An all-round star, new Suzuki could be, well swifter.
We had the privilege of spending our December with this fine little car. You’d swear it was not even new with the number of these new Suzuki Swifts running around, but that’s testament to the little carmaker, and this halo model’s runway success. In a few short years, Suzuki has come, seen and conquered. The right cars at the right price, across the range.
The Swift is a case in point. A well established brand in itself, it’s the model Suzuki built its success on. And, almost uniquely, this one’s only a Suzuki. This one’s excluded from Toyota’s badge engineering deal that sees just about every other Suzuki sold with a Toyota badge on its nose, and running under a nom de plume. That’s probably the biggest compliment anyone can possibly make in this industry. Toyota selling your cars with its name on.
Swift is a splendidly well proven Suzuki theme
Getting back to the point, this latest Suzuki Swift is yet another variation of a splendidly well proven theme. Look closely and you may not notice the differences straight up. But they are there, and plentiful. A sweet new octagonal takes pride of place up front, and while the headlamps may look the same, the DRL LED units on this flagship are a little different.
The easiest way to tell it apart that broader strip of bumper between the grill and the new clamshell bonnet. New Swift’s flanks are also far more defined with crisp creases that have an interesting play on light, especially in this rusty gold hue. There are new LED taillights around the back, a snazzy set of face polished black alloys and its’ all finished in body colour and black. Except for the badges, that is. Pretty cool, hey?
Swing the door open to be greeted by a smart grey and black cabin. The patterned centre and smooth side cloth seats complement the three-level dash. The dominant centre screen sits centre stage on top where it should be and has all the necessary buttons to complement it. No nonsense here, but it’s a touchscreen too. The mutifunction steering wheel frames conventional, bold and handsome dials each side of the digital info display.
A smart and sensible grey and black cabin
Ventilation and climate control is effective and this Swift was beyond well enough automated with keyless ignition, power windows and wing mirrors and all the necessary bits and pieces like USB and 12V ports (and even a mobile phone charging pad.) The central screen is sensibly layered, laid out and bright enough without dazzling you with colours and nonsense.
Prod the button and new Swift fires up to a hearty three-cylinder thrum. Yes, the everyday Swift has now also benefited Suzuki’s advanced little three-cylinder. It has a pleasant demeanour, pulled reasonably and makes it fun to drive. One of the very few criticisms we have is that this new Swift, well, could be a little swifter! We really had to work to break the 12 second barrier in our tests, where the old four-pot was in the tens.
Hey, life’s not a race, is it? The new Swift certainly makes up with smell of the oil rag fuel economy though. The rest of the drivetrain is as good as it gets in this neck of the woods. Clutch action is easy, its snicks through the gears with aplomb and the ABS brakes have a good feel and bite hard when asked.
Swift not scared to accommodate four adults
As noted, we had a bit of extra time with this one for a month over December, rather than just a week. And all that did was impress us even more. We also took the opportunity to take a long trip four adults up with the little Swift. First surprise was how that boot sucked up all the baggage. A bit of planning saw the triangular space gobble up a a lot more baggage than we’d ever expected .
Swift accommodated us handsomely on the three-hour trip down to the beach. I sat a little forward to my regular position but nothing uncomfortable and the guys and gals in the back were pleasantly surprised too. And despite whatever we say about its performance, the new Swift still gets on with it.
It was not over, our little Swift still had another surprise up its sleeve – when we eventually stopped for fuel, I was expecting to stump up some horrible amount for those 50 litres – no, really, it has to be a 50-litre tank travelling that far between refuels. It took thirty – a huge relief considering the fuel price.
a fight every time for holiday Swift keys
Well backed too, Suzuki now offers a two-hundred thousand kilometre five-year warranty on the Swift along with a little service plan too. And at two-hundred and sixty five grand, it’s quite the package, too
All in all, the best way to sum up this set of holiday wheels, was that there were one or two other pretty cool vehicles around at the time. And we noticed that the fight was not for those keys. It was for the Suzuki Swift’s. If anything, this great little car passed its vacation test with flying colours! – Michele Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX
Engine: 60 kW 112 Nm 1.2-litre petrol I3
Drive: 5-speed manual FWD
TESTED:
0-60 km/h: 4.77 sec
0-100 km/h: 11.85 sec
0-120 km/h: 16.73 sec
400m: 17.9 sec @ 124 km/h
80-120 km/h: 4.00 sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 160 km/h
Fuel: 4.4 l/100 km
CO2: 102 g/km
Range: 840 km
Warranty/Service: 5y 200K/2y 30K km
LIST PRICE: R264K
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