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Maruti Suzuki has not discontinued the old Swift DZire, even though the company has launched the next generation model. India’s largest car maker has instead re-named the vehicle as the Maruti Swift DZire Tour, positioning it entirely for fleet operators and taxi market. Set to go on sale next month, the Maruti Suzuki has offered the Swift DZire Tour in two variants, LXi and LDi with equipment levels stripped to price the car aggressively. The Swift DZire Tour features air-conditioning, power steering, steel wheels black coloured rear view mirrors, door handles and bumpers.

Maruti Suzuki has priced the DZire Tour at Rs. 4.88 lakh for the petrol variant and Rs. 5.91 lakh for the diesel variant (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The petrol powered DZire Tour uses a 1.2-litre K12M engine to produce 84 BHP of power at 6000 RPM and 115 Nm of torque at 4500 RPM. The diesel DZire Tour is powered by the 1.3-litre Multijet engine which produces 75 BHP of power at 4000 RPM and 190 Nm of torque at 2000 RPM. Both these engines are extremely good performers and offer high reliability along with low fuel consumption. Factor in the big boot of the old DZire vis-a-vis the new model and all of a sudden the DZire Tour starts to make immense sense for taxi operators.

The funny thing is that the new Maruti Swift DZire costs less than the DZire Tour, with the new DZire LXi priced at Rs. 4.80 lakhs and the new DZire LDi priced at Rs. 5.81 lakhs (all prices ex-showroom, New Delhi). These prices are subject to double revision, as Maruti Suzuki will hike them upwards due to the increase in excise duty and at the same time the introductory pricing will be revised as well. Even though the new DZire is a next generation model, Maruti Suzuki saves on excise duty as the new DZire is classified as a small car due to its dimensions and engine capacity. These savings have been passed onto the customer and hence the new model costs less than the old one. Now if you were a fleet operator, what would you do? Opt for a bigger boot or go for the latest model?

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The pictures posted here are of the Maruti DZire Luxury Concept which was showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo. The pictures are used for illustration purpose only.

Via – Autocar India