Suzuki Swift
Manufacturer’s discount puts the Swift in competition with the C-Series C3. We evaluate it against the Citroen
MODEL TESTED: Suzuki Swift 1.2 Hybrid SZ-L
PRICE: £13,499 ENGINE: 1.2-litre 4cyl mild hybrid, 82bhp
LIST prices for the Swift range actually start at £15,499, but Suzuki currently offers a £2,000 discount across the board, so before options the entry-level SZ-L kicks off from £13,499. Add £485 for metallic paint, and the car on test comes to £13,984.
Design & engineering
THE third-generation Swift made its debut in 2017, but minor styling revisions have been introduced since; a tweaked grille and new wheel designs were among the changes. This also tied in with the fitment of mildhybrid technology throughout the Swift line-up. Energy that’s recuperated under braking is stored in a small battery that sits under the passenger seat; this energy is then deployed under acceleration to take a little strain away from the engine and improve fuel economy as a result.
The engine in question is a 1. 2-litre petrol unit. While the capacity is nearly identical to the Citroen’s and the pair both make 82bhp, Suzuki achieves this with one extra cylinder. With 107Nm of torque, the Swift’s motor is down 11Nm compared with the C3’s, and peak power is produced 250rpm higher, at 6,000rpm. Front-wheel drive is the only option at the bottom of the Swift range, but the top-spec SZ5 is also available with four-wheel drive.
Step inside, and the Suzuki feels very basic. The quality of the plastics is cheap, with little more than soft pads on the door armrests to break up the hard, scratchy coverings across the entire cabin. The Citroen isn’t the poshest of superminis, but it feels a step up from the Swift. The Suzuki’s driving position is set reasonably high, but only the top-spec SZ5 gets a steering wheel that’s adjustable for reach.
Driving
IF you’re the type of driver who doesn’t see why a small price tag is excuse to sacrifice fun, then the Swift really deserves a look. Compared with the soft and sedate C3, the Suzuki feels sharp, agile and genuinely enjoyable to drive along a twisty road. It’s helped by the fact that, at 911kg, the kerbweight is very light by the standards of the class (it’s 69kg lighter than the Citroen, which is hardly lardy itself), but the suspension is also quite well judged; it’s firm enough to feel sporty, but not harsh or jarring.
The flipside of this is that it isn’t as comfortable as the C3 when it settles down, and when cruising there’s more road noise, especially from the rear.
Yet the steering weights up nicely through the corners, the five-speed manual gearbox is slick, and the engine – although not as muscular as the C3’s motor, despite the hybrid’s torque boost – is still enthusiastic. Officially, the Swift takes 0.6 seconds longer than the C3 to accelerate from 0-62mph;
13.1 seconds in total. Our test Suzuki did tend to kangaroo somewhat on light throttle loads at low revs, as you’d subject it to when crawling in traffic.
Practicality
THE Suzuki Swift is both 151mm shorter than the C3 and 94mm
narrower. In one way, that boosts its usability in town, because it means that the Japanese model can slip into smaller parking spaces and is easier to fit through width restrictions that are so common in built-up areas. Manoeuvrability is further boosted by a tiny 9.6-metre turning circle, which is more than one metre tighter than the Citroen manages.
On the other hand, its size means that the Suzuki loses out in other areas; thanks to the narrower cabin it feels a little tight, while the boot volume is also smaller than the Citroen’s. The sides of the load bay are finished with plastic, which is more likely to scuff than the rough carpet that lines the C3’s boot. While on paper the Swift’s seats-down volume of 562 litres appears much smaller than the C3’s, that figure is measured to the window line rather than the roof; in reality there isn’t much between them. On the other hand, the Suzuki’s seats fold flatter than the Citroen’s, so even though there’s a bit of a step between the boot floor and the seat backs, it’s a more level space in which to load items.
Storage up front in the Swift is reasonable, with a spacious smartphone cubby and deep door bins; the ones in the back doors are shaped to hold drinks bottles. The Suzuki’s glovebox size is modest, but still better than its competitor’s here.
Ownership
THE Swift is one victim of Euro NCAP’s ever-increasing reliance on active collision-avoidance tech. While its adult and child occupant scores were reasonable when it was tested back in 2017, a score of just 25 per cent in the Safety Assist category pegs its overall rating to three stars. One such system it lacks is blind-spot monitoring – not available on the base SZ-L trim, but standard on all other versions. The C3 achieved four stars when NCAP assessed it in 2018.
The Swift comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. Citroen offers five years of cover with the C3, but only if you place your order for the car online. Otherwise, the C3’s warranty terms are largely similar to the Swift’s.
Running costs
BOTH of these cars are shining examples of how a small, light car with a simple engine can return great fuel economy figures.
In our hands the Suzuki Swift achieved an impressive 56.1mpg, just short of its WLTP-certified 59.7mpg figure. It didn’t vary much according to road conditions, either, with fuel economy similar whether in town or on motorways. A driver covering 12,000 miles a year can expect to pay £1,330 at the pumps. At 51.3mpg, the Citroen is slightly thirstier, with 12,000 miles of fuel coming to £1,455.
The first three annual services for the Swift total £607, which is £74 less than maintaining the Citroen over the same period.