Taylor made: Suzuki Swift

It manages to be a ‘smart car’ without being wilfully avant garde, writes Sean O’Grady. There are few vehicles out there to rival it for daintiness, but it still begs to be thrashed like a Tory frontbencher at PMQs

The Suzuki Swift Ultra. Feel free to give it a damn good thrashing (Suzuki)

It weighs less than a tonne. The Suzuki Swift weighs less than a tonne. Leaving aside such featherweight oddities as the Caterhams, Ariels and a three-wheel Morgan, there are few to rival the Suzuki for daintiness, with the basic “Motion” variants coming in at a mere (by modern standards) 949kg.

I felt I had to check this because it feels so light on the road, in a world where we’re just not used to that sort of airiness on the move. A world, that is, where the absurd Musk Cybertruck is more than three tonnes, and even a VW Golf can be a tonne and a half.

The flat bottom steering wheel adds to the sporty feel while also being comfortable (Suzuki)

Yet you still get a lot of capability for your money – they start at a little over £18,000. I’ve always been a bit of a “Swiftie” (Suzuki not Taylor, obvs), and enjoyed the way they drove – high-revving and ever-eager to please.

The latest version carries over the last model’s platform and the three-cylinder 1.2-litre engines fitted to the last of that line; but the older four-cylinder unit, which used to make the now-deleted Swift Sport such a joy is sadly a thing of the past, and the Sport version is no longer on offer. That’s a cause of some regret and means some of the semi-secret fun associated with this relatively unnoticed car has gone with it.

With no turbo, you might have a busy time hitting the rev limiter at 6000rpm (The Independent)

That said, the Swift’s motor still begs to be thrashed like a Tory frontbencher at question time, and, with no turbo to boost things along, that means a busy time hitting the rev limiter at around 6,000rpm. Given that low weight, it really does feel “swift” in the ornithological sense too.

On my test drives the roads were fairly icy so I didn’t push things unnecessarily (not that I ever do), but my Swift never felt like it would let me down.

It’s a smart car, without being outrageously, wilfully avant garde in the way Jaguar promises us its new gen models are going to be. There’s nothing at all to be ashamed of, with its neat lines and lustrous paint finish (it looks expensive even if it ain’t), but there’s definitely a bit of old-school Japanese conservatism going on.

The modest touchscreen has outed our Sean as a BBC Radio 6 Music listener (The Independent)

The cabin is, perhaps inevitably, also a bit old school in the sense that the trim plastics are a bit hard and they’ve really not tried that much to make the dash and controls terribly interesting.

The buttons on the steering wheel are fiddly (too easy to change channels rather than the volume for the radio), and the heater controls (mercifully buttons and switches) are small and a little too low for instant access. The modestly sized 9-inch touchscreen can’t be criticised though – few menus and instantly responsive.

It’s pretty compact in there, and despite the seat belts for three in the back, let no one tell you that five adults can fit in this vehicle.

THE SPEC

Suzuki Swift 1.2 Ultra

Price: £20,355 (as tested, range starts at £18,025)

Engine capacity: 1.2l petrol, 3-cyl, 5sp manual

Power output (PS): 82

Top speed (mph): 103

0 to 60 (seconds): 12.5

Fuel economy (mpg): 64.2

CO2 emissions (WLTP, g/km): 99

All that said, the Swift is economical to buy and run. In my view, there’s little point in having the automatic version or the niche forthcoming four-wheel drive, and there’s only the one engine available, which works very happily with the five-speed manual gearbox (no sixth ratio being needed anyway).

The (very) mild hybrid set-up adds a little to the excellent economy – well over 60mpg, and the systems should be reliable (there’s a seven year/100,000 miles warranty).

The base Motion variant also gives you everything the contemporary motorist has come to expect – 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps, satnav built in, rear view camera, rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, wireless smartphone link display audio, keyless entry and start, driver monitoring system, dual sensor brake support (upgraded), lane departure warning and weaving alert, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitor and enhanced traffic sign recognition.

The Swift shows that ‘compact city car’ doesn’t mean losing useful boot space (The Independent)

My press car was an Ultra, but I can’t say I’d actually miss the alloy wheels (too easy to kerb), the fancy air con (it still steams up in winter) or the electric door mirrors (expensive to replace). The only real issue I’d raise with a new Swift is the disappointing 3 (out of 5) star rating in the standard Euro NCAP safety tests.

So, like the revised Kia Picanto I tried the other week, it’s heartening to see the car makers trying to make small, light, economical city cars when there is such a public taste for SUVs and four-wheel drives that will never go off-roading.

With its neat lines and lustrous paint finish it looks expensive... even if it ain’t (Suzuki)

The Suzuki Swift is, and should be, a relatively cheap new or used buy. But such are the distortions in the new car market caused by clashes between official targets for electric car supply and for electric car demand respectively that there are, at the moment, some really excellent lightly-used small electric cars ready for you to drive silently off a forecourt for less than a Swift – such as the lovely Peugeot e-208, say.

Admittedly, the batteries tend to make the electric heavy but if you’ve got the cash and off-road parking you’d be well advised to think about an electric bargain.

If, on the other hand, you live in a flat or a terraced house and would like a small, fun city car that rivals electric for running costs, then you could be turning into a Swiftie.