2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Suzuki discovers sportiness. With the Swift Sport, the Japanese will be sending a 125 hp city car into the race from 2007. While the design is convincing, the little one unfortunately reveals some weaknesses in the processing.
By Frank Mertens
The people in charge at Suzuki cannot really be said to have a tendency towards understatement. After all, the new Suzuki Swift Sport is confidently presented as a “driving super-mini”. Anyone who claims such a thing must also be measured against the goals they have declared themselves.
Aroused desires
If you start with the exterior of the Swift Sport, the Suzuki actually arouses some desires: Because the sporty Swift looks really chic. From the front, the first thing you notice is the aerodynamically designed front apron with its large air inlets and integrated fog lights. The sporty impression continues when looking at the side: The Swift Sport stands on 17-inch (basic version 15-inch) alloy wheels with 195 mm tires. At the rear, a tightly held roof spoiler towers over the trunk lid. The two exhaust pipes peek out from the honeycomb grille below the license plate.
The message from Swift Sport is clear: "Look here, even little ones have something to offer!" The Suzuki developers have successfully pimped up the Swift. The 3.77 meter short small car gains its external charm precisely through the subtle changes. Sometimes less is more.
Functional interior
Objectivity reigns in the interior. The instruments are kept puristic, are close at hand and are accordingly easy to use. The sports steering wheel is unfortunately only adjustable in height. Especially for tall drivers, this, in combination with the seat that is unfortunately not sufficiently adjustable downwards, results in a less than optimal seating position.
A shame, because otherwise, even as a 1.91 meter man, you sit extremely comfortably in the 1.50 meter high Swift. Sufficient headroom is ensured. Thanks to this vehicle height, you can not only get into the Swift Sport, which is only available as a three-door, extremely comfortably, but above all you can also enjoy excellent forward visibility. However, the high seating position may not give you a real sports car feeling. The colorful sports seats, which at least ensure good lateral support, do nothing to change that.
Sonores tubes
Who then starts the 1.6-liter four-cylinder, perceives a sonorous roar. The engine engineers at Suzuki have equipped the 1.5-liter unit from the Swift base model with 100 cubic meters more displacement and 23 percent more power. Now the Swift Sport carries 92 kW / 125 PS for a walk under the hood. Among other things, the electronic throttle valve control and the intake and exhaust manifolds have been optimized.
With these measures, the Japanese powerhouse has a maximum torque of 148 Nm, which is applied at 4800 revolutions per minute. The 1.6 liter machine then lets the Swift Sport accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in 8.9 seconds. The top speed is reached at 200 km / h. Consumption should be 7.2 liters.
Desire for more horsepower
Of course, the Swift Sport wants to be moved at high speeds, but you shouldn't expect too much from it. Because 125 hp is just 125 hp. Accordingly, when overtaking maneuvers in particular, you want a few more horsepower under the hood. Because an overtaking maneuver in Swift Sport can seem long under certain conditions.
As Product Manager Dominik Eiland says, the engineers have designed the Swift Sport for higher performance with a view to the chassis, but a more powerful unit is currently not under discussion. It's a shame, because the Swift Sport showed its sporty genes during the test drives in the Taunus. When driving downhill at the foot of the Feldberg, the little Japanese could be chased through the curves without irritation even at higher speeds, and he implemented the commands from the well-functioning steering exactly.
No sixth gear
The missing sixth gear is just as unfortunate as the lack of a more powerful engine. Unfortunately, one looks for him in vain. Here, too, there is no prospect of improvement, although a six-speed gearbox would be available on the corporate shelf. The Swift Sport gets really loud, especially on the motorway, but maybe you will change your mind here.
Anyone who looks at the equipment of the Swift Sports, whose price will be between 17,000 and 18,000 euros, will be surprised. You get a well-equipped vehicle for your money. Stainless steel pedals, air conditioning and a CD navigation device are standard equipment. With other manufacturers you have to dig deep into your pockets.
Shortcomings in processing
Incidentally, the Suzuki Swift won't be on the market until the beginning of 2007. That's not bad. This means that the quality managers still have enough time to optimize the processing. Because on closer inspection of the interior, there were some shortcomings. The panel on the A-pillar at the level of the side airbag could be pressed down to the sheet metal with light finger pressure. In addition, the headliner at the top of the windshield could be removed with a little finger pull. But perhaps these deficits were only due to the fact that the test vehicles were pre-production cars.
Sales of 3000 units
In any case, Suzuki is confident that Swift Sport will also find its customers. As Suzuki spokesman Axel Seegers said, the small city car is expected to sell 3,000 units in Germany in the coming year. Overall, the Swift, for which 33 percent of all Suzuki customers choose and which is the bestseller in the model range, will sell 15,000 times in the coming year.
The Japanese are just confident. After all, they were able to record an increase of 15.1 percent compared to the previous year in the first eight months of this year. We are currently looking forward to sales of 20,413 vehicles.
