RE: Suzuki Swift Sport: PH Fleet

[nickfrog]

Leejay-B said:

These are used for rental at the nurburgring, for good reason too.

Yes they're great - R4R reckon they do a 8.40 BTG. I am happy with a 8.40 in the Megane...with twice the power !

[Onehp]

I 'downgraded' to one of these from a tuned 270hp rwd hatch (1-series - only fun going wot at very quickly highly illegal speed) in search of everyday driving joy, and it delivered with spades. I remember how light footed it felt and it really encouraged a good workout. Unfortunately I sold it soon after as situation changed and I had to do a lot of motorway miles and carry stuff too. The one piece folding rear seat and the need to fold often due to the tiny boot limited practicality so I sold it in favour of an estate. Still miss it. The five door (lhd) came soon after, had I had that one from the start with split rear seats, I probably would have kept it.

[nimmo]

LOVE THESE CARS,BOTH ZC31S AND THE CURRENT ZC32S. HAVE TRACKED THEM ALL OVER THE uk and Europe. Just a set of B14 suspension, AD08s and brakes and its fun fun fun!

[matpilch]

Leejay-B said:

These are used for rental at the nurburgring, for good reason too.

i'll never forget the 4 laps I did in R4R's Swift Sport, absolutely amazing experience and it was LOUD.
makes you feel like a racing driver

in fact, here's my lap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qI8sBfMKAo

[dieseluser07]

Love the look of these, if they had 160bhp it would probably be the best hot hatch of the NA modern era.

[bartselephant]

This is really very worrying for me. I've got a 335d, which I love and I suppose take for granted. I drove my nephews Swift Sport and within 5-minutes was seriously thinking of selling the B'mer. Light, agile, nimble and fun. NONE of the tremendous and effortless torque, or the comfort, yet it just made me feel happy and involved. That said, still have the 335d, but this article is not helping........

[trickywoo]

Good car for the Mrs which you can drive when the fancy takes?

I've not driven a Sport or a new shape Swift but I had a 1.5 model of the previous version. It was fun but not as good on fuel as it should have been and I found it tiring on an every day 20 mile each way commute.

Have an eye on a 5 door sport but used prices are still around the £8k minimum mark.

[dieseluser07]

I also would never buy new on these. Can buy a one year old example with 10,000 on the clock for 4500 less than the list price.

[dub16v]

I've got a '12 plate Sport and love it. Currently doing around 18k per year and (touch wood) have had no problems (clock now at 58k).

I genuinely look forward to getting into it every time I go for a drive. I only ever got that same feeling from my mk2 Golf 16v (which is in the garage)!

Would be a shame to lose the NA engine in the new version, if rumours are true. I also agree with another poster that I'd not consider buying one from new, they seem to drop a good ~£3-5k straight away but then the reductions slow up.

Great cars. If I get another car it'll be another SSS.

[Toyoda]

And if you haven't got £14k for a new one but want the same performance then the Ignis Sport, Yaris T-Sport and Panda 100hp will give this 'new' Swift Sport a run for its money despite starting from the £1k mark.

[Matt Bird]

Klippie said:

My daily is one of these little gem's...it's crap on fuel form canning the arse of it all the time, the brakes have burned out in 27k miles from all the hard late braking, tyre's don''t last very long either from blasting around corners way too fast.

It's a bloody riot to drive I love it...oh and it's never missed a beat.

Top work!

[hunt205gti]

Brilliant cars for the money and as close as you can get to a 205gti. My 1.9 GTI is now stored away for future investment as I enjoy the Swift's NA engine and slick 6 speed box. 40 mpg ( computer says 45) and cheap insurance with all the kit for humble money.
Perfect fun car for today's roads.

[Mike Roberts]

I spend a glorious 2 days murdering one of these around the Ring last month. Hilarious little cars.

Edited by Mike Roberts on Friday 14th October 10:13

[patmahe]

Anyone know of anywhere that rents them (other than the ring) I'd like to try one out for a couple of days on the road before I get serious about buying.

[cib24]

Really good cars and apparently underrated horsepower as they are quicker than the factory suggests from 0-60 and 0-100 mph. I thought long and hard about one of these before deciding on my current car since they are so practical (compared to what I drive right now which is a 2 seater) and very chuckable around a circuit for some fun. I reckon adding a supercharger to bring power up to 200 bhp would make this thing perfect.

http://www.tts-performance.co.uk/suzuki-swift-2012

I'm sure there are other kits and possibilities out there.

[Gliaviate]

I have had one of the first 5 door models since new and totally agree with the positives. Unfortunately I recently semi-inherited a Volvo V70 which I love for my daily driving on badly maintained and often congested roads. If I do sell it, I will always remember the SSS well. The main downsides for me are thin and soft paintwork and basic interior materials, and excessively high road noise after the first few thousand miles.

[cib24]

Well, it's hard to ask for a lot when the car can be bought new for less than £13k after talking the dealer down and also since you can buy a 2-3 year old used one with less than 30,000 miles for as low as £6k. Really good value for money new but a steal used so long as it has been looked after.

I wonder what rust is like on this type of car though? I would think it would be very wise to have it rust protected shortly after buying it as Japanese cars built in Japan don't usually have any protection on them from the factory and I'm not sure this car would be galvanised given the cheap price.

[FN2TypeR]

Good little cars these, they are great fun to hustle and are reasonably cheap to run, reliable too.

Fly in the ointment: the driving position is just a tad high for my liking.

Second fly in the ointment: A Fiesta ST isn't a million miles away in terms of pricing and those are excellent cars too.

[JoeCastle]

I own a 2011 MK1. 30k miles on the clock and has not missed a beat engine wise. Pretty good build quality inside as well. Planning to add a few things to it over the coming months just to improve the experience, but these are great fun and everyone who goes in it comments on it! The only other competitor I'd consider is the Abarth 500/Punto.

[Toyoda]

cib24 said:

I wonder what rust is like on this type of car though? I would think it would be very wise to have it rust protected shortly after buying it as Japanese cars built in Japan don't usually have any protection on them from the factory and I'm not sure this car would be galvanised given the cheap price.

What sort of bks is this?! Early shape Yaris were built in Japan and you'd struggle to see any with rust, even now at 17 years old. Can't say the same about Ford, VW, Mercedes etc.