Suzuki Swift Sport: Review

They don't make hot hatches like they used to? Actually Suzuki still does

We can be guilty here on PH of moaning a bit about how things ain't what they used to be. Cars have got too complex, too expensive, not involving enough, too heavy, the performance is impressive but irrelevant to what you can actually enjoy on the road and so it goes.

In an age of bells and whistles Swift looks subtle

What a blessed relief it is to get in a car like the second-gen Suzuki Swift Sport then. Because things, it seems, ARE what they used to be. The Sport weighs a little over a tonne, has a normally aspirated engine that seems to relish having the nuts revved off it to make meaningful progress, a short-geared six-speed manual transmission, doesn't use much fuel and has been set up by people who aren't scared of engineering in traditional hot hatch traits like throttle adjustability.

Price as tested
The Swift Sport basically is an old-school hot hatch then, just one that also comes with modern creature comforts like 'safety'. Decent headlights. A basic but usable touchscreen nav system and DAB radio - the latter a recent addition to the standard spec along with a five-door option last year. It's a refreshing car because it seems to have absolutely no pretentions whatsoever - there's no contrived retro posturing like a Mini or Fiat 500, it doesn't do anything whatsoever to stand out from the crowd and just cracks on with providing amusing transportation at a reasonable price. A point hammered home by the spec sheet for our test car. Basic RRP? £14,499. Price as tested? £14,499. In an age where the typical press car flatters to deceive with a plus-20 per cent options garnish that's a nice number to see on the bottom line.

Nice skinny wheel, manual shift, decent kit...

The fact that the styling, such that it is, seems influenced by Boba Fett's body armour doesn't do any harm either.

The modern trimmings on the Swift make day to day life with it that bit more pleasant but at heart this is a proper old school fast hatch. Is it actually hot or just pleasantly warm? Given 200hp seems expected for true bragging rights these days it's probably just the latter but in traditional terms 136hp is more than a 205 GTI had and enough to be going on with if driving enjoyment is about more than 0-62 times. Which of course it is. Closest new-school rival to the Swift would be the recently Ecoboosted and turbocharged Fiesta Zetec S, now packing a 1.0-litre 125hp/147lb ft three-cylinder engine with claimed 65.7 combined mpg potential but more expensive with a £14,995 starting price, not as fast by the numbers and only available as a three-door and with a five-speed manual.

Spec sheet warriors won't get it - their loss

The way we used to live
Back to the Swift then. It's traditionally Japanese in the way the doors clang and the plastics feel a bit cheap in places but also in the way the six-speed gearbox slots in positively and quickly and the slim-rimmed steering wheel chatters away in your hands. The assistance is a little synthetic but the weighting is good, turn-in positive and trustworthy and, like everything else, there's just a pleasing sense of balance to all the control weights and responses. The M16A 1.6-litre engine stands out in this day and age for its lack of forced induction and need for 4,400rpm to get maximum torque rather than the thousand-odd of most modern turbo engines. The undersquare layout (78x83mm bore and stroke) and internal inertia seems to rob it of that last percentage of zinginess you might hope for when coming on and off the throttle but Japanese engines have a habit of loosening up with a few miles so we'll hold out hope for that happening in this case too.

Good honest fun at a good honest price

Special praise must go to the ride too, which proves that a 'sporty' set up (the Sport gets beefed up bushings, bigger wheel bearings, increased spring rates and 'rebound springs' on the front struts) needn't come at the price of comfort. Sure, it's firm but there's a pleasing level of compliance in the initial suspension stroke that's matched with an equal level of composure further into its travel and as the loads increase. There's nothing fancy going on here beyond decent tuning; the fact that with the ESP off Suzuki is willing to let the Swift feel safely and predictably throttle adjustable is also highly commendable. It's even pretty refined and smooth on the motorway, though the squishy seats lack a little support on longer journeys.

So, no, things ain't what they used to be. Sometimes they're actually better.

SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT FIVE-DOOR
Engine: 1,586cc 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 136@6,900rpm
Torque (lb ft): 118@4,400rpm
0-62mph: 8.7sec
Top speed: 121mph
Weight: 1,045kg
MPG: 44.1mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 147g/km
Price: £14,499 (as tested, three-door £13,999)

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