Sunday Drive: Suzuki Swift Sport

Saturday, 12 September 2020

• SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT

• Base price: $30,990

• Powertrain and economy: 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder, 103kW/230Nm, 6-speed automatic, FWD, combined economy 6.1L/100km, CO2 140g/km (source:RightCar).

• Vital statistics: 3890mm long, 1735mm wide, 1495mm high, 1450mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 265 litres, 17-inch alloy wheels.

• We like: Brilliant engine, excellent transmission, just so much fun.

• We don't like: Tiny boot, not much rear leg room.

Much like the recently refreshed Ignis, Suzuki has given the brilliant Swift Sport a tickle-up for 2020, with new tech but nothing that messes with what has proven to be a truly successful formula.

Which basically means that Suzuki has added a digital speedo, heated mirrors and some new colours into the Swift Sport range, as well as new safety tech including blind-spot monitoring, rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert in addition to the Swift Sport’s existing safety tech, which includes autonomous emergency braking, driver fatigue warning, high-beam assist and adaptive cruise control.

Little else has changed, so the Swift Sport still looks every bit the handsome, eager little belter it has long been and, thankfully, the fantastic BoosterJet 1.4-litre turbo engine remains the joyous, free-revving heart of the brilliant little package.

**READ MORE:

* Road test review: Hyundai i20

* Suzuki Swift Sport improves its tech game

* Road test review: Suzuki Baleno

* Three's a treat for the all-new Suzuki Swift

**

While 103kW and 230Nm may not seem like an over-abundance of power and torque, you do have to take into account the fact that the Swift Sport weighs a frankly miniscule 990kg, which combines to make one hell of a fun package, which is what the Swift Sport has always been about.

Unlike a lot of other manufacturers Suzuki treats the Sport badge with respect and, as a result, has always made meaningful changes to components like the suspension, chassis and brakes to transform the Swift into a Sport.

That means the Swift Sport is a riotous blast of pure joy on the road, with the grunty and flexible engine combining brilliantly with the fantastically light and agile chassis. But there’s nothing really new about that, as the current Swift Sport has always combined those attributes in the perfect doses.

What is new works well, but hardly sets the pulse racing – the rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring work well and are nicely calibrated, while rear parking sensors are always a welcome addition.

What they do bring, however, is a solid upgrade to Suzuki’s already excellent safety and assist package that packs a lot of features as standard in a $30K car that are optional in cars many, many times the Swift’s price, such as adaptive cruise control.

But it is still that wonderfully fluid and flexible nature of both the chassis and drivetrain that sets the Swift Sport apart from the competition – not that it actually has that much in the way of direct competition.

I mean, despite the fact it is a small hatch with decent power that is massively fun, it isn’t really a hot hatch, particularly not by today’s standards, and as such comes in at significantly less money than the likes of the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI, both of which are priced at $39,990 and produce 147kW, but are also both between 300 and 400kg heavier.

Okay, so usually about here is where we interrupt the flow of complimentary waffle about how good the engine and chassis are to say “but I would still prefer the manual”.

And while that is probably still technically true the six-speed automatic fitted to the Swift Sport is so damn good that, on balance, if it were my daily driver, I could happily make the move to the self-shifter.

Slick, smooth and beautifully matched to the engine, the Swift Sport’s transmission (that is shares with the also-excellent RS) is light years ahead of the CVT the lesser Swifts are blighted with and also features a delightfully responsive manual mode.

Is it as good as a proper manual for the enthusiast driver? No, of course not, but it is close enough that making the compromise to live with it in urban traffic on a daily basis is a far easier thing to swallow.

At $30,990 for the automatic, the Swift Sport is such a convincingly good little package that it is all-but impossible to miss its wide-ranging appeal and sales success, particularly when you take into account the amount of tech Suzuki packs into that small asking price.

The safety package and driver assists are impressive enough, but the touchscreen infotainment system that includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard as well puts a lot of considerably more expensive players to shame.

But at the heart of it all is the Swift Sport’s uncanny ability to be just plain fun to drive regardless of whether you are thrashing it on a winding back road or just pottering around town.

It’s delightfully perky and flexible nature makes it perfectly suited to either situation and it never fails to raise a smile whenever you get behind the wheel.

The Swift Sport offers so much and yet asks little in the way of compromise – okay, so the rear leg room is restricted and the boot is tiny, but it is perfectly comfortable and docile around town, yet so sharp and precise through the twisty stuff you can’t help but love it.