New Suzuki even more Swift

Suzuki South Africa has introduced two new derivatives to two of their model ranges, the Vitara and the Swift. After driving a stint in the Vitara Turbo I finally got to meet the third generation, Swift Sport, which is 40mm wider and has a 20mm longer wheelbase but is 15mm lower than its predecessor. It further distinguished itself from the rest of the range with a new front bumper and a new honeycomb grille. Two fog lamps are incorporated into the two large cut-outs on either side of the grille. In addition to the LED headlamps and daytime running lights, the front bumper is garnished with a carbon fibre inspired front splitter, a theme carried through to the side skirts. At the rear, you will find a brand new bumper with the same carbon fibre texture incorporated into its design and two chrome exhaust tips fitted below the LED tail-lamps which as promised delivers a much deeper engine sound.

The Swift also features darkened privacy glass at the rear and diamond-cut 16-inch alloy wheels fitted with low profile tyres in the corners. The Swift Sport will be available in a range of colours including the heritage-inspired Champion Yellow, one of the favourites as we were making our way around Red Star Raceway in some spirited laps. The interior reflects the sporty nature of the vehicle with the material on the seats going from black to red to match the red stitching found around the cabin. The instrument cluster features a red tachometer and a deep grey speedometer as well as a colour LCD screen which displays additional information such as oil temperature and turbo boost. In the driver’s footwell, you will find stainless steel sport pedals while both the front occupants sit on semi-bucket seats which came in handy as we made our way through demanding turns on the gymkhana track.

Driving the sporty Swift, we were treated to fully automatic climate control, speed-sensitive power steering, cruise control, electrically foldable rear-view mirrors and all-round electric windows. The facia included a 7.0-inch touch screen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a reverse camera, Bluetooth and USB connectivity some of which can be controlled from steering mounted controls. On the safety front, Suzuki included electronic stability control, ABS braking with electronic brakeforce distribution and emergency brake assistance which all were tested thoroughly throughout the day.

One of the most anticipated changes to the Swift Sport range comes from beneath bonnet, the new 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine which replaces the 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine found in the previous generation Swift Sport. The new motor now also features direct in-cylinder fuel injection from a high-pressure seven nozzle injector system. With a short intake manifold and the integrated exhaust manifold in combination with the pendulum-style engine mounting system, the physical size of the engine and the overall weight is reduced and to add to the rigidity of the vehicle. To provide a more progressive power delivery, Suzuki also replaced the direct-action variable valve timing with a new roller rocker-type VVT-system which was immediately noticeable as I accelerated out of the last corner onto the main straight.

The Swift Sport delivers 103 kW and produces 230 N.m of torque, this allows for the Swift Sport to reach 100km/h in 8 seconds while the Boosterjet engine will keep propelling the sports hatch to a top speed of 205 km/h. Sampling the Swift Sport on the day confirmed my suspicion that the little racer can compete with more expensive and more powerful cars in the hatchback segment, at least on a racetrack that is.

The Suzuki Swift Sport fitted with the six-speed manual gearbox will retail for R315 900 while the six-speed automatic derivative will cost you R335 900. The Swift Sport will be sold with a 4-year/60 000 km service plan and a 5-year/200 000 km vehicle warranty.