RE: Driven: Suzuki Swift Sport

[JonRB]

I've had my SSS Mk1 out on Thruxton for a giggle (the noise limit was too low to take the Sagaris) and it was an absolute hoot.

[Alucidnation]

kathyp said:

Alucidnation said:

Preferred the A500

No, after owning one of those very cars for a couple of years I can't agree! They look great, externally and internally but steering is very vague, too heavy at low speed and worse than that the car is so jittery at high speeds - not confidence inspiring at all. in that respect the opposite to the ST and the Swift Sport which both felt extremely solid and stable at speed.

and when you're not at high speed in the A500 you get the other terrible aspect of the car - crashing through any bump like nothing else. try going over a speed bump at anything faster than tortoise speed, or drop into any pothole at all, any owners of this car will know what I mean!!!

and last of all, dreadful fuel economy. 30 round town if you're very lucky and low forties on motorway.

on the plus side, they hold their value very well, especially for a fiat - got a terrific price when I sold mine privately

Edited by kathyp on Saturday 17th May 17:34

So, surely you would have not bought it after you test drove it?

[Mercury00]

Maybe she didn't realise on her allowed 15-minute test drive? I've come to hate loads of cars after weeks of owning them.

[mnx42]

Dead thread resurrection alert!
I bought a MY13 one of these about a week ago. I am amazed at how good it is. True, you do have to rev it quite hard to make real progress but the beauty of that is if you aren't in the mood for hooligan stuff you can just drive the car as per normal. Road holding wise its fantastic,probably the best handling hatch I have ever driven.
Economy wise I am currently averaging just under 43 MPG (my old C2 vts averaged 38 MPG).
Equipment wise its got a lot of toys, Cruise, Climate, Auto lights etc etc. All in all I am really very pleased with it. I looked at DS3's and Corsa VXR's etc ( which I know are quicker) but with the amount of commuting miles I do (500 per month) this seemed like a great all round daily for me.

[ClockworkCupcake]

mnx42 said:

Dead thread resurrection alert!
I bought a MY13 one of these about a week ago. I am amazed at how good it is. True, you do have to rev it quite hard to make real progress but the beauty of that is if you aren't in the mood for hooligan stuff you can just drive the car as per normal. Road holding wise its fantastic,probably the best handling hatch I have ever driven.
Economy wise I am currently averaging just under 43 MPG (my old C2 vts averaged 38 MPG).
Equipment wise its got a lot of toys, Cruise, Climate, Auto lights etc etc. All in all I am really very pleased with it. I looked at DS3's and Corsa VXR's etc ( which I know are quicker) but with the amount of commuting miles I do (500 per month) this seemed like a great all round daily for me.

The Mk2 isn't isn't a bad car but is a shadow of the Mk1, sadly.

You can read my thoughts on the difference here: http://datahamster.com/2015/04/25/suzuki-swift-spo...

[mnx42]

ClockworkCupcake said:

mnx42 said:

Dead thread resurrection alert!
I bought a MY13 one of these about a week ago. I am amazed at how good it is. True, you do have to rev it quite hard to make real progress but the beauty of that is if you aren't in the mood for hooligan stuff you can just drive the car as per normal. Road holding wise its fantastic,probably the best handling hatch I have ever driven.
Economy wise I am currently averaging just under 43 MPG (my old C2 vts averaged 38 MPG).
Equipment wise its got a lot of toys, Cruise, Climate, Auto lights etc etc. All in all I am really very pleased with it. I looked at DS3's and Corsa VXR's etc ( which I know are quicker) but with the amount of commuting miles I do (500 per month) this seemed like a great all round daily for me.

The Mk2 isn't isn't a bad car but is a shadow of the Mk1, sadly.

You can read my thoughts on the difference here: http://datahamster.com/2015/04/25/suzuki-swift-spo...

Thanks for the link. Having never driven a Mk1 I have nothing to compare mine too. The Mk1 was never in the equation for me as the vts only had 5 gears and sat at 4000rpm at 70 mph too and it is annoying doing the mileage I do (as you have found out also). If you say it has lost some of its swagger then I have no problem taking your word for that, however I still love this thing... maybe I should grab a MK1 as well... they are quite cheap nowadays.

