Suzuki Swift Review: Sport 1.6 - Full Review

Suzuki Swift Review: Sport 1.6

Reviewed by Shawn Jooste

Overview

In a world of hot hatches largely dominated by Germans it’s nice to see some Japanese competition. The regular Suzuki Swift is in it’s second generation, and the Swift Sport is the top of the line wild fun version you’ll want to buy. Well built and solid to drive, the Swift Sport delivers fantastic sportiness.

Performance

Powered by a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine, the Swift Sport produces 100kW, which is really impressive, and feels even more impressive when you drive it. Throttle response is good, and 160Nm of Torque helps hurl this little car along nicely. The chassis and suspension setup is of a more sporty nature, resulting in sharp accurate handling. While some ride comfort has been sacrificed for the sportiness, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the balance of comfort and sportiness. In a straight line, the Swift Sport will get you from 0-100km/h in under 9 seconds. The high revving 1.6 produces a smooth power curve through all the gears.

Economy

Traditionally, sporty cars sacrifice economy for their sportiness, and are pretty thirsty. Not so with the Suzuki Sport. Claimed fuel consumption is 6.5 litres per 100 km, but during our test, we managed to get it below 6 litres per 100km. The 6 speed manual gearbox gives it the extra low revs required on the open road helping to keep the fuel consumption nice and low.

Tech

The Suzuki strikes a nice balance of tech on the inside. CD / Radio comes standard, so does an Aux port and USB port to connect your iPod. On board computers give you critical info such as average seed, fuel consumption, range etc. The multifunctional steering wheel allows you some basic control of the radio / CD player and even comes with some neat red stitching to add to the sporty feel of the Swift Sport.

Comfort

Surprisingly for a sporty hatch the swift is a comfortable car. Standard with sporty bucket seats that hug the body, it’s a great place to sit and enjoy the ride. The steering is light and the gear changes ‘swift’, making town driving easy and comfortable.

Practicality

The previous generation was a 3 door, which wasn’t very practical for anyone with a family. But this 5 door Sport version does very well in the practicality department. Boot size is a little limited, but that’s the only draw back, and for the limited boot space you get extra leg room for the rear seats. You can quite easily accommodate 2 grown men in the back without confining them to a cramped seating position. It’s practical as an every day car for a family, the doors are light and open and close easily. There are enough cup holders and storage compartments in the car to put keys / wallets and bottles of water.

Conclusion

The Suzuki Swift Sport is a well built car, well finished, and great fun to drive while still being practical and comfortable. Fuel economy is good and doesn’t suffer because of the sportiness. The Suzuki Swift Sport is an underrated hot hatch on the market and well worth checking out if you’re looking to buy a hot hatchback.