Suzuki Swift Sport Review & Road Test

Pros: Honest A to B car with character, excellent handling (Sport), value for money, good looks

Cons: No USB/iPod connectivity, sluggish in auto, a little too common

By Alborz Fallah | July 17th, 2009

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Price: $9,810 to $17,400

Our Rating:

Performance, Ride & Handling	3
Comfort and Interior	3
Quality & Design	4
Value & Features	4
Safety	4
Green	3.5

2009 Suzuki Swift & Swift Sport Review & Road Test

The little Suzuki is still strong, four years on…

Model Tested:

2009 Suzuki Swift; 1.5-litre, four-cylinder; five-speed; hatch – $18,790
2009 Suzuki Swift Sport; 1.6-litre, four-cylinder; five-speed; hatch – $24,990

Honest A to B car with character, excellent handling (Sport), value for money, good looks
No USB/iPod connectivity, sluggish in auto, a little too common

CarAdvice Rating: – Swift

CarAdvice Rating: – Swift Sport

- by Alborz Fallah

Oh no! They’d given me another Suzuki Swift. In Queensland it seems there are more Suzuki Swift’s than there are Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons put together. Everywhere you look, there is a Swift, car parks, on the road, they are everywhere and they multiply weekly.

Whatever Suzuki has done in Queensland with the Swift has worked far too well, their marketing department needs an award for making the Swift the most common small car in Brisbane. With that in mind I sat at the red light facing south on Kingsford Smith Drive. Sure enough, an exact same colour Swift pulled up next to me. There was a momentary glance to reflect our commonality followed by an uncomfortable smile. I’d joined the Swift club.

Reader reviews of the SUZUKI SWIFT

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Chels

Totally agree with this review. I have an 08 Swift Sport, black, love it – fun to drive every time. That said fuel consumption is almost double advertised, but still good.

http://www.caradvice.com.au Tina

Can you tell me what the fuel consumption is please? I am looking at getting one, but I really need to know what it’s fuel consumption is as I want an economical car to run. Thank you.

Adam

Horrible and cheap GM steering wheel and generally cheap interior. Seats unsupportive and flat. So dissapointing.

Hung Low

Have you seen a Commodores interior at twice the price? The Suzuki’s interior is put together way better!

SteveC

Great little car. Drove one when they were first released here in Australia. I know they’re cheap, but the interior felt unfinished. Funny thing about this was that their motorcycles are the same. Still fun, which ever way you look at it.
http://www.booran.com.au Carlover

(Refering to Adam & SteveC’s comments above)…What is wrong with the steering wheel, Adam. It is wrapped in leather, has a nice ‘meaty’ feel about it and has built-in finger-tip controlls for the stereo system. As for the seats and interior, I do admit the rear ones are a little flat but the front ones are pretty good, with a range of adjustments to enable most drivers to find a comfortable driving position.
There is a Ltd Edition RE4 out at present, which gives very nice body-hugging ‘sporty’ seats (from the Swift Sport) and covered with Alcantara Sued Leather, which gives the car a very ‘up-market European’ feel… not to mention the ‘keyless start’ proximity key feature, climate controlled a/cond, alloys, fogs, elec folding mirrors etc..
Natural ‘competitors’ for the Swift are the Yaris, Jazz, Mazda 2 and perhaps the Fiesta.. Compared to them (make sure they are the 5 Door, 1.5L engine, and not the smaller 1.3L or 3 Door version) you will find the Swift very good value-for money and a very good car in its class…
Nick

Just picked up my silver $16k review, love it!!!
Gavin

We’ve had our Swift Sport just over 2 years (42 000km) and it is brilliant. I drive it hard around the bends(shares garage with Lotus) and it is pretty foolproof with surprisingly high grip levels.

Nothing has fallen off either and only had on small rattle that was fixed. In city traffic I use mid 7′s and open road mid to high 6 liters per 100km – so pretty good, just a pity 98 octane is “recommended”

The two dealers in Brisbane we’ve used aren’t that flash / friendly and relatively expensive for a small car.

Double thumbs up and can’t wait to see how good new Kizashi’s going to be.
Gman

I’ve had my 08 Swift Sport since new, may 08, and cant fault it at all. It handles better than anything I’ve ever driven, and gives many cars a run for their money. Even had a mate with a BA XR6T comment on how pushed he’d be to match a time against me in a certain suburb loop. It just goes & goes & goes, no matter how hard you push it, or how much of a load is on board.

I’m averaging 14 k’s per litre, and managed to stretch 600k’s from a couple of tanks in a row on a recent trip from sydney to brisban & back. I only use Shell V-Power and I blame that for my incredibly good performace & fuel economy.

Deffinitely glad I made the purchase!
http://none Calvin

If it’s got a 5-speed auto with manual shift, I will definitely buy it.
numb1er

My mate has one of these and I got a fiesta zetec. We though we see whos car can handle the bends better when really pushed…my car did the better job. Just another example of an under-rated car. Swift is good but even my mate will admit the fiesta is like a raging bull around the corners.
ashpash

I’ve just bought the swift about 2 weeks ago, and already it has problems..my steering wheel shakes when i stop with the car still on (traffic lights…) and i find it feels really heavy, not impressed.

http://www.caradvice.com.au Matt Brogan

Hi Ash,

I suggest you might have some issues with your wheel alignment, and may even have loose wheel nuts. I’d suggest checking your wheel nut tension immediately.

Failing this, you can always pop back to the dealership (or a quality tyre centre) to have the issue checked out.
qrraceway

Hi Ashpash – sounds like a wheel alignment problem, take her into a tyre shop, would cost less then $100 and should get rid of that vibration in the steering wheel. Also as someone suggested check wheel nuts. Hope that helps!

http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug 68autobug

I bought a Swift last year. My first Suzuki.. Had 2 x 1.8L CE Lancers before.
I find it it excellent little car.. I’ve sat in the rear seats and find them excellent. The 1500 with auto is OK in the country.. Got 996 klms from a tank driving from Scone to Sydney and back to Scone.
I find the brakes a bit touchy… but otherwise a great little car…
Lee in Scone
Sam

I’m looking at buying a small car and have loved the exterior of the swift and hence couldn’t wait to get a proper look at it.
Despite how much I love it, after seeing the interior, I just can’t go there. It looks very unfinished and cheap, compared with its competitors. The Fiesta is a smart buy, a great little car, but not as cute. So I’m going a Mazda2!
Luke Brinsmead

My comment is really late but who cares, a great pocket rocket – an unfortunately very good underrated car, therefore it’s very cool.
Sandy

Mine’s a 2008

A: Find a road with lots of corners

B:Drive it,and drive it fast

You will not be dissapointed.

Great Car
Brandon

Good car overall, good on gas.
We do have a very big problem that is apparently rare, but for 6 months now, we have a delayed starting problem. Turning the key to start with clutch pushed in, it takes about 5-10 seconds of holding the key in the start position before it tries to turn over. Sometimes, 1 in 20 starts, it stalls after starting. And about 1 in 10 delayed starts, the gas gauge stays on empty. Suzuki has been very uninterested in fixing this problem. Our dealership is currently trying to have our car replaced for free because it seems Suzuki is unable to fix this. We are getting close to talking this warranty issue to the next level as Suzuki is not taking this problem seriously.
Jonas

Our 2008 1.5l Auto Swift is a nice little car, but I still can’t figure out why it uses what I call a lot of fuel. Driven the same places with the same driver as my BMW X1, the Swift actually uses more fuel, 11 l/100km versus 10 l/100km.