Maruti Suzuki Dzire registers bizzare mileage figures

While the recent VBOX controversy over Hennessy’s claim on the world’s fastest production car quickly turned into a chuckling matter for automotive aficionados worldwide, certain claimed figures closer to home will leave Maruti Suzuki buyers choking in surprise and swimming in scepticism.

As per recent announcements made by the company, its best selling compact sedan model the Maruti Swift Dzire has managed to clock an astonishing mileage of 45.8 kmpl under controlled driving conditions. This very hard to believe feat was achieved by one Gurdeep Singh during the recently held “DZirable Mileage Rally” in and around the city of Mumbai.

Singh won the coveted crown for clocking in the best mileage of 45.8 kmpl in the diesel category while Shrirang Chindarkar won in the petrol category with 42.1 kmpl mileage. Interestingly, the average fuel efficiency in the city event was 30.6 kmpl for petrol and 32.4 kmpl for diesel. The certified fuel efficiency of Swift Dzire petrol is 19.1 kmpl and Swift Dzire diesel is 23.4 kmpl (Read : New Maruti DZire Road Test). 

The participants were able to achieve the claimed mileage figures by not exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit, driving in the correct gears at all times, avoiding any sudden acceleration and braking and not turning off the engine while the car was in motion.

Speaking on the occasion, Manohar Bhat, Vice President (Marketing), Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “The Dizerable Mileage Rally is an innovative way to thank the old, new and prospective Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire customers. Over 5 lakh customers in just 5 years is a milestone that every automobile manufacturer dreams of and our customers have helped Swift Dzire to achieve it. The sales numbers reflect the strong customer connect of the Swift DZire for its high fuel efficiency, low cost of ownership and the overall value.”

On sale in India since March 2008, the Swift DZire has been on a celebratory spree of sorts with 5.5 lakh cumulative units sold till date and the recent launch of a limited edition variant, called the DZire Regal. It is certainly no coincidence that the Maruti Swift DZire’s onslaught comes close on the heels of the Honda Amaze launch, its newfound arch rival, which according to its maker returns 25.8 kms to the litre.

However, all said and done, while we appreciate Maruti’s effort in trying to gain maximum mileage from the extraordinary efficiency of its cars (mind you manufacturers have attempted similar feats in the past), the truth is that such conditional driving conditions are a rather impractical notion here in India and it gives impressionable customers a rather unrealistic idea of the what the vehicle is truly capable of under real world conditions.

The Dzireble Mileage Rally was held over a weekend in 31 cities across the country. Participants were provided with a time chart, route map and maximum mileage booklet as they drove their cars on a pre-defined route to the destination.