Swift Response

GEARBOX MIGHT NOT HAVE MORE GEARS THAN ITS PREDECESSOR’S BUT IT IS DEFINITELY QUICKER AND MORE INSTANT WITH ITS RESPONSES AND GEAR CHANGES.

The last generation Swift has been a roaring success for Suzuki around the world since its debut seven years ago in 2004.

Outwardly, the new fourth generation Swift looks rather familiar indeed – the overall silhouette and styling features of the new car are pretty much similar to its popular predecessor. It is still that familiar Swift face up front and you’d have to squint to notice the new, wider radiator grille and the curvier upswept headlamps. Along the flanks, it’s the hardest to note that this is the new model even though at 3850mm in length, it is almost 100mm longer than its 3755mm predecessor. Correspondingly, wheelbase on the new car is up to 2430mm from 2390mm. While the height of the new model is similar to its predecessor’s, the former is 5mm wider than the old Swift.

At the rear, the tail lamps have been enlarged and just like the headlamps, are curvier while the numberplate surround on the bumper is larger. The cut out for the latter apes the one on the previous Renault Megane hatchback and hence makes the Swift’s rump look a tad clumsy and fat when compared to the old model’s pert backside.

Thanks to its more generous exterior proportions, the new Swift offers more room for rear passengers than in the old car. The new Swift is a marked improvement over its predecessor especially when it comes to rear kneeroom – at least there’s enough kneeroom now for the knees of rear passengers not to be permanently touching the rear of the front seatbacks. Like in the old car, headroom is hard to fault while shoulder room has slightly improved thanks to the slightly wider cabin than previously.

Up front, the driver is greeted by an all-new dashboard that draws inspiration from the Kizashi’s design. The dash is still made from some very hard plastics in most parts but perceived quality and value has moved up a notch when compared to the old car thanks to the use of better looking and more tactile switchgear and silver coloured accents throughout the cabin. In terms of design, the stereo headunit now has its display screen integrated within the unit itself rather than being high up on the dash while the air-con controls and the smart looking instruments with an integrated screen for trip computer readings and gear indicator up perceived luxury a notch. The Kizashi sourced steering wheel not only features fingertip controls for the stereo but is adjustable for both reach and rake in the GLX model tested here. The front seats might not look great but they offer a wide variety adjustments including height for all body shapes to feel comfortable to rest their bums on.

Boot space though, is disappointingly small thanks to a load area that is short on length. Thankfully, the Swift comes standard with split/fold rear seats to extend the load area if necessary.

Underneath the skin, the new model features a heavily enhanced version of the outgoing car’s platform. The new model is still suspended by relatively simple MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam layout at the rear. Suzuki says that the suspension set-up has been heavily modified to further improve ride and handling to further enhance the old Swift’s virtues of nimble and fun handling.

There’s also a new steering system, which makes for a wonderfully precise and communicative tool to make it fun for the Swift to go round corners with, despite the Swift’s lack of sporting pretensions. Moreover, body control is much improved over the old car – the suspension doing a really admirable job of keeping unwanted body movements in check. The suspension feels well adept in taking on twisty tarmac and with a moderate power output to the front wheels, traction isn’t at a premium with the Swift. The 16-inch tyres will put the engine’s power down cleanly onto the tarmac without the need for any ESP stability or traction control systems.

Despite, the sporty handling, the Swift displays a fair degree of comfort and composure in the way it rides over bumps. The ride is far from choppy and is reasonably comfortable at both crawling town speeds as well as at expressway cruising speeds.

The new model is offered with a new, smaller 1.4-litre unit dubbed the K14B. With 95bhp and 130Nm on tap, the 1372cc four-pot unit makes just seven horses and 3Nm less than the old Swift’s 1490cc motor. 0-1 OOkm/h is quoted at 12.3 seconds for the four-speed auto model, which is fairly average among the cars in the Swift’s class.

DESPITE THE SPORTY HANDLING, THE SWIFT DISPLAYS A FAIR DEGREE OF COMFORT AND COMPOSURE IN THE WAY IT RIDES OVER BUMPS

The engine has ample torque at low revs but it’ll only truly come alive once it revs past 4000rpm – not surprising as the peaky little unit delivers its maximum torque of 130Nm only at 4000rpm. The motor doesn’t have the strong mid-range punch of the turbocharged engines that European brands favour but the Swift offers enough sprightly performance for a city car with little sporting pretensions. Moreover, throttle response is sharp to give the Swift some ‘get up and go’ feel and immediate responses that is worthy of a hot model like the Swift Sport.

Suzuki claims that the engine is not only lighter and more compact than before but is also more economical in terms of fuel consumption. Fuel consumption of the new model has improved by between 8 to 18 percent over the old model according to Suzuki.

As previously, two transmission options are offered – a five-speed manual as well as the four-speed automatic, the latter being the variant tested here. The new car’s gearbox might not have more gears than its predecessor’s but it is definitely quicker and more instant with its responses and gear changes. Disappointingly though, the auto box is not offered with a ‘+/-’ sequential manual mode. Those who love driving should opt for the five-speed manual model as it should offer both more performance and driving fun.

The new Swift is available in two trim level versions – the base GL and the GLX tested here. The GLX adds 16-inch factory-fitted alloy wheels, keyless entry and operation, six airbags, front fog lamps, rear disc brakes, tilt and telescopic steering column and LED side repeaters on the wing mirrors to the GL’s standard kit list. The latter features the same factory fitted six-speaker stereo system with iPod connectivity and fingertip controls as the GLX, two front airbags instead of six, locally fitted 15-inch alloy wheels and so on.

With the new generation Swift, Suzuki has built on the strengths of the popular outgoing model and evolved the Swift into something more complete than before.

 

Suzuki Swift 1.4 GLX(A)

At A Glance

•  Engine: 1372cc, in-line 4,16V

•  Performance: 95bhp/6000rpm, 130Nm/4000rpm, 0-100 12.3secs

•  Top Speed: NA

•  Transmission: 4-Speed Automatic

•  Price with COE: S$87,900

•  Testdrive & Enquiries: Champion Motors

•  Tel: 6631 1118

 

In A Nutshell

Plus: Nippy handling, fuel sipping nature

Minus: Awkward rear end styling

Verdict: Suzuki has built on the strengths of the popular outgoing model and evolved the Swift into something more complete than before.

 

1. 

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   September 12, 2011 at 4:44 am

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