Saturday 21st April 2018

Suzuki Swift Sport: Spotted

The Suzuki Swift Sport has just been replaced, but you'll be wanting the brilliantly affordable last one

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For a number of years now, more and more of our favourite hot hatches have adopted turbo engines to deliver the performance that customers demand while reducing emissions and fuel consumption. However, there was always the Suzuki Swift Sport to buck that trend; until now. Yes, alas, the new generation of Swift Sport is here and it has gone down the forced induction route. Shame.

Fortunately, you can still buy a good example of the old Swift Sport on the used market. It's not the fastest hot hatch out there, but it is an entertaining little rascal nonetheless, one worthy of being highlighted in a Spotted. There are plenty out there to choose from, too, including this low mileage, two-year-old example.

The sensible stuff first. Equipment levels are generous, though, with all the mod cons such as climate control, sat nav, cruise control, and a DAB radio; none of this helps it to go any faster, but it's good to have in a sensible commuter car. The boot is small, but it's not a very big car, so this is to be expected.

When you do escape the urban sprawl, there's a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol engine that thrives on revs, and it's paired with a slick six-speed gearbox to enable you to keep it near the redline, at all times.

The Swift Sport has a firm ride, but it does have the word 'Sport' emblazoned on the back, so you were warned about this. It never becomes uncomfortable, mind, and it does help to keep body roll under control. The tyres stick tenaciously to the road surface, meaning that you'll need a good yank of the handbrake to really get the tail to step out of line. In other words, you can enjoy throwing the car around without fear of it biting back.

Insurance might be a little higher than its rivals and road tax is £150 per year, but that's not the end of the world. Fuel economy is good for this type of car and the reliability is sound. All in, there is a lot to like about the Swift Sport. You can buy one; thrash it for a few years and it'll still be working fine when you come to sell it.

This two-year-old Swift Sport is now down to £8,680, or less than half the price of the new car, and with only 16,000 miles on it there's plenty of life left in it. If you want your naturally aspirated thrills, buy one now, while you still can.

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SPECIFICATION - SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT

Engine: 1,586cc, four-cylinder, N/A
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 136@6,900rpm
Torque (lb ft): 118@4,400rpm
MPG: 44.1
CO2: 147 g/km
First registered: 2016
Recorded mileage: 16,000 miles
Price new: £14,004
Yours for: £8,680

See the full ad here.

[r11co]

Interesting how prices on these seem to have held strong while supply became scarce as production had ceased. I paid considerably less for a lower mileage four-door example in August last year.

My best mate was looking for a four-door one in the last couple of weeks and couldn't get one anywhere.

Edited by r11co on Saturday 21st April 08:02

[r11co]

macky17 said:

Don’t get me wrong - great little cars. But is it me or do PH keep doing features on the same cars? This must be the 3rd or 4th Suzuki sport article over the past year.

Single figures only?! They must be into their 20th or 30th BMW M/Porsche article in the same time surely...

[r11co]

Ron99 said:

Just this afternoon my TPMS flagged up a slow puncture in one of the front tyres. I'm hoping it's not the alloy that's distorted and allowing air to escape.

Is this a common issue with the standard alloys? Reason I ask is that OSF on ours has a very slow leak that requires topping up a couple of PSI every 6 weeks or so between TPMS warnings. I took the wheel off and found no obvious punctures, put soapy water around the rims and on the valve and spotted no bubbling, but by co-incidence the problem started after an encounter with a pothole that at first appraisal appeared to have caused no damage.

No obvious run-out or wheel wobble either.