Suzuki Swift Sport
What kind of person drives one?
MILEAGE 4828
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT
To find out if the new, turbo Swift Sport still offers good, simple hot hatch fun that can compete with the best in class
The owner of the Bentley Continental GT wasn’t taking any chances. To the chagrin of the car park official at Rockingham Motor Speedway trying to make the most efficient use of space, he left a huge gap between his car and my Suzuki Swift Sport.
It was, he assured me, nothing personal. He’d only taken delivery of the car three days earlier and was taking absolutely no chances. In return, I assured him that I had no desire to swing a car door into the side of his fresh Bentley. But, frankly, I couldn’t blame him for doing everything in his power to ensure he didn’t get a Champion Yellow-tinged ding in one of his doors.
Still, while his caution was entirely understandable, I did brief ly wonder if his giving me a quite literal wide berth might have been down to a spot of stereotyping of me as a slightly carefree hot hatch hooligan. Upon seeing our Suzuki’s beefy bodywork, dual exhausts and ‘vibrant’ paint, I’d wager a regular British Touring Car Championship race attendee would quickly recognise that ‘my’ Suzuki is a Swift Sport, and not its more sedate, non-sporting Swift sibling.
That encounter with a Bentley owner contrasted sharply with one I had with a neighbour the other day. He’d seen the Suzuki parked in the street a few times – let’s be honest, it’s hard to miss – and when he saw me getting out of it one evening he was keen to know what I made of it. After all, he said, one of his family had owned an older Swift and thought it made an excellent, economical city runabout. Although, he added, he thought mine was a bold choice of colour. I tried to explain what the Sport bit of the badge entailed. I’m not quite sure he got it.
Still, part of the charm of the previous Swift Sport was that it was a hot hatch for those ‘in the know’, and my experiences suggest that underthe-radar appeal has carried over into this new one. While there are plenty of visual cues that it isn’t a standard Swift, the difference isn’t as marked as, say, the contrast between a Honda Civic and a Civic Type R.
But spend any time in the two and there really is no mistaking. Shortly before collecting our Swift Sport, I spent a week or so driving the standard Swift. Although they look similar – especially inside, where only some upholstery trim and minor design flashes split the two – the difference really is both substantial and remarkable.
The SZ5 Swift I was driving uses Suzuki’s 1.0-litre turbocharged mild hybrid petrol engine. It’s a quiet and frugal unit yet peppy enough for motorways and faster roads. And the Swift itself featured the sort of light steering and smooth ride you’d want from a supermini. My neighbour will be pleased to know it does indeed make for an excellent, economical city runabout – although you can’t buy one in Champion Yellow.
The Swift Sport uses a 1.4-litre turbo, so when you step into it you’re expecting the extra whack of performance (although a bit of extra noise to go with it would be nice). But the time and money Suzuki’s engineers saved by not giving the Swift Sport a more substantial design makeover has been well spent working on the car’s chassis. The steering is heavier, the suspension firmer and the handling is pure well-honed hot hatch.
There are a few areas where you notice a compromise in the conversion from Swift to Swift Sport. One is the common seating position, which is a little lofty for a hot hatch. The other is the 37-litre fuel tank they share. That’s sufficient for the Swift, which does a claimed 62.7mpg, but you’ll struggle to get 300 miles out of a full tank in the Swift Sport.
Still, one of the reasons I’m visiting the filling station more often is how much fun I’m having getting through that fuel. The fact not everyone recognises what I’m driving makes it even more enjoyable.