Update: 2,500 miles in the Suzuki Swift Sport
Mileage: 2,500 miles
Fuel consumption: 37.7mpg
0-62mph: 8.9 seconds
Top speed: 124mph
Insurance: 9E
Price: £12,068 on the road
Options: Premium Navigation and audio with music hard drive (£1,500 dealer option)
Likes:
Looks: Everyone I have come across seems to be impressed with the hot hatch’s cute and sporty design.
Seats: I quite often take my parents for a spin in test cars and the first thing my mum said when she got into the Swift was how comfortable the seats are. Despite the ride being very firm, the sculpted seats do prevent discomfort.
Steering: I’ve driven a few cars recently with super-light, un-focussed electric steering and it’s always a pleasure to get back into the Swift. The steering is not t0o light and is sharp with a great feel.
We’ll get back to you on:
Running costs: Fuel is on the rise again and the Swift Sport runs on super unleaded which costs around 104p per litre at the moment. My fuel economy is at 37.7mpg which is close to the 39.2 claimed average but I spend most of my time on A-roads and motorways where the Swift should be hitting 46.3mpg.
Breakdowns: I had to call the breakdown people out for a second time, this time because of a flat battery. The car was idle for just over a week and the battery had completely died. The recovery man blamed it on the weather but it was still a frustration.
Over the past ten days I’ve been munching up the miles in the Suzuki Swift taking the little hot hatch to Somerset and Liverpool. And it seems to get better every time I drive it.
Now it’s got a few thousand miles on the clock it’s perfectly run-in, relishing the moment I put my foot down. The 1.6-litre engine with its 125bhp feels livelier now.
Superb hot hatch handling
The performance isn’t breathtaking but the way the chassis takes the power is brilliant. I recently drove the 125bhp Renault Clio GT and it handled and gripped well but I got into the Swift later that day and found it to be a far better handling model all together. The steering on the Swift is so much more focussed. While the Clio shares some DNA with the new Clio Renaultsport 200 I found the Swift Sport to be a closer match in terms of its dynamics. And it’s nearly £1,500 cheaper than the Clio GT.
The five-speed gearbox has its pros and cons. On one side it’s still tight as a nut, but because it’s only five-speed the engine is noisy on motorways and I’m only getting 37.66mpg out of it. It’s an increase of 2.9mpg over my previous test but still not overly impressive. A six-speed ‘box, as used in the similar-powered Mini Cooper, would improve economy significantly. However, it would also up the price of the Swift which is currently superb value for money. Carbon emissions of 171g/km mean the Swift Sport costs £175-a-year to tax.
Breakdown woes
As with my previous update, I had to make use of the free Suzuki breakdown service when I got back from a holiday. It had been left idle for a little over a week and the battery was completely dead. When the recovery man turned up he put some jump plugs on the battery and it was alive and well instantly.
Unfortunately, the mpg read-out has gone all European on me and now explains the economy in litres-per-100km. I can’t figure out how to turn it back to mpg which means I’ll have to do what every man hates – open the manual.
Aside from the battery (and an incident with a pothole) the Swift hasn’t suffered any mechanical problems. Both of these would have been prevented if a) Britain’s roads weren’t decayed and b) the Swift is used regularly. It wants to be driven. The Swift Sport has got soul.
It’s still pretty much a brand new car and the interior feels rock solid, but the paintjob riles me. It looks awesome in white, but it’s never white for long which means I find myself having to take it to the jet wash for a £3 blast.
Even though I’ve had to have the breakdown people out twice, I love the Suzuki Swift Sport. I’ve even started scanning the classifieds for a used one. You can pick one up a ‘56’ plate with 27,000 miles on the clock for around £7,500 on Auto Trader. They appear to be holding their value pretty well.
The summer is fast approaching and we’ve got a few interesting tests lined up for the Swift Sport so keep an eye out for the next updates.
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