Ask anyone what they think of the Swift and they will tell you that it’s a great car and they’ve no idea why they don’t sell more of them.
This is true for most of the Suzuki range because there isn’t much in the range I wouldn’t want to own, apart from the SX4 because it’s boring. The Ignus, Vitara and now the Swift are the cars to have in the range but the new Swift is the real stand out.
Cars that are the size of the Swift live in what’s called the B-Segment and that small car segment has a number of big names sitting in it, there are some new models in there too.
SEAT Ibiza, Volkswagen Polo, Skoda Fabia, Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, Renault Clio, Mazda 2, Kia Rio, Hyundai i20 and Citroen C3 to name but a handful of the cars to be had in what’s a really over-populated market. You might get an idea what Suzuki marketing team is up against with their little offering.
I’m happy to say that Suzuki hasn’t forgotten how to make a good small car because the Swift is a proper runabout and that’s important. The Swift needs to be good as a learner drivers car as well as bringing Granny to the shops there might be a stage when Granny wants to drive herself to the shops as well and fortunately, the Swift can cater well for all.
While designing the interior they lowered the seating positions that ensured sufficient head clearance (the same as for outgoing Swift for the front seats) and added 23mm vertical and lateral space for the rear seating positions.
The front seats have been moved outwards by 10mm which has increased the centre-on-centre distance between them by 20mm. This all means that the new Swift feels bigger inside while the overall footprint of the car has been made smaller on the outside.
Everything is lighter as the Swift now weighs just 890kgs which is 100kgs lighter than the last model, that’s like taking out a big man from the back seats and telling him to walk home. This lightness means better fuel economy and decent performance especially when you plump for the 1.0ltr booster jet engine.
There are actually three variations which are 1.0-litre Boosterjet SHVS with manual transmission, 1.0-litre Boosterjet automatic and 1.2-litre Dualjet with SHVS and ALLGRIP Auto. Specification for the SZ5 adds auto air conditioning, 16-inch polished alloy wheels, satellite navigation, Advanced forward detection system, keyless entry and start, rear electric windows, LED Headlamps, LED Combination rear lamps, adaptive cruise control and six speakers.
The new Swift will already be moving to showrooms right now and it really is right on the top of the shopping list for 172 small cars. Suzuki also has a three-year warranty and one-year AA cover.
The Swift really is up with the competition on prices as the range starts at €14,995 making it a very affordable package.
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