Suzuki Swift - Engines, performance & drive

We’re glad that cars like the Suzuki Swift still exist in the wake of the Ford Fiesta’s departure because there’s been a real shortage of supermini-sized cars that remain true to the small, lightweight, and genuinely fun to drive formula. 

While it’s no hot-hatch, the latest Swift has an agility that few of its rivals can match, being able to dart between corners on a B road with plenty of grip in reserve. The latter is just as well, because you’ll need to carry as much speed as you can muster from its little 1.2-litre engine through the bends to maintain decent progress. For some (us included), that’s part of the Swift’s charm.

Piloting the Swift through the corners is made more pleasurable by its precise steering, which feels much more naturally weighted than in rivals like the MG3. The Swift’s brakes are confidence-inspiring and offer decent feedback. It’s a shame that little work seems to have been done to its manual gearbox because the setup feels just as notchy as its predecessor’s did. We’re yet to try the CVT auto, but we’ll update this section when we do.

At higher speeds, it’s clear that some of the Suzuki’s weight savings have come at the expense of soundproofing. Both road and wind noise are quite noticeable, which does make the Suzuki a little more tiring on a long trip than an MG3 or Volkswagen Polo. 

The ride also isn’t a Swift strong point. Its set-up has similarities to the previous version’s, but has seen some improvements, such as the engineers increasing the amount of rear suspension travel in order to help with bump absorption. We still found the Swift to be fidgety at all speeds compared with the MG3, and it certainly doesn’t feel as grown-up as the Skoda Fabia.

The Swift stands out from its rivals by offering a version with the ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system. It usually keeps the car in two-wheel drive mode to save fuel and will only engage four-wheel drive if the front tyres start to slip. Four-wheel drive will be useful if you live in a remote area that doesn’t see gritters in snowy conditions because you’ll have better traction on snow and ice. Don’t expect to do any hardcore off-roading because the ground clearance is only 140mm.

Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed

All versions of Suzuki Swift come with an 81bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine, which puts out 112Nm of torque and gets from 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds in our preferred five-speed manual, front-wheel drive form. Oddly, the CVT automatic is slightly quicker, taking just 11.9 seconds, while the four-wheel drive ALLGRIP model is the least swift Swift, taking a leisurely 13.6 seconds to complete the same sprint. 

The four-wheel drive version also has the slowest top speed of 99mph, followed by the front-wheel drive manual at 103mph, with the CVT auto once again proving to be the fastest at 106mph.