The old Suzuki Swift was described by Britain's Autocar magazine as "one of the world's least desirable cars." No surprise then that the new Swift carries over little from the old product.
The old Swift was totally anonymous in looks and style, but the new model changes all that with a profile vaguely reminiscent of the new Mini. It's curvy in all the right places. Main elements include boldly-flared wheel arches, a big expressively-styled tailgate and a black finish on the A and B pillars. There's only the hatchback format, in three or five doors.
"We studied small European cars such as the Ford Fiesta and Citroën C2 and we think our car has a European identity not just in its styling but also the mechanicals," remarked chief engineer Eiji Mochizuki at last week's international press launch. Like the predecessor, cars for European markets are built in Hungary while total annual production of around 250,000 cars, will also come from plants, in Japan, India and China.
The Ford Fiesta was the benchmark on chassis dynamics. There's a torsion beam rear suspension system now, which sees Suzuki catching up with the norm in the B or supermini segment. The mission to make it feel properly European in handling and ride included evaluation by a team of European professional drivers.
"Some Europeans told us our cars were too light," said Mochizuki, "especially with the steering, so we wanted to give Swift European strength and solidity."
While Swift internationally comes with a choice of three engines, only the four-cylinder 65bhp 1.3-litre petrol is going to be sold on the Irish market for the present. (The other two are a 75bhp 1.5 litre petrol with variable valve timing and a 1.3 litre turbodiesel with common-rail injection).
Sadly the huge relevancy of the 1.3-litre petrol model to most European markets apparently escaped Suzuki's PR people: for testing there was only the 1.5-litre petrol or the 1.3-litre turbodiesel.
In performance terms, the latter wasn't swift but merely adequate on French mountain roads. There was, however, a good balance between ride comfort and driver control and, all in all, it felt sure-footed, helped in large part by the wide track and long wheelbase.
The cabin is a far cry from past generations of Suzukis, with a thoroughly modern and light ambience. Controls are simple and clear and have a quality feel in construction.
Seating, front and rear, is commodious and rear passengers have reasonable leg space. Boot space is, maybe, an Achilles heel: it's deep and narrow but offers only 213 litres with rear seats in place. The Honda Jazz, in a similar segment, offers 353 litres.
The new Swift will change our thinking about Suzuki when it goes on Irish sale in mid-May. Niall O'Gorman who heads Suzuki Ireland hopes to have prices starting at around €14,500 - and full-year 2006 sales of at least 1,000 cars. "We've never done that figure before for Swift," he says. "In our best year with the old car we sold 650. Obviously we will be relying on conquest sales as well as repeat business."
Suzuki's Irish car buyers, he admitted, are grey or greying, in contrast with young braves who ride Suzuki bikes. Engineer Mochizuki thought likewsie: "We have very conservative, older customers. We need to change the image, get younger buyers and more trendy people."
TV commercials will show the new Swift chasing a football through city streets. It comes to a halt and out steps Man United player Cristiano Ronaldo. "Wanna play?" he says to a group of watching kids. This could be a game worth watching.