2024 Maruti Dzire Review: Playing It Safe

‘That's a what, now?’ — my first reaction when I saw the Dzire via some blurry spy pics shot on a potato camera. Hints of another Japanese automaker, yes. Some German influence, sure. But anything shared with the younger Swift? NONE! If nothing else, Maruti Suzuki has surely been bold to take this step. 

The Cult

Maruti was quick to point out that the Dzire is the fourth highest selling car in India — OF ALL TIME. Every second compact sedan sold in the country is a Dzire. That’s no mean feat. Carrying the Dzire name, then, is a responsibility, more than a formality. 

For over a decade, this cult-like following has been built on nothing more than the basics: affordability, reliability, comfort and resale. For the new one to click, it needs to be exactly like the old one, at least in these core aspects. At the same time, it needs to be new enough to stand tall (pun intended) among a barrage of SUVs. 

The Goldilocks Zone

Yep — that’s where the design of the Dzire sits. Almost. The Dzire now looks low slung and wide in your rear view mirror. A large full-LED headlamp cluster might remind you of a host of other cars, but it does give the Dzire a very distinct personality. Maruti Suzuki’s cheapened out a little here sadly, while the lighting is LED and so is the daytime running lamp setup — the indicator is an old school bulb. We’d have loved to see the DRL double up as the turn signal. 

Major ‘Crysta’ vibes from the grille make us ponder whether Maruti intends on sharing the Dzire with Toyota. Will we see the ‘Etios’ name make a comeback? If it does, remember you read it here first. The simple gloss black strip connecting the headlamps, the subtle chrome strip underlining all look purposeful. 

The minimalism theme is quite evident from the side too, where subtle yet strong creases flow from nose to tail. What sticks out, are the tiny wheels. With this generation, Maruti could’ve opted for a larger set of 16” alloy wheels. While they were at it, some fatter rubber would help immensely too. View the Dzire from the rear three quarters, and you’ll notice the wheels don’t sit in line with the body. If you want to make a bigger visual statement, a nice set of wheels, and chucking out the weedy 185-section tyres is among the first things you should consider. 

With the blacked-out tail lamp, the gloss black plus chrome trim joining them and a large bumper, the rear of the Dzire is a fuss-free space too. Of course you could choose from a host of accessories to customize the car, that includes a questionable amount of chrome trims, puddle lamps and garnishes. 

I’d want to stick my neck out and say this is possibly the best looking Dzire yet. 

Sense-i 

The Dzire is one of those cars that you feel at home almost instantly — a straightforward dashboard layout, well thought out storage spaces and controls right where you want them. There’s little to fault the Dzire for when viewed from a sensibility standpoint. It gets the basics of a small sedan interior right — a staple beige-black color, above average plastic quality, acceptable fit and finish and some silver/wooden highlights to round things off. 

Not to say there are no cheap bits; the power window switches, controls for the wipers/lights feel out of place — especially considering it now costs north of Rs 10 lakh. Also, Maruti Suzuki should’ve amped up the interior experience by providing leatherette upholstery on the seats and door pads. The fabric used isn’t particularly good quality, and the one used on the door feels ‘abrasive’ for lack of a better term. 

Getting into a comfortable seating position up front is easy with seat-height adjust, and tilt-steering. A central armrest would’ve made this even more relaxing. Also, we have to point out that the seats have very soft cushioning. This is great for shorter city journeys, but might feel uncomfortable if you spend hours driving on the highway. Overweight people will find themselves sinking into the seat frame in less than an hour. 

At the rear, there’s ample space for a six footer to comfortably sit behind their own driving position. Footroom is fantastic too, even with the front seat lowered completely. Squeezing three occupants in the rear seat however, will be a tight squeeze. With the new generation, rear seat headroom has taken a hit. Those above 5’10” will find themselves close to the roof, and brush their heads against the side too. 

Plenty of practicality built into the cabin, however. All door pads have usable bottle holders, the front floor console has a phone tray, couple of cupholders and a shallow space under the handbrake too. A seatback pocket on the co-driver’s side and a central phone holder between the front seats are on offer for the rear occupants. 

The feature list on the Dzire is ‘sensible’ too. Nothing that’s unnecessarily flashy. Here’s a run through: 

Other features include push-button start/stop, cruise control, automatic climate control and rear AC vents. We would’ve liked to see an auto-dimming IRVM, auto wipers, leatherette seat covers at least, if asking for ventilated seats seems a bit much. 

Also, controls for the instrument cluster continue to be on a stalk that pokes out. This could be repositioned to the steering wheel. Similarly, the boot release switch would’ve been better off placed next in one of the blanks next to the start/stop button. Also, do note that unlocking the vehicle does not unlock the boot. You either pull the lever on the floor, or have the keys with you to open the boot from outside. The release button on the boot does not function if the keys are inside the vehicle/not in range even if the vehicle is unlocked. 

Take It Easy! 

A 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine is your only option with the new Dzire. It makes an adequate 82PS and 112Nm of torque, and is offered with a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT. 

If you’ve driven the older Swift/Dzire — you’d immediately want two things. First, refinement. The three-cylinder motor lets vibrations creep into the cabin through the pedals and floor board. The (pleasant) thrum from the engine is also audible practically all the time. Push the Dzire hard and this only gets amplified. For a brand that introduced us to ‘Zero Engine Noise’, this seems like a step backwards. 

The motor isn’t as eager to rev as the older K-Series motor either. But it makes up for it by offering better torque at lower engine speed. That means you’d be in third gear more often than second at low speeds, shift less often and pull clean in the same gear. For everyday city driving and calm cruising at 80-100kmph on the highway, the engine works just fine. Don’t expect it to feel exciting at any point, however. 

Between the manual and the AMT, we’d tilt in favor of the manual. The AMT seems to upshift a little too early, even with low throttle input. This means you’ll be in fourth gear at 40kmph, and wanting to overtake traffic at this point will cause a downshift and a subsequent jerk. Even while going up and down the gears, the AMT isn’t as smooth as say Hyundai. 

Comfortably Playful

It’s a Dzire. It’s comfortable. Period. Over a variety of road surfaces or even the lack of one. We like that the suspension has been firmed up a little. This prevents the cabin from some vertical movement at high speeds, but has a small trade off by way of letting the surface be felt at low speeds. 

A firmer setup also means the Dzire is up for some play in the twisties. With a quick and predictable steering, you might actually find yourself stitching one corner to the next. You’d possibly want more power while doing this. But, if you keep the motor on the boil, cornering is actually quite enjoyable in the Dzire. 

With 163mm of ground clearance, you can deal with broken roads comfortably too. 

Safe Space

Surprise, surprise! The Dzire comes with a full five star safety rating from GlobalNCAP. This is a pleasant shocker and we hope to see more Marutis that stand up to the same standards. On the Dzire, features such as 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts and a highline tyre pressure monitoring system is on offer. 

Sum Up! 

The Dzire gets all the basics just right. It’s spacious, comfortable, and easy to drive. It’s also fuel efficient, will be reliable and you will have no issues with Maruti’s wide service network or resale. With the five star safety rating, the only gray cloud over the Dzire’s head has been banished for good. Yes, it could have done more in terms of feel-good features, but for everything else, the Dzire hits the sweet spot.

It boils down to the asking price, which at Rs 9.69 lakh for the top-spec manual, seems like an acceptable bump up over the previous version — which makes it quite easy to recommend.