:lij\ f] k_\ Y`i[ YiX`ej
FACT FILE
SUZUKI have really disappointed me.
Don’t get me wrong. Everything about the new Swift is hugely likeable.
No, what’s annoying me is its advertising. Someone’s not tried hard enough.
In fact, when you look at the names Suzuki has chosen for its 10 different Swift paint jobs you begin to suspect that someone’s not tried at all.
Here’s what Suzuki calls red. It’s either Burning Red or Fervent Red. Yuk.
Blue becomes Speedy Blue, there’s Super Black, Pure White and another five that are as dull as, well ... watching paint dry.
You’d think that as the car shares its name with a bird the Can’t Be Bothered Club could have come up with Bullfinch Blue. Or how about Raven Red, Buzzard Black and Wagtail White? No chance.
Here’s a car that is absolutely fantastic, so why not have a bit of fun to promote the joy of driving it? The new Swift is actually better than the car it replaces and that’s no easy task. To add to the Swift’s 1.2-litre engine, buyers can now choose the same 1.0-litre unit found in the brilliant Baleno, which was clearly also named by the Can’t Be Bothered Club.
It may be a brilliant car, but the dreary name is enough to put off anyone. However, in the smaller Swift this engine really shows off its ability. The new car is 120kg lighter, quicker, more fuel efficient and less polluting.
Ride
Meanwhile the relaxing ride of the outgoing Swift seems to have got even better.
Thoughtfully developed in the pothole hell of England and on smooth German autobahns, the Swift soaks up every kind of road surface with remarkable ease.
It genuinely feels like a much bigger car than the 12ft 7in long, 890kg lightweight it really is, while its 1.0-litre turbo is ideal for the Swift. With 111hp and 170Nm (125lb) of torque it’s capable of serious high speed motoring, helped by a variable ratio steering rack which changes the angle of its wheels to help handling.
The Swift may drive and handle like a far more expensive motor but the interior proves that it’s anything but that. Hard touch mottled trim covers the dashboard and door surfaces but the dash itself has modern chronograph instruments, while on the top level SX-5 model you just push a button to change it to a digital display.
The big question is how much the Swift will cost when it goes on sale in mid May with first deliveries on June 1. For the ENGINE: TOP SPEED: MPG: CO2: INS GROUP: moment Suzuki isn’t saying but a big hint came when it announced that the price would be exactly between the smaller Ignis and larger Baleno.
That means it should start at £11,750 for a base SZ3 model which is good value for a car that comes with air-con, a DAB radio with Bluetooth, electric front windows and a leather trimmed steering wheel.
Record
Top spec cars are stacked with kit including upmarket adaptable cruise control to keep you a set distance from the car in front.
Suzuki racked up a record sales figure of 38,167 cars in the UK last year and says it expects to sell 41,000 this year.
Having driven the new Swift I’d say they should easily reach that figure.
I wonder if they’ll celebrate by painting the town Fervent Red.