Review: Suzuki Swift

Suzuki Swift owners are a loyal bunch. A good friend of mine is on to her fifth consecutive model. Even though it is only 12 months old with just a handful of miles on the clock, after going for a ride in this fourth generation edition she is considering a trip to the dealer some time soon.

Swift has been around for 40 years in the UK and since it was introduced as a global model in 2004 there have been nine million sold across 119 countries.

Manufacturing for the UK, Ireland and rest of Europe is carried out at the Sagara plant in Japan.

At first glance this new model doesn’t look a lot different to the previous one, but put them side by side (as we did) and it’s obvious the styling in the latest generation is sharper with finer detailing on the bonnet and is embellished, as on our test car, with a smart black roof and pillars.

New Swift is not just a facelift model though. Specification levels are higher, performance is enhanced and it has better fuel economy (eight per cent improvement on the previous engine) and lower emissions.

Powered by a three-cylinder mild hybrid 1.2 litre petrol engine, it is exceptionally frugal. Our consumption never dropped below 63mpg during a week of pottering around town with the occasional blast along the motorway and a smattering of A roads.

There’s not a lot of choice when it comes to new Swift. Two trims, Motion and Ultra, one engine and either manual or CVT transmission. There’s also an AllGrip 4x4 manual option on its way

Standard specification includes a smart rear spoiler, LED headlights, 9in media display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth integrated audio, two USBs in the front plus an AUX connector, sat nav, adaptive cruise control, rear view camera , rear parking sensors and heated front seats. The navigation system has speed alerts which are helpful - even if they are sometimes wrong - and merging traffic alerts which are annoying so we turned them off after a while. The blind spot monitors are also welcome.

There’s no getting away from the fact that these days most functions are controlled by a touchscreen but at least the ventilation and heating on Swift have manual switches.

The Swift is a great all rounder. It’s quick enough, unless you are climbing any sort of incline when you’ll need to plan ahead and power through the gears. It’s a bit noisy when worked hard but not intrusively so.

Our Ultra had a few extra touches over Motion such as climate control, alloy wheels, and electrically folding door mirrors with integrated indicators.

For a small car Swift is quite roomy. Fitting five adults in comfortably is doable and the boot is big enough for a large shop or a couple of decent-sized suitcases. The rear seat splits 60:40 to create more room.

As with other Suzukis the after sales is superb with up to seven years warranty offered free of charge after the manufacturer warranty expires and until the car reaches 100,000 miles.

Car Facts

Suzuki Swift Ultra

Price: £19,799 (as tested £20,649)

Engine: Mild hybrid 1.2 petrol

Power: 81bhp

Torque: 83lb ft

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Top speed: 103mph

0-62mph: 12.5 seconds

Economy: 64.2 mpg

CO 2 emissions:99g/km