Swift Sport gets hotter
Suzuki’s hottest hatch arrives during our hottest summer. Great timing, huh? Rob Maetzig reports.
This could be called putting the icing on the cake. One month after completing a record sales year in New Zealand, Suzuki is launching a new hot version of its popular Swift hatch.
Last year was a beauty for Suzuki New Zealand.
Its 6983 sales were a whopping 31.6 per cent up on 2016, and 1300 sales ahead of the brand’s previous record year which was back in 2008.
While all the various Suzuki models contributed to this sales success – with the likes of the facelifted S-Cross enjoying a
130 per cent jump in retails – it was once again the Swift hatchback that was easily the most popular.
Swift is New Zealand’s most popular car with private buyers. Last year 2418 of them were sold, an unusually high proportion of them to women, who appreciate the hatchback’s appealing combination of compact size, good looks, efficient design, ease of use, and value for the money.
Another reason for last year’s popularity was because during the early part of 2017 a new model was launched – and that sort of thing always results in a spike in sales.
Missing from that new lineup, however, was a sporty version of the Swift. But everyone knew it was coming and that it would be making its entrance about a year later.
This is exactly what happened with the previous-generation Sport. The standard models were launched in 2011, and the Sport arrived in 2012 to immediately boost overall Swift sales by 15 per cent.
Now the same thing is happening with the latest model, and once again Suzuki New Zealand is expecting to hit paydirt with the car – the company is confident more than 1000 of the Sports will be sold this year.
It’ll happen too. Is there any car on the Kiwi market that is more appropriately named?
Ever since Suzuki introduced its first performance Swift in the late 1980s (which was actually badged GTI – the Sport name didn’t begin to be used until 2006), the car has enjoyed a strong career as New Zealand’s most affordable hot hatch.
And now with this new model, things have just got better.
Although the new Sport is bigger than the model it replaces, its kerb weight of 970kg is up to 80kg lighter thanks to use of Suzuki’s new lightweight HEARTECT platform, a version of which also underpins the Baleno.
And taking real advantage of that lighter weight is replacement of the former normally aspirated 1.6-litre engine with the same turbocharged 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine as that aboard the Vitara Turbo SUV, which is more powerful and with 44 per cent more torque.
This gives the car a torque-toweight ratio of 237Nm per tonne which is right up there among much more expensive sporting product.
A further major change is that while the Sport’s six-speed manual transmission remains essentially the same, this time around the auto has gone from a CVT to a conventional six-speed version that has been specially tuned to better suit sporty driving.
The transmission can also be operated manually using big paddles on the steering wheel.
Suspension design is carried over from the previous Sport, but Monroe shock absorbers are fitted front and rear with their valve structures revised for better damping force.
Thanks to bigger stabiliser bars there has been a 15 per cent increase in camber control at the front, and the rear camber control is now three times better than before.
All this adds up to what immediately impresses as a very spirited new Swift.
The BoosterJet engine is a beauty, offering power of 103kW at 5500rpm compared to the previous engine’s 100kW at 6900rpm, and 230Nm of torque.
Not only is this torque way more than the 160Nm offered by the previous engine, but thanks to the turbocharging it is available from 2500rpm to 3500rpm, with very little turbo lag. It means the little hatch offers almost instant pep.
With the standard Swifts there is a low takeup of models with manual transmission, but with the Sport it is expected that at least a third of the sales will be manuals – something that underlines the performance nature of this hatch.
It’s a good manual too, featuring a stronger clutch to better handle the demands of the more powerful engine, and a shift throw that has been reduced by 10 per cent.
It’s fun to use, as the Kiwi motoring media experienced during a launch programme taking in some of the roads and highways surrounding Queenstown which included a spurt over the Crown Range.
But the new auto is a beauty. Dare we say it’s actually better than the manual?
When you’re using the paddle shifters and not having to worry about a clutch to blip through the gears during some enthusiastic driving, it’s easy to argue in favour of that lovely automatic.
The interior environment is fun, too. It features its own sportsstyle seats, a neat flat-bottomed steering wheel, and maroon detailing in the upholstery and on the trim.
A special feature is a LCD telemetric display that includes not only a turbocharger boost gauge, but a G-force indicator for those times when you’re really caning the car.
The exterior design is significantly different to standard Swifts.
The front end is an entirely different design, featuring a 3D-effect honeycomb grille, carbon fibre features along the sills and at a rear diffuser, there’s also a rear spoiler, and the Suzuki sits on nice 17-inch alloys.
At the media launch, Suzuki New Zealand general manager of marketing Gary Collins claimed the brand is the only one in New Zealand to offer a true hot hatch costing under $34,000 – but then he wouldn’t give the prices for the new model, explaining the announcement had to be left until after a dealer conference the following day.
These prices have now been made public – and the manual is launched at $28,500, with the auto costing $29,990.
Both of these prices might be $1000 more than the previous Sport, but they continue to offer impressive value for such a striking new car.
It’s a certainty to be well received.
Talk about icing on the cake.