Yet Another Suzuki Swift Sport Story. . .
Discussion
Phew, a thread; I haven't done one of these in a while! Thankfully, I have something worth sharing this time!
After a year of inactivity and having to bare the brunt of a diesel Astra. I've finally saved enough to by myself a decent 'hot-hatch'.
Sadly, I failed to see my last Peugeot 106 project through, it had subsided to massive amounts of rust and a hidden past which was draining me money wise - so I pulled the plug after I lost heart in the project, and sold it on last July. As a result, I lost all motivation and desire for a decent performance car at the time. So I stuck with my diesel daily driver for the meantime. But, whilst sticking with my trusty old Astra (no pictures, sadly!); I hadn't realised how much money I actually saved by not pouring it into my 106. By this point though, even more good news came via a new job, which was a big step up from where I worked at the time.
With all things on the up, the spark for a car I could actually take pride in and enjoy, had remerged.
Days of browsing classifieds turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into months. Originally, the plan was to stick with my Astra as a daily and run a fairly solid older car on the weekends; my heart was originally set on either a late 1.9 205 GTI or a three door Miami blue 309 GTI. But weirdly, I just couldn't find a car that fitted the bill. I did more brainstorming, but I still couldn't find anything that took my fancy. It had to be clean, original, low mileage, have a decent service history and most important of all; it must have the ability to make me love it the more I drove it. I looked for so long, that I gave up eventually - only to take time out and think properly about what exactly I wanted. Plus, with my date set on starting my new job; my focus was turned elsewhere for the time being.
Until my last few weeks in work before I left, an unsung hero had emerged, completely out of the blue (literally!). A blue, '04 registered, 90k miles, Suzuki Ignis Sport had been traded in by a customer who bought a brand new Peugeot 107. It was also traded in at a stupidly low price of £600. I'd immediately asked for a test drive in it, and I instantly fell in love. . . what a charmer of a car! Fun, naturally aspirated, well set-up and cheap(ish) on fuel - all straight from the factory; perfect I thought. Sadly though, I couldn't agree on the price that they wanted for it - perks of the job eh? So, back to the drawing board!
A few days later, I visited my local Suzuki dealer hoping to see if they had any Ignis Sport's in as trade-in stock. Highly unlikely, but worth a try I thought! Not surprisingly, I didn't find an Ignis Sport. However, this popped up. . .
It wasn't washed and made to look good as most of the cars on the forecourt, but because of that exact same reason, it stood out like a sore thumb. I had to investigate some more. It was a shade over two years old, it had done 17,200 miles, completely standard, owned from new by an elderly chap and it was absolutely immaculate inside and out. Best of all, it was only traded in an hour before I got to the dealership! - Hot from the oven. I was straight to the showroom to ask for a test drive. The salesman who I dealt with was great, no small talk - nothing, just the words - "Take it for a drive, I'll let the car do the talking". So, me and the other-half (not the salesman!) went out for a quick blast.
It turned out that the sedated salesman was onto something, within the first few miles of the test drive - I decided that I had to buy it. It had everything I was looking for, perfect - Plus, even my girlfriend liked it! I got back, did the paperwork and parted with my well earned cash. A week later, I started my job, sold my diesel Astra to an old work colleague and I went to pick up my new daily driver.
Sadly, I don't have many photos; only because I don't want to stop driving the thing once I get going - with driving roads like the 'Evo Triangle' only a few miles away - who can blame me!? Even the smallest of trips to the local Tesco turn into one great big hoon.
As I type out this thread, I've had the Swift for just over two weeks and I've managed to cover 2000 miles - ouch! In the past couple of thousand miles, I've only come to love the car more and more. The only issues of a rear bump stop and exhaust heat shield have been replaced under warranty - so nothing major thankfully!
Cars like the Swift sport are in my eyes, much more of a 'hot hatch' than some of today's more rowdy 200bhp, forced induction beasties such as the Corsa VXR, new Clio and the new 208 GTI; in my opinion of course.
