Express & Star

Long-term report: Suzuki’s Swift Attitude adds some character to the fleet

We welcome Suzuki’s Swift supermini to our long-term line-up – can the Attitude model become a favourite with us or another run-of-the-mill hatch?

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The front end of the Swift is styled smartly

The supermini market continues to be one of the most popular in the UK – with the Ford Fiesta continuing to dominate the sales charts and the Vauxhall Corsa not too far behind.

But although those two dominate sales, the supermini market is filled with many other great options that can give city drivers and new motorists all they’d need.

One such model is this, and our latest addition to our long-term fleet, the Suzuki Swift. Here in Attitude spec, we have what is now our smallest car and one that sits in the middle of the supermini’s trim line-up.

A small spoiler gives the Swift a sporty appearance
(PA)

Although the Swift may not be the most stylish and attention-grabbing model in the segment, it comes with reliability and affordability on its side.

With the supermini available with a petrol-hybrid powertrain as well, our Attitude is only offered with the 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine that is paired to a five-speed manual. Developing 89bhp and 120Nm of torque, this peppy motor can get the Swift from 0-60mph in 11.7 seconds – not the fastest, but that’s okay.

Suzuki claims that the Attitude variant will achieve 55.4mpg, but with our short time with the model so far, we’ve been able to get at least 2mpg more than that – while emissions are set around 106g/km CO2.

Despite its compact proportions, the Swift is still very practical
(PA)

Here in Fervent Red paint and sitting 16-inch alloy wheels, the Swift Attitude is styled like a Swift Sport-lite – most of the sporty detailing, but lacking the outright performance. That’s no bad thing though, as you’re able to enjoy its looks but for a lower premium.

For the £14,099 starting price, the Swift Attitude comes with LED daytime running lights, a touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone integration and Bluetooth, automatic headlights, air conditioning, a leather steering wheel, a reversing camera and rear privacy glass. Not that much in the grand scheme of things, but at this end of the market that’s more than enough to be getting on with.

The Attitude model stands out well in red
(PA)

In the first month or so with the Swift, it’s been thoroughly run-in. Multiple trips to London, a drive around the South Downs plus a longer journey to Devon and back, means that the KJ19 AEW is settled in.

We’ve found the featherweight Swift – with a kerb weight of 980kg – has been great fun on country roads, as the responsive steering means you can chuck it around while using all of the power to fling you out of corners. That’s all while staying under the speed limit, and the responsive brakes give you the confidence to brake later when having a bit of fun. The gear changes are also really short, meaning quick shifts are easy to achieve.

When settling down onto longer drives, there have been a few quiet rattles here and there, and not all the materials used are the highest quality. But it’s a 14-grand car – what else can you expect? The car remains settled on the motorways, and around town – where it’s suited best – the Swift feels easy to manoeuvre, park and navigate down narrower streets.

The storage space is also quite good for a car of this size, with the 265-litre boot rather impressive and well-shaped. The rear seats don’t fold flat, but we’ve been able to work around that small issue.

But we don’t want to cover all aspects of the Swift just yet, as over the next six months we’ll see just what it’s like to live with and see whether it wins us over.

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