[ClockworkCupcake]

mnx42 said:

maybe I should grab a MK1 as well... they are quite cheap nowadays.

They are indeed. I only got £2,600 for mine in PX and it only had 55k miles on it and was in outstanding condition. Cheap as chips to insure and run too, and an absolute hoot to drive. So much fun!

[VeeFource]

ClockworkCupcake said:

The Mk2 isn't isn't a bad car but is a shadow of the Mk1, sadly.

You can read my thoughts on the difference here: http://datahamster.com/2015/04/25/suzuki-swift-spo...

Having got my Mum a mk1 (admittedly a bit of a PHer recommendation) and having managed to borrow it a bit more often than is polite to, I decided I'd very much like one but with the extras offered by the mk2. But after taking one for a test drive I was of a similar opinion and was very disappointed. However, I decided to give it another chance so took a second test drive and realised actually the main thing that was missing having made it more refined was the noise. Ok so the steering is lighter and the suspension more supple, but this actually makes it a far easier car to live with as the mk1 can get tiring on the commute to work or especially longer journeys. The 6th gear and the cruise on the mk2 certainly help with this too. So I decided to take a chance and got the mk2 with the intention of removing a few key bits of sound insulation. This in my opinion makes all the difference and now is virtually as much fun as the mk1 but being a good deal more agreeable day to day. It might not be quite as responsive, but with the mk1 borderline scary when squirming under heavy braking, I think it's not really a compromise. That said I do hope Suzuki don't make the next version any more refined as this one's pretty much perfect (with a few minor tweaks).

[LuS1fer]

Funnily enough, I can report pretty much the same experience, in the transition from the 3.5 star (EVO) Fiesta 2.0 ST and its replacement 5 star Fiesta ST2 Turbo.

The older car had nicer, heavier steering, was noisier and the 5 speed box was too low geared to the point you could take corners in 5th. However, I loved it as it was proper old skool hot hatch. I only traded it as I backed my immaculate 07 ST into a stone wall, right on the corner so after testing a 1.0 Zetec S and the ST, the new ST was plainly the better car of those two.

However, the additional refinement. much lighter and vaguer steering and 6 speed box (nowhere near as precise as the 5 speed)means that, largely, it is less fun on a day to day basis though undoubtedly better on a longer run. The old ST had character, this new one, less so, to the point you doubt the road test reviews.
Interestingly, though the old car was £200-odd a year to tax and the new one is £130, they both say 33mpg on the dashboard for general use.

Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 1st January 16:13

[Ilovejapcrap]

I'd fancy one of these just wish they'd kept the shape of the 1st swift sport.

[dieseluser07]

Has anyone compared the new to old one in terms of performance.

I know its only 13bhp extra but it is also a bit lighter and has another gear so does it feel much quicker than the old one?

[ClockworkCupcake]

dieseluser07 said:

Has anyone compared the new to old one in terms of performance.

I know its only 13bhp extra but it is also a bit lighter and has another gear so does it feel much quicker than the old one?

See my earlier post where I linked to a blog post I made comparing the the two.

TL;DR summary - it feels marginally more accelerative, yet also more sluggish due to poorer throttle response and increased flywheel effect.

[dieseluser07]

ClockworkCupcake said:

dieseluser07 said:

Has anyone compared the new to old one in terms of performance.

I know its only 13bhp extra but it is also a bit lighter and has another gear so does it feel much quicker than the old one?

See my earlier post where I linked to a blog post I made comparing the the two.

TL;DR summary - it feels marginally more accelerative, yet also more sluggish due to poorer throttle response and increased flywheel effect.

Thank you, bit hard to comprehend what you mean lol but thanks

[VeeFource]

ClockworkCupcake said:

See my earlier post where I linked to a blog post I made comparing the the two.

TL;DR summary - it feels marginally more accelerative, yet also more sluggish due to poorer throttle response and increased flywheel effect.