It feels old school raw. It's turn-in is sharp, responsive and offers mega adjustability once you carry on through a corner. Brownie points to Suzuki for keeping the steering nice and heavy in comparison to the majority of modern cars nowadays. The car even has the ability to induce some naughty lift-off oversteer, even with the ESP on. Very much like the Peugeot's of yesteryear - bar the addition of ESP of course.
It's mighty little petrol 125bhp 1.6 powerplant is just as playful too, not offering break-neck torque - but lots of high revving, naturally aspirated fun. The Swift Sport is in It's element at 4500rpm and above, which makes stitching together those twisty b-road corners immensely fun, especially with It's super-crisp gearshift 'clicking' away through the gears. The only downside being, I sometimes get the gentle reminder that It's a fly-by-wire throttle, which does affect It's adjustability by a fraction - not by much though, It's barely noticeable once your having fun in it! Best of all, It's not too bad on It's fuel either - only when run on 98 RON fuel, mind. Standard unleaded fuel around my area isn't of very good quality, and the Swift doesn't respond well to said fuel.
Old school fun, in a modern, reliable package!
Plans are to keep it standard for another six months until It's warranty expires. After then, I'll be replacing the discs and pads with something that offers a little more bite, along with a fresh set of tyres, which will probably need replacing sooner than six months away. I'll then be aiming to reach 180bhp, more than likely via a supercharger, new exhaust system and a few bits to aid it in It's breathing. I'm looking to fit a LSD, and a fairly decent set of Ohlins coilvers before then though; just to aid the car in It's future power changes - working upwards and all that!
I'll take some semi-decent photos when I get a chance to take the camera out, not just shoddy iPhone pictures! Also, It'll be subjected to It's very first trackday experience next month, hoorah!
P.S. - It has been washed thoroughly since those photos!
After a year of inactivity and having to bare the brunt of a diesel Astra. I've finally saved enough to by myself a decent 'hot-hatch'.
Sadly, I failed to see my last Peugeot 106 project through, it had subsided to massive amounts of rust and a hidden past which was draining me money wise - so I pulled the plug after I lost heart in the project, and sold it on last July. As a result, I lost all motivation and desire for a decent performance car at the time. So I stuck with my diesel daily driver for the meantime. But, whilst sticking with my trusty old Astra (no pictures, sadly!); I hadn't realised how much money I actually saved by not pouring it into my 106. By this point though, even more good news came via a new job, which was a big step up from where I worked at the time.
With all things on the up, the spark for a car I could actually take pride in and enjoy, had remerged.
Days of browsing classifieds turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into months. Originally, the plan was to stick with my Astra as a daily and run a fairly solid older car on the weekends; my heart was originally set on either a late 1.9 205 GTI or a three door Miami blue 309 GTI. But weirdly, I just couldn't find a car that fitted the bill. I did more brainstorming, but I still couldn't find anything that took my fancy. It had to be clean, original, low mileage, have a decent service history and most important of all; it must have the ability to make me love it the more I drove it. I looked for so long, that I gave up eventually - only to take time out and think properly about what exactly I wanted. Plus, with my date set on starting my new job; my focus was turned elsewhere for the time being.
Until my last few weeks in work before I left, an unsung hero had emerged, completely out of the blue (literally!). A blue, '04 registered, 90k miles, Suzuki Ignis Sport had been traded in by a customer who bought a brand new Peugeot 107. It was also traded in at a stupidly low price of £600. I'd immediately asked for a test drive in it, and I instantly fell in love. . . what a charmer of a car! Fun, naturally aspirated, well set-up and cheap(ish) on fuel - all straight from the factory; perfect I thought. Sadly though, I couldn't agree on the price that they wanted for it - perks of the job eh? So, back to the drawing board!
