ variant of the Swift by Rs 69,000 and gets a superior powertrain option, but features are a miss. 

Both these hatchbacks rival the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios, Tata Tiago, and are also alternatives to micro-SUVs like the Tata Punch, Nissan Magnite and Hyundai Exter.