ONE of my favourite superminis, the Suzuki Swift, has just celebrated its 40th birthday.
And what better way to mark this milestone than with an all-new model – introducing the fourth generation Swift.
Visually, it’s more of an evolution than a revolution in the design department, as there’s no mistaking that it’s a Swift.
It retains its muscular appearance of the previous gen but Suzuki has added blackedout pillars creating the appearance of a floating roof.
Up front there’s a piano-black front grille and L-shaped LED headlamps, and at the rear the Swift has a hatch spoiler.
The hidden rear door handles of the previous gen are gone in favour of regular door handles, which is a shame, because at first glance the last model looked like a sporty three-door hatch.
Power comes from a new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that’s mated to a self-charging hybrid system powered by a 10Ah lithium-ion battery plus an Integrated Starter Generator and this ISG unit has a power output of 2.3kW with a torque figure of 60Nm.
Combined, the total output is 82bhp and 112Nm of torque at just 4,500rpm.
The acceleration time to 62mph is improved by five per cent to 12.5 seconds for the manual model and 11.9secs for the optional CVT auto gearbox, but the manual is much more fun to drive.
For the Swift with manual gearbox, the Hybrid system helps it reach just 99g/km of CO2 emissions and achieve a fuel economy figure of 64.2mpg.
On the UK launch of the new Swift I found 50mpg more realistic, but that was after some spirited driving on fun, twisty country back roads.
If you opt for the CVT auto gearbox then the fuel economy dips to 58.8mpg and the CO2 rises to 108g/km. Still impressive figures for a petrol engine.
With only 82bhp, the Swift is no rocket ship, but it handles superbly and the Suzuki engineers have made various changes to the suspension like increasing the front stabiliser bar’s diameter and adding Teflon sheets to the stabiliser mounts to increase roll rigidity, enhance handling stability and improve steering feel.
Suzuki even offer a Swift fitted with its ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system, perfect for our wet, cold climate and an option that’s unique in the supermini segment.
Once again, Suzuki hasn’t skimped on equipment levels with the new Swift coming fully loaded with standard kit.
That includes heated seats, something some luxury car manufacturers only offer as an option.
The equipment levels are extensive, with 16-inch alloys, LED headlamps, sat-nav, rear view camera, rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, a nine-inch infotainment system with connectivity for both Apple
CarPlay and Android, plus keyless entry and keyless start.
Safety is a priority, with Driver Monitoring System, Dual Sensor Brake Support, Lane Departure Warning and Weaving Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Monitor and enhanced Traffic Sign Recognition all fitted as standard.
There’s eight metallic colours with four additional dual tone colours available with either a black or grey roof depending on the chosen body colour.
And the stunning Frontier Blue Pearl Metallic, that apparently a Suzuki designer took 10 years to perfect, involves a special threelayer coating process.
The new Swift starts at £18,699 for the Motion trim level and £19,799 for the range-topping Ultra model, and that includes Suzuki’s Seven-Year Warranty.
Sun Newspaper Irish Motoring Editor