A few days later, I visited my local Suzuki dealer hoping to see if they had any Ignis Sport's in as trade-in stock. Highly unlikely, but worth a try I thought! Not surprisingly, I didn't find an Ignis Sport. However, this popped up. . .
It wasn't washed and made to look good as most of the cars on the forecourt, but because of that exact same reason, it stood out like a sore thumb. I had to investigate some more. It was a shade over two years old, it had done 17,200 miles, completely standard, owned from new by an elderly chap and it was absolutely immaculate inside and out. Best of all, it was only traded in an hour before I got to the dealership! - Hot from the oven. I was straight to the showroom to ask for a test drive. The salesman who I dealt with was great, no small talk - nothing, just the words - "Take it for a drive, I'll let the car do the talking". So, me and the other-half (not the salesman!) went out for a quick blast.
It turned out that the sedated salesman was onto something, within the first few miles of the test drive - I decided that I had to buy it. It had everything I was looking for, perfect - Plus, even my girlfriend liked it! I got back, did the paperwork and parted with my well earned cash. A week later, I started my job, sold my diesel Astra to an old work colleague and I went to pick up my new daily driver.
Sadly, I don't have many photos; only because I don't want to stop driving the thing once I get going - with driving roads like the 'Evo Triangle' only a few miles away - who can blame me!? Even the smallest of trips to the local Tesco turn into one great big hoon.
As I type out this thread, I've had the Swift for just over two weeks and I've managed to cover 2000 miles - ouch! In the past couple of thousand miles, I've only come to love the car more and more. The only issues of a rear bump stop and exhaust heat shield have been replaced under warranty - so nothing major thankfully!
Cars like the Swift sport are in my eyes, much more of a 'hot hatch' than some of today's more rowdy 200bhp, forced induction beasties such as the Corsa VXR, new Clio and the new 208 GTI; in my opinion of course.
It feels old school raw. It's turn-in is sharp, responsive and offers mega adjustability once you carry on through a corner. Brownie points to Suzuki for keeping the steering nice and heavy in comparison to the majority of modern cars nowadays. The car even has the ability to induce some naughty lift-off oversteer, even with the ESP on. Very much like the Peugeot's of yesteryear - bar the addition of ESP of course.
It's mighty little petrol 125bhp 1.6 powerplant is just as playful too, not offering break-neck torque - but lots of high revving, naturally aspirated fun. The Swift Sport is in It's element at 4500rpm and above, which makes stitching together those twisty b-road corners immensely fun, especially with It's super-crisp gearshift 'clicking' away through the gears. The only downside being, I sometimes get the gentle reminder that It's a fly-by-wire throttle, which does affect It's adjustability by a fraction - not by much though, It's barely noticeable once your having fun in it! Best of all, It's not too bad on It's fuel either - only when run on 98 RON fuel, mind. Standard unleaded fuel around my area isn't of very good quality, and the Swift doesn't respond well to said fuel.
Old school fun, in a modern, reliable package!
Plans are to keep it standard for another six months until It's warranty expires. After then, I'll be replacing the discs and pads with something that offers a little more bite, along with a fresh set of tyres, which will probably need replacing sooner than six months away. I'll then be aiming to reach 180bhp, more than likely via a supercharger, new exhaust system and a few bits to aid it in It's breathing. I'm looking to fit a LSD, and a fairly decent set of Ohlins coilvers before then though; just to aid the car in It's future power changes - working upwards and all that!
I'll take some semi-decent photos when I get a chance to take the camera out, not just shoddy iPhone pictures! Also, It'll be subjected to It's very first trackday experience next month, hoorah!
P.S. - It has been washed thoroughly since those photos!
Edited by MarvinManUK on Tuesday 9th April 21:13
Edited by MarvinManUK on Tuesday 9th April 21:15
Edited by MarvinManUK on Wednesday 10th April 19:54
Good post. Tempted to save up for a Swift Sport myself. I had a new Swift SZ-L (1.2 with sporty bits) for a week and liked it, it handled fantastically and would be brilliant with more power. I live about an hour from the EVO so was a bit annoyed that I didn't get chance to visit when I had the Swift.
