This is the new Suzuki Swift Sport…..and a car I was definitely looking forward to driving.  As some of you blog readers may already know, I was first aware of the brand as a youngster on holiday, in the late 80’s, in Barbados.  I got used to seeing (what was then) the new Suzuki Swift GTI’s all over the island.  When I was old enough to drive, and when I was on vacation there, the standard version was the car of choice with the car hire companies.  I never had the chance to drive the sporty version until now!

I will start with its looks…….

This little hot hatch differentiates itself (from the standard swift) with its aggressively styled sporty front/rear bumpers, a honeycomb front grill, 17 inch alloy wheels, black side skirts (in a rather fetching carbon fibre weave pattern), front and rear spoilers and 2 big round exhaust tail pipes jetting out either side of the bottom rear bumper. All of this visual styling adds to its sporty stance.

Inside the new Suzuki Swift Sport, the sporty theme continues.

It has “sporty” black seats with red stitching, a flat-bottom steering wheel and flashes of red on the dashboard and door trims.

Everything inside the Suzuki Swift Sport has a element of common sense to it.  All the buttons and switches are clearly laid out, labelled and have a rigid quality feel to them.  The dashboard instrument dials have to be the clearest analogue dials to read in a car that I have experienced.

It is powered by a 1.4 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder engine – which produces 140 ps.
0 to 62 mph takes 8.1 seconds, but where this car really impresses me is how it drives.
The 1.4 litre turbocharged engine is responsive and loves to be pushed higher up in the rev range.  It has a tiny bit of turbo lag which adds to the whole busy character of this car.
To be honest, the car actually feels a lot quicker than the 0 to 62 mph time suggests.

The steering is sharp with a whole heap of grip from the front tyres.  The ride is supple and it gave me the impression that it would be just as happy pottering around town as well as out on a twisty road.
Obviously, I wasn’t on a race track….but from my short time driving the car, I could tell that you can throw it into a corner and have some fun (if desired).

I think there are 3 big factors into why this car ride feels so nimble and responsive on the road:

  1. The new Suzuki Swift Sport has been on a diet. It is 70 kg lighter than the previous model – weighing only 975 kg.
  2. The clever Suzuki engineers have not only made the car lighter, they have made the overall body more rigid and stronger.
  3. It also comes with a new sports suspension, the rear suspension has a trailing arm that was specially designed to aid cornering.

Here are some more reasons why I rate the Suzuki Swift Sport highly:

It has a huge list of standard equipment. I have picked out a few; 6 airbags, Dual Sensor Brake Support, Lane departure warning, Tyre pressure monitoring, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Adaptive cruise control, High beam assist, Rear parking camera, 7-inch touchscreen, Keyless entry, Air con, DAB radio, Sat nav and Bluetooth …. the list just goes on.

We Blog Any Car stats:

  • 1.4 Boosterjet 4 cylinder engine
  • turbo
  • 140 PS power
  • 230 Nm of torque
  • 6 speed manual gearbox
  • 8.1 seconds 0 to 62 mph
  • 130 mph top speed
  • 35 D insurance group
  • 135 g/km (WLTP)
  • £17,999 on the road price

So, if you are in the market for a little hot hatch and you want to be different from the rest? This is a real worthy alternative.

For more information on the Suzuki car range click the link below:

SUZUKI CAR RANGE

Previous Suzuki blog below.

NEW SUZUKI IGNIS PARIS AUTOSHOW BLOG.