► Another new small Suzuki
► Swift gets Boosterjet motor
► Boot has grown along with cabin
While the 2017 Ford Fiesta is the small hatchback everyone’s talking about, another firm favourite has been unveiled at this year’s Geneva motor show – the all-new Suzuki Swift.
It’s immediately clear Suzuki has dialled the cute right up with this plumptious new design, so if it drives anywhere near as well as its predecessor, the Japanese carmaker could have another hit on its hands.
What do I need to know?
First, it’s based on the same platform as the Baleno and Ignis, but gets the three-cylinder Boosterjet engine available only on the former. That’s great news, because it’s a stunning little motor – far better than the 1.2 you have to settle for otherwise.
But it’ll be the 1.2 you need if you want all-wheel drive, and you’ll have to order a top-spec car too. That goes for SHVS as well – though none of those letters mean ‘glorified starter motor’, which is what that system is.
Oh, and as we revealed in December, the new Swift is five doors only.
Which Suzuki Swift do I want?
Depends on what you’re after. While its chassis itself is 30kg lighter, further slimming-down has appropriated a maximum of 120kg in SZ3-spec cars, when compared to the previous-gen Swift.
You’ll have to plump for an SZ5 car if you want a lot of modern safety kit (adaptive cruise/auto braking/high-beam headlights/traffic sign recognition), which incidentally is where the Ignis begins to fall down: all other trims manage a paltry three Euro NCAP stars.
No word if this tight-fistedness will be repeated for the Swift, but it’s a fair assumption…
Bigger and bootiful
In better news you’ll be pleased to hear the Swift’s boot has grown by 54 litres, so there’s every chance you’ll now be able to carry more than one bag of shopping behind the rear seats.
A good improvement. In fact, the car is longer between the axles than the old one, but shorter overall.
It’s also 15mm lower and 40mm wider, which Suzuki says unlocks extra interior space.
Its measurements are as follows:
- Length: 3840mm
- Width: 1735mm
- Height: 1495mm (2WD) or 1520mm (AWD)
- Wheelbase: 2450mm
- Track: 1520mm
Other changes include a new 4.2-inch instrument panel – again only for SZ5 – and a 7.0-inch touchscreen for the top two trims that works when you’ve got gloves on, apparently.
We don’t have pricing just yet, but the new Suzuki Swift goes on sale on 1 June 2017. We’re driving it on 20 March – keep an eye out for our first review.
Click here for more on the Geneva motor show from CAR magazine