Suzuki Swift long-term test

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 4650 List Price £18,699 Target Price £18,248 Price as tested £20,649 Official economy 64.2mpg Test economy 55.7mpg Private price now £14,117 Dealer price now £14,256 Running costs (excl. depreciation) Fuel £563

2 December 2024 – Swiftly here, swiftly gone.

If I had to borrow a song title from my car’s namesake to sum up what it’s been like to live with, I’d probably go with ‘All Too Well’. Or I’d maybe even say it’s been beyond my ‘Wildest Dreams’. That’s right, running this car has officially made me a Swift fan – just of the Suzuki rather than Taylor variety.

When I first took delivery, I was a tad nervous that the 1.2-litre petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance (the only option available) might prove a little too weedy for my needs, being endowed with only 82bhp and 83lb ft of torque. However, in reality my Suzuki Swift felt nippy in town and had no trouble keeping up with the ebb and flow of traffic on faster roads, even though it’s not exactly lights-out-at-Silverstone when you put your foot down.

I liked the light steering, slick manual gearbox and well controlled ride, too. So, the only thing I’d change about the driving experience is the amount of noise that enters the interior at higher speeds.

It’s not engine noise that’s a problem, because this fades into the background at a cruise. However, you do have to put up with a cacophony or wind and road roar on the motorway that can become tiring after a while; there's only so much the stereo can do to drown it out.

Remember, though, that this isn’t supposed to be a mile-munching luxury car; it’s a small hatchback. And it nailed many of the things that those types of cars should, including helping me to save money, thanks to low running costs.

Sure, it only receives a small amount of electrical assistance from its mild hybrid set-up, but that was enough to keep the engine off a little longer and take some of the strain off it when I was trying to get up to speed, adding up to some nice fuel savings.

Indeed, my Swift managed to average 55.7mpg over the course of my time with it. And while that’s short of the official figure of 64.2mpg, I still think it’s pretty impressive given that my car spent most of its time either in stop-start city traffic or pounding along the motorway network. Plus, I wasn’t constantly stood by a pump at a service station, because I got around 390 miles between each brim of the tank.

As any regular reader of my long-term reports will know, practicality is always a primary concern for me, because I carry around a lot of kit for my job as a videographer; from flight cases to soft camera bags and tripods, I don’t travel light.

Given that, you might assume the Swift’s 265-litre boot caused problems, but in reality I almost never had to resort to the emergency option of folding down the rear seats to fit in my kit, and then throwing a blanket over the top to try and keep it away from prying eyes.

The Swift's boot floor is low, and it’s a shame Suzuki doesn’t offer height adjustment so you can remove the lip at the entrance that you have to heave things over. However, its hard parcel shelf came in handy as a mobile work station/hot chocolate holder on video shoots.

So, the Swift has fundamentally been great, but is there anything I’d change about the way I specced it if I had my time again?

Well, actually I didn’t have much choice to start with. In addition to that single engine, Suzuki offers only two trims. And the only items on the options list were black alloy wheels, a roof bar, protective matting and some exterior decals.

I chose the range-topping Ultra trim, the main benefit of which was giving me adaptive cruise control to make those motorway treks a little less taxing. But even entry-level Motion isn’t stingily equipped, getting an infotainment touchscreen, Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, heated front seats and a rear-view camera. So, if you do most of your driving around town, you might well want to save yourself the £1100 needed to upgrade to Ultra.

Overall, though, the Swift has been a great car to live with, and I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone in the market for a small, cost-efficient car. For this Swifty, it’s been a real ‘Love Story’.

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