I love these but I'd be tempted by one of these on top of the purchase of the swift...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-Swift-Sport-2006-...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-Swift-Sport-2006-...
tuffer said:
Who is the Blond chick?
I was wondering how long that would take! 
It's Miss MarvinMan. I've just ordered some R's Racing front discs and pads for her (the car that is), along with a few other bits and bobs; nothing too major as the discs and pads were stupendously expensive. I'm not used to the cost of japanese aftermarket parts after my little 106!
A new set of Goodyear EF1's all round are also being sorted at the end of the month, 195/45-17 is certainly an odd size it seems!
Nice car!! My younger brother has exactly the same car, same colour, age and similar mileage.
When your looking to change the exhaust, you have to pay a bit extra compared to other exhaust systems for a Raggazzon one. I think it cost my brother around £700 for the cat back, and a centre pipe to remove the secondary cat (which still passes the MOT) sounds much better than the others that make it sound a tad boy racer. I will see if I can get a video of his to give you an idea of what it's like
When your looking to change the exhaust, you have to pay a bit extra compared to other exhaust systems for a Raggazzon one. I think it cost my brother around £700 for the cat back, and a centre pipe to remove the secondary cat (which still passes the MOT) sounds much better than the others that make it sound a tad boy racer. I will see if I can get a video of his to give you an idea of what it's like
JoshV8 said:
Nice car!! My younger brother has exactly the same car, same colour, age and similar mileage.
When your looking to change the exhaust, you have to pay a bit extra compared to other exhaust systems for a Raggazzon one. I think it cost my brother around £700 for the cat back, and a centre pipe to remove the secondary cat (which still passes the MOT) sounds much better than the others that make it sound a tad boy racer. I will see if I can get a video of his to give you an idea of what it's like
Handy bit of information there, thank you! An exhaust is the next step along with some fresh tyres, for next month.When your looking to change the exhaust, you have to pay a bit extra compared to other exhaust systems for a Raggazzon one. I think it cost my brother around £700 for the cat back, and a centre pipe to remove the secondary cat (which still passes the MOT) sounds much better than the others that make it sound a tad boy racer. I will see if I can get a video of his to give you an idea of what it's like
Ohlins adjustable coilover's, solid droplinks and a rear anti-roll bar are on their way; so they should be here next week sometime. Plan is to get them all fitted next weekend, let the springs settle, then book it in at Deamon Tweeks, Wrexham for wheel alignment. My RRP discs still haven't arrived though, grr!
What's the general opinion on corner balancing adjustable coilover's? I'm tempted to find someone to corner balance the car, but I can't seem to find anywhere near that'll do such a job. Deamon Tweeks only does suspension geometry, which is mighty good I must say! I'm just curious if it's really necessary for a daily driver/part-time trackday go'er?
Loved the Swift Sport the wife had a couple of years ago, the looks both exterior and interior I think ate really well designed. When she bought it we'd already tested a Fiesta Zetec S and a mini cooper and the Swift was a much better drive than those. We only got rid because her commute changed to a lengthy motorway slog, so in came the 520d. Yours looks great in red!
iantek said:
Loved the Swift Sport the wife had a couple of years ago, the looks both exterior and interior I think ate really well designed. When she bought it we'd already tested a Fiesta Zetec S and a mini cooper and the Swift was a much better drive than those. We only got rid because her commute changed to a lengthy motorway slog, so in came the 520d. Yours looks great in red!
Thank you .Shenanigans said:
Yay! Another sport on PH! Plans sound great. What charger you looking at? Greddy? Monster? Rotrex?
To be honest, I'm still undecided in regards to what supercharger to opt for. Heading slightly more towards the Rotrex system though. I'm open to suggestions though!Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff