Suzuki Swift Sport Full Review

Engine

The Swift Sport is powered by a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that puts out 103kW of power and 230Nm of torque.

This is powered by a six-speed automatic or manual transmission. We took out the automatic version which seemed smooth and steady till braking from high speeds where the gears would clunk around, similar to the S-Cross but not nearly as bad.

Weighing in at just 960kg, the Swift Sport gets considerable weight reductions comparing to the last model (over 10% of dieting), which means that 103kW is a decent deal for such a light car.

Performance

The front-drive Swift Sport can reach 100km/h in roughly 7.0 seconds after testing.

Yes, it is an energetic and fun little car, quicker than other micro hatchbacks and more fun than you might expect. I was taken back by how fun a bright yellow box could make me smile so much.

It’s incredibly difficult to rate this against the likes of the Golf GTI and even the Clio RS, which is why it would be wise to compare this to the Hyundai i30 SR, Honda Civic RS and the Mazda 3 SP25 which are all similar warm hatches.

An issue with the Swift Sport is that it lacks a “Sport Mode” to tighten up gear changes, increase the throttle response and handling. That also brings me to the exhaust. It’s, well, okay.. Just okay. A few little pops would make this car much more appealing. Nonetheless it is an incredibly fun car and I was quite shocked how fun it actually was. The diet it went on truly helps the car!

Fuel Economy

The combined cycle estimates fuel consumption of 6.1 litres/100km. Our testing returned around 8.0L/100km with mainly city driving, and 6.5L/100km combining highway and city driving.

Interior & Technology

The inside is pleasant in the Swift Sport with nice red stitching and seatbelts to ensure people know you aren’t in an entry-level i30. You get dual climate, comfy fabric seats, the nice steering wheel and enough room for a few people. After all, this is a ‘warm’ hatch, not a fancy yet slow standard car.

The Swift Sport offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as part of its touch-screen infotainment array, as well as satellite-navigation and Bluetooth audio and telephony.

Safety

The Swift Sport gets a 5 star ANCAP safety rating.

Some features that help this include: lane-keeping assistant, autonomous emergency braking, driver attention alert and plenty of airbags. Although lane-keeping simply warns you and doesn’t actually keep you in the lane.

Ride & Comfort

This car is an okay handling front-wheel-drive car. You feel afraid to put the pedal to the metal as it will definitely wheel spin and squeal. But around bends it seems decently steady.

Its lightweight form factor and grippy tires help keep it planted and comfortable, whilst minimising the annoyingness of bumps where possible.

Warranty & Servicing

Suzuki Australia backs its cars with a three-year/100,000 kilometre warranty – which is quite poor in today’s day and age.

The same might be said for servicing which is due every six months or 10,000km, with a capped-price service plan covering the little sporty Suzuki for five years/100,000km. Services are pretty cheap, though, at $175 for most of them, but $349 for the 24 month/40,000km visit, and $379 for the 48 month/80,000km.

Pricing

GL 1.2LULP5 SP MAN $15,990
GL 1.2LULPCVT AUTO $16,990
GL Navigator 1.2LULPCVT AUTO $17,990
GL PLUS 1.2LULPCVT AUTO $18,990
GLX TURBO 1.0LULP6 SP AUTO $22,990
HL 1.2LULPCVT AUTO $17,990
SPORT 1.4LPULP6 SP MAN $25,490
SPORT 1.4LPULP6 SP AUTO $27,490

Overall

The new Swift Sport is a significant improvement over older models with plenty of fun to be had. We just wish the warranty and servicing was a bit more reasonable and the price tag too.

ALL our videos of the Swift Sport:

Full Exterior & Interior Tour:

Exhaust Sound:

POV Test Drive:

All Settings/Modes Head Unit/Dash:

Engine Tour: