Japanese brand continues to plough its own furrow with the latest iteration of its small hatchback On sale Now Price from £18,699
Will Nightingale will.nightingale@haymarket.com
SHO-SHO-KEI-TAN-BI. IT MEANS smaller, fewer, lighter, shorter and beauty, and it’s been a Suzuki design philosophy for years. The new Swift proves this mantra is taken seriously, because it is indeed smaller, lighter and shorter than most of its small car contemporaries.
What’s more, the Japanese brand is quite open about the fact that it will sell fewer Swifts than Renault will sell Clios or Volkswagen will sell Polos. Beauty? Well, we’ll leave you to pass judgement on that.
Suzuki says this is an all-new model, but that’s a bit of a stretch, because it sits on the same underpinnings as its predecessor. It’s exactly the same width and height as before, and only slightly longer due to a different bumper design.
As a result, the Swift isn’t the most practical small car. There’s more rear space in all manner of rivals, including the much cheaper Dacia Sandero. A couple of six-footers will fit in the back, though – even if they might have to put up with their heads brushing the roof lining. The boot is on the small side, although not so poky that you’ll struggle with a weekly shop.
One part of the Swift that is new is the engine. It’s a non-turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol that pumps out a modest 81bhp. Acceleration isn’t as pedestrian as you might be fearing, though – partly because the Swift is lighter than many rivals but also because a mild hybrid electrical system gives the engine a helping hand when you’re pulling away.
The mild hybrid tech’s main purpose, though, is to save fuel – and the Swift certainly has some impressive economy figures. Stick with the standard manual gearbox (a CVT automatic is optional) and it’ll officially do up to 64.2mpg while pumping out as little as 99g/km of CO2.
Unusually for a small hatchback with no SUV pretensions, there’s the option of having four-wheel drive. Called Allgrip, it adds £1250 to the price and blunts performance slightly, but as well as having better traction than the front-wheel-drive car, the Allgrip gets jacked-up suspension for slightly better ground clearance.
The Swift’s lightness again pays dividends when it comes to handling. It responds quickly when you ask for a change of direction, and there isn’t much body lean. The steering also impresses, filtering enough feedback to you
