The Swift has now been with us for a few weeks and you can read our full first report in the August 2012 issue of CAR Magazine on sale now. It's proving popular with the CAR team, many of whom remember making the last-generation Swift our car of the year back in 2005.
This latest generation is a tad bigger in every dimension – we're talking stretched by a centimetre or so – so it remains a bijou supermini, which is proving ideal for day-to-day duties. I've yet to resort to family duties in it with children in the back, but I'll be sure to test out the rear accommodation during this test. What I can confirm at this point is it's perfectly comfortable in the front, even for a 6ft 2in lanky driver like me.
There's something pleasingly just-right about the package. In my mag review, I asked whether it was time for a Slow Car movement, in the same vein as the Slow Food movement. One where we don't obsess over horsepower and more of everything. One where we applaud smaller, lighter cars with the emphasis back on the basics. We've seen Mazda succeed with its MX-5 for this very reason, and it looks like the motoring world is equally switching on to the Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ twins.
After these first few weeks getting to know the Swift, I'd say we'll end up saying the same about the new 2012 Suzuki Swift Sport. It serves up just enough performance to sate my warm hatch wants. It's small enough to be city-friendly, yet capacious enough for my day-to-day driving. And it's bristling with sportiness – not Usain Bolt 0-60mph obsession, but with a general athleticism borne of its 1045kg kerbweight. It's highly chuckable and you can extend it further than a full-bore hot hatch at lower speeds.
Less, so far, really is more.
By Tim Pollard
Well, that was one of the easiest new-car specs we've ever done. The Suzuki Swift Sport - soon to be of this parish - doesn't have many options, you see. None at all, in fact. It's literally down to colour.
Visit the Suzuki.co.uk car configurator and you're faced with a modest five paint options. We chose Silky Silver Metallic for its photogenic qualities and, besides, we've kind of moved on from our silver ennui of a few years ago. A small car like the Swift just photographs well in bright metallics, and it appealed more than the white, black, blue and red hues.
So apart from choosing the colour, there was nothing else to do while speccing CAR Magazine's new Swift Sport long-termer. Standard equipment is pretty generous for a £13,499 warm hatch - and the following is fitted as standard:
• Five airbags (twin front, side and driver's knee)
• Cruise control
• Electric front windows and mirrors
• HID projector headlamps with washers
• Automatic lights
• USB socket with iPod compatibility
• 17in alloy wheels
• Rear privacy glass
• Keyless entry and ignition
• Bluetooth phone integration
That's a good stash of kit for the money - and not too profligate, either. This car is all about simple thrills, so what more would we need on a pared-back warm hatchback?
I can't wait to start running the Suzuki Swift Sport. This car is all about mimimalism: a small price, a small footprint and modest power - but allied to big thrills. I've driven the hatch a few times on shorter road tests and loved its purity of purpose. It's more 1980s than Noughties - so stay tuned for regular updates on CAR's new 1045kg tearaway soon.
By Tim Pollard
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