Suzuki Swift long-term test: report 1

The car Suzuki Swift 1.2 Mild Hybrid Ultra Run by Kiall Garrett, senior videographer

Why it’s here To see if the fourth generation of this small car can mix it with the best in the class, and prove that downsizing doesn't need to mean compromise

Needs to be gobble up motorway miles, deliver hybrid-worthy efficiency and squeeze into tight parking spaces

Mileage 613 List Price £18,699 Target Price £18,248 Price as tested £20,649 Official economy 64.2mpg Test economy 52.1mpg Options Frontier Blu / Super Black metallic paint (£850)

26 August 2024 – Swifty

“Good things come in small packages” is an overused cliché – and to be fair, it’s not even accurate. Sure, an amethyst diamond bracelet or a Rolex Daytona could fit in a small package, but so could a pair of socks from Primark. In the car world, especially, bigger does not always mean better.

After all, the old Ford Fiesta ST came in a small package, relatively speaking, and was utterly brilliant. The old Ssangyong Rexton, on the other hand, was enormous and, well, you get the idea.

The new fourth-generation Suzuki Swift has just rolled onto my driveway and the tape measure tells me its 3860mm length makes it a small car by modern standards. And I’ve got the next few months to decide whether it’s a sock or a Rolex.

Even though it’s a new car, not much has changed on this latest Swift – in fact it’s the exact same height and width as it was before. It's facing a bit of an uphill battle to win over my affections in the company car stakes, too, because I’ve just stepped out of six months with the Volkswagen T-Roc, which proved to be a phenomenal all-rounder.

Being a small SUV, the T-Roc was substantially bigger than the Swift, so you may be wondering why I decided to downsize this time around. Well I’ve become part of a three-car household in the past few months and with only one parking spot to share between us, two of us have to brave the side roads nearby and fight for a space on a nightly basis. If we do manage to find one, it’s inevitably a tight squeeze for anything bigger than a G-Wiz. So I thought something slightly shorter may suit my parking needs better.

However I didn’t want to sacrifice my practicality needs too much. As What Car?’s senior videographer, I am constantly carrying around rucksacks, cases and tripods among other oddities that make up my camera equipment. So a decent boot was essential.

The Swift has a tight 265-litre boot with the seats up, but when I first slotted all the gear from the T-Roc into it; I was surprised that it managed to fit. It may have required my world-class Tetris skills, but I was impressed. The low boot floor and deep storage area was useful for stacking bigger items below the parcel shelf, however, I did still need to drop down a rear seat to post through the long tripod and light stands.

It’s a good first impression for practicality, though, and I look forward to seeing how the Swift will hold up on video shoots as our time together continues.

When deciding which Swift to go for there wasn’t any choice for the engine, so I’ve got the same 1.2-litre petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance – more on that later – that any other Swift buyer will have. It has a relatively meagre 81bhp, but power delivery at low speeds in town hasn’t been a problem so far. I opted to stick with the regular five-speed manual gearbox, too, because the £1250 price hike for the CVT automatic gearbox just didn’t seem worth it to me.

However I did splash out on the trim choice. We’d recommend most buyers stick with the good-value entry-level Motion trim, but I decided to spend £1100 extra for range-topping Ultra. Motion comes with a lot of good standard equipment like heated front seats, wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and keyless entry and start, and to be honest it’s the sensible choice. Ultra, however, brings automatic air conditioning, and some 16in alloys which I like the look of.

While I was at it, I thought I’d fork out an extra £850 on Frontier Blue metallic paint with a Super Black roof to give the Swift a swish two-tone look.

With the price of my car now standing at £20,649, my Swift may not be the cheapest small car around, but in my chosen trim comes very well equipped, and other rivals like the Skoda Fabia and VW Polo cost more to get an equivalent level of specification.

Plus, not many rivals in the small car class can offer the same economy-boosting mild hybrid technology. I’m wondering if the word 'mild' might be doing quite a lot of heavy-lifting in the car's engine name, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on my fuel economy during my time with the Swift. If I can get close to the official 64.2mpg figure, my bank balance – and the person who signs off my fuel expense receipts – will, I'm sure, be thankful. 

Despite being small, then, perhaps my Swift has what it takes to be mighty. Only time will tell.

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