Road Test: Suzuki Swift Sport

The Suzuki Swift Sport is the halo model for the new Suzuki Swift range that was introduced to South Africa a year ago. I didn’t particularly enjoy the road behaviour of the standard Swift when I drove it last year, but I’ve been given the assurance that the experience will not be replicated in this spiced up, hunkered down, Swift Sport model.

The most notable changes to the Swift Sport over a standard model are tweaks to the front and rear bumpers, new twin tailpipes, new high-intensity (HID) headlamps, black finish A-pillars, privacy glass and racier 16-inch alloy wheels. On the inside you get Bluetooth connectivity, a USB slot for portable music players, steering wheel mounted audio controls, electric mirrors, electric windows front and rear, a new multi-information display, keyless entry, keyless go and very important for my personal well-being when behind the wheel, a height and reach adjustable steering wheel.

As an everyday proposition the Swift Sport is actually quite surprising. The promise of a 100 kW and 160 Nm, 1.6-litre VVT engine, powering a feather-light Swift (just 1 060 kg kerb weight) got my chin wagging and my right foot revving with excitement. Especially since the previous generation Swift Sport was also a little firecracker to drive. This sporty little Suzuki manages to pull off quite a clever trick in going about its sporty reformation though. Suzuki has made sure to ladle the Swift Sport with a spoonful of common sense and refinement rather than nonsensical sportiness and brash, boy racer bravado.

It is quiet, really comfortable, offers great ergonomics and is much more like a Suzuki Swift C-Class than a Suzuki Swift AMG. That is in no way damning of its performance figures though: 0 – 100 km/h comes up in a reliable sub-nine second time. Suzuki claim 8.7 seconds to be precise and then the Swift Sport will travel onto a top speed of 195 km/h. Predictably for a normally aspirated 1.6-litre engine you will find there is less torque and more power on offer. Peak torque arrives at 4 400 r/min and peak power is all the way up at 6 900 r/min. This gives you full motivation to wring the little car’s neck and keep it bouncing off the rev limiter at every opportunity.

In the safety department the Swift Sport offers six airbags, electronic stability programme (ESP), anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and disc brakes all around. It’s quite a wonder then, that with all these safety and convenience features on board, the Swift Sport has managed to keep its weight so low. Can you imagine if someone decided to make a superleggera model of the Swift Sport? It’d probably weigh in the region of 800 kg. The performance of the Swift may not be overt but, it is spleen stretching when you’re in the mood and rev it up ’til its fit to burst.

Rewardingly however, despite all the decorative Canary Yellow paint, which I loved on this car by the way (Suzuki actually call it Champion Yellow), the Swift Sport doesn’t really look or behave like a fat, gaudy wedding cake; like so many other zooped-up sport models do. Its easy, light and feels the complete opposite of inert. The Sport’s styling add-ons are also well executed; subtle, but relevant. The Swift Sport comes out the other side of the factory looking like a really cool version of the standard Swift after its go-faster treatment.

The composed road manners of the Swift Sport further reinforces this idea of it being a grown up sort of car. Other, hot, super-minis like the RenaultSport Twingo and the Fiat Panda 100HP have booming, droning, exhaust notes and bouncy ride qualities that are just juvenile most of the time. The Swift Sport’s ride quality is smooth and fantastic compared to its over-zealous rivals and the engine is a high-tech performer too – with double over head cams and variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust. It’s much less of an attention seeker though in how it shunts out all its power, yet returns just 6.5 L/100 km and produces only 153 g/km of CO2.

It is the ride that is probably the most rewarding part of the new Suzuki Swift Sport though. The suspension set up has been lowered by 10 mm compared to a standard Swift, but it’s also been revised with changes to the shocks and damper settings. While the lower profile tyres do transmit some more road noise into the cabin, the ride is composed and the interior brilliantly quiet. Any super-mini with this short wheel base and those bigger wheels should crash into and bounce over road imperfections like a Jenga tile, but the Sport’s ride is well sorted.

You’ll need R213 300 for the privilege of driving the new, more refined, but still enjoyable Suzuki Swift Sport. Whether buyers will choose to climb to the top of the Suzuki Swift ladder instead of sliding sideways into a more conventional B or C segment car remains to be seen but, I have come away suitably impressed after my Swift test drive; it is certainly the best Suzuki Swift out there and a good car, no question of that.

What we like…

• Quality, comfort and standard equipment.
• Stunning Champion Yellow paint.
• Great fuel economy.

What we would like…

• More torque would be great, but we appreciate the 1 600 cc’s limitations.
• A bigger boot, but hey, it’s a small car, we’ll get over it.

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