Have to say I don't agree with this from my experience. The mk1 is a bit notorious for it's poor throttle response which is most noticeable when blipping the throttle on the up shift. You have to purposefully allow for a delay whereas in my mk2 it responds instantly.

I'd also like to add from my previous post that one of the things that has made the biggest difference to making my mk2 as fun as my Mum's mk1 is the addition of a rear arb. The car barely rolls in corners at all now, feels more agile and yet is still more supple than the mk1. It's the single best mod you can do and in my view makes it the perfect compromise between raw hot hatch feel and a capable long distance machine.

I wouldn't worry about differences between the two in terms of performance as the numbers are so similar you'd need accurate timing gear to be able to tell the difference and that's not really the point of this car. There are plenty of faster cars out there, but few will put such a big smile on your face on UK roads. Owning this car really does highlight that performance figures are really not all that related to fun, it's more how the car's actually set up out of the box.

[ClockworkCupcake]

VeeFource said:

Have to say I don't agree with this from my experience. The mk1 is a bit notorious for it's poor throttle response which is most noticeable when blipping the throttle on the up shift. You have to purposefully allow for a delay whereas in my mk2 it responds instantly.

I'll bow to your greater experience with the Mk2 then. Certainly it was my experience when test driving a Mk2 compared to my Mk1, but I fully accept that it was a sample size of one and maybe I test drove a poor Mk2 and had a good Mk1.

[VeeFource]

ClockworkCupcake said:

I'll bow to your greater experience with the Mk2 then. Certainly it was my experience when test driving a Mk2 compared to my Mk1, but I fully accept that it was a sample size of one and maybe I test drove a poor Mk2 and had a good Mk1.

There is a bit of a delay when you get on the gas with the mk1, but other than that they both feel very similar (unless it's because they've actively improved the mk2 over the years). What might have given the impression the mk1 is more responsive is how urgent the engine sounds when it comes on song over the mk2. This can largely be addressed on the mk2 by removing engine bay sound insulation but I think the noise is still a tiny bit less snarly sounding due to the different inlet designs. I'm sure this can probably be addressed by an induction kit but this would void the warranty so I'm leaving it alone for now.

[dieseluser07]

VeeFource said:

There is a bit of a delay when you get on the gas with the mk1, but other than that they both feel very similar (unless it's because they've actively improved the mk2 over the years). What might have given the impression the mk1 is more responsive is how urgent the engine sounds when it comes on song over the mk2. This can largely be addressed on the mk2 by removing engine bay sound insulation but I think the noise is still a tiny bit less snarly sounding due to the different inlet designs. I'm sure this can probably be addressed by an induction kit but this would void the warranty so I'm leaving it alone for now.

Ive been in a mk1 and the engine sound above 4k is pretty damn nice for a 1.6

[dieseluser07]

dieseluser07 said:

VeeFource said:

There is a bit of a delay when you get on the gas with the mk1, but other than that they both feel very similar (unless it's because they've actively improved the mk2 over the years). What might have given the impression the mk1 is more responsive is how urgent the engine sounds when it comes on song over the mk2. This can largely be addressed on the mk2 by removing engine bay sound insulation but I think the noise is still a tiny bit less snarly sounding due to the different inlet designs. I'm sure this can probably be addressed by an induction kit but this would void the warranty so I'm leaving it alone for now.

Ive been in a mk1 and the engine sound above 4k is pretty damn nice for a 1.6

So the engine noise is a lot quiter on the new one?

[VeeFource]

dieseluser07 said:

So the engine noise is a lot quiter on the new one?

A fair bit yes, but it's easily liberated into the cabin. You'll need a fruitier exhaust to equal the noise on the outside though thanks to the blasted Euro reg's. A Milltek will sound like a mk1 stock exhaust does but is not cheap at £500

[ClockworkCupcake]

I'm still intruiged by the assertion that the Mk1 has poor throttle response. The throttle response, low flywheel effect and high engine braking, were things I really loved about it and when I test drove the Mk2 I instantly felt it was lesser in all those respects.

However, having said that, we are all different and have different opinions, preferences and likes.