The new Suzuki Swift is roomy, fun to drive, good to look at and cheap to run. But does it match up to its rivals or expectations?
IN ONE of the most unlikely partnerships since Eamon Ryan hooked up with the motor trade to sell new cars (albeit electric ones), a German automotive conglomerate recently joined forces with a Japanese firm locally renowned in the past as a wheelchair and moped maker.
We can only guess what the fruit of this union will eventually be, but the duo – Suzuki and Volkswagen – are quite open about what they want: they’re going to swap keys.
Suzuki’s keys will unlock the gates of India to the German company – it’s the biggest selling carmaker there – while Volkswagen’s safety deposit box is a treasure trove of wonderfully fastidious future hybrids and diesels.
It’s the sort of drivetrain technology that would go wonderfully well in, say, the new Suzuki Swift.
Volkswagen can already make a diesel Polo that emits just 91g/km and returns 3.51/100km. Suzuki, meanwhile, probably isn’t going to bother bringing its diesel version of the new Swift to Ireland.
Suzuki would argue that this is more to do with the new petrol-powered Swift being so very efficient and that’s a very reasonable argument: 5.0l/100km and 116g/km slot it into car tax band A. There’s no way down from there according to the tax man.
But there’s a world of difference between 5.0l/100km and 3.5l/100km. And there’s also a world of difference between the Volkswagen’s smooth common rail TDI engines and the rather agricultural 1.3-litre diesel in the new Swift.
It’s the Achilles’ heel of a car that is otherwise thoroughly decent. In fact, so efficient is the new Swift in the manner of its improvements that we wonder whether VW has had a sneaky hand in it.
You need only look at the Polo and the Golf over the last couple of decades to plot VW’s gentle evolution strategy. And so it is with the Swift. Gentle to the point that you might be looking at the picture and wondering where this new Swift that we speak of is.
During the car’s introductory press conference, its lead designer Tetsuya Ozaska tacitly admitted this strategy by saying its styling is “a continuation of an already successful formula”.
More tellingly, the press conference itself lasted mere minutes; it’s not unknown for a designer to spend 15 minutes appraising the creases on his wing mirrors in gloriously florid circumlocution.
But this Swift is different and usefully so. Look closer and that much is apparent. It’s bigger in every way for a start, which means added interior space to the extent that it becomes a legitimate four-seater for adults.
And it’s still a good-looking car. It loses the impact of its predecessor, but it retains the well-resolved, hunkered down stance and – the boy racers will be pleased to note – it is compatibile with bigger alloys and side-skirts.
The cabin is thoughtfully designed too. It’s neat and intuitive with easy-to-locate switches and dials. Yet it’s fashioned from the sort of plastics Volkswagen probably use to make dinner trays for its canteen.
The grainy texture of the dash top means it appears okay at first and there are no qualms about the glue used to hold it together, but it categorically fails the knock test. (You know, the one we all do when we step into new car: knock on the dash top. Only a thud is good.)
And it’s a shame, because for the sake of a little soft touch material the Swift is saddled with a low rent feeling.
Ergonomically it’s great, with a wide breadth of driver’s seat and wheel adjustment for a big car feel. The chassis is excellent too, with enough compliancy to ride smoothly over most lumps and bumps, added to a level of feel through the steering wheel befitting a car called Swift.
It’s genuinely fun to drive. Accurate steering, a precise gear action and – with the 1.2-litre petrol engine under the bonnet – the sort of “drive me” character that makes the Renault Clio such fun.
The 1.2 feels stronger than its 93bhp figure suggests, with enough mid-range punch to avoid feeling wheezy below 5,000rpm – the blight of many a small petrol engine. It’s quiet around town too, only really starting to drone at motorway speed (an issue a sixth gear would probably fix).
The 1.3-litre diesel, which may yet come to Ireland in March if enough buyers ask for it, is decidedly more clamorous regardless of speed. It feels slower and altogether less in keeping with the peppy nature of the car.
If it were much more economical than the petrol you might be able to live with that, but it’s not, On this occasion the grass is definitely greener on the petrol side of the forecourt.
TWO TRIM levels will be available from launch: GL and GLX. The former is runabout spec, resplendent in plastic wheel trims and only warm air piped through the vents. You need to trade up to GLX to rectify those things with some shiny alloys and air conditioning.
The thing is, the €14,500 or so you’ll pay for a Swift will also snag you a Polo – a car, frankly, in a different quality and ambience league. We’re talking politicians and novelty pop acts here.
But the issue isn’t so much with the car itself. Not at all, in fact. It’s very good – roomy, fun to drive, good to look at, cheap to run. The issue is with expectation.
The last Swift was Suzuki’s Golf MkIV moment. It was truly a monumental leap over the car that came before it. Suzuki, perhaps understandably, hasn’t had the gumption to try doing the same thing again with its most popular car in Europe by far. That’s a little disappointing, but fair enough.
If only Suzuki could swipe the phone number of Volkswagen’s plastics supplier or bribe Skoda.
Factfile
Suzuki Swift
Engine: 1.2-litre petrol
Peak power: 93bhp
Peak torque: 118Nm
Transmission: Manual five-speed
0-100km/h: 12.3 seconds
Emissions: 116g/km
Motor tax: €104
Combined cycle fuel economy:
5.0 litres/100km
Price: €14,500 (estimate)