Automatics are in demand and they are providing to be popular with even hatchback buyers as no one wants to deal with the horrendous traffic levels plaguing most cities these days.
That said, AMT technology has also improved over the years and let us not forget that it was Maruti who first brought this tech to our market with the Celerio AMT while today it is available with multiple cars within the Rs 5-15 lakh segment.
The new Swift too comes with an AMT but a drive reveals how much improvement AMTs have seen over the years. They are recommended for city use because they are no longer jerky and not being plain annoying. The AMT in the Swift is even better than the last gen version and at low speeds, it is very smooth with hardly any jerks at all. It is not slow and easy to drive with gentle taps of throttle. It reacts well to low speed city use and remains easy to drive.
What's more, the efficiency is also around 17 kmpl in traffic which will increase too while the official figure is above 25 kmpl. AMTs then have improved and make sense as an everyday city car. The Swift AMT does get a manual mode while on highways, there is a bit of lag when putting your foot down.
Hence, at highway speeds, it is best to use a gentle throttle rather than driving it aggressively. Hence, while it can't match the responsiveness of the manual gearbox that the Swift also offers, it is a convenient city automatic hatchback.
Sure, the manual is more fun but for those looking for convenience, the Rs 50 thousand increase for the AMT version over the manual makes a lot of sense.
While a sporty car like the Swift needs a DCT, the price will go up and here, Maruti has chosen a cost efficient solution and even the Baleno comes with an AMT. Hence, if you are looking for a small city car with an automatic, the Swift AMT is the most efficient one right now.
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