SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVsand LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Wicked: 2020 Suzuki Swift 1.4T Sport a/t

True to the cause

Pics by Motorpress

Posted: February 23, 2020


The numbers
Price: R337 900
Engine: 1373 cc, DOHC 16-valve, inline four with turbocharger
Power: 103 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 230 Nm between 2500 and 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.0 seconds
Top speed: 205 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.1 l/100 km
Tank: 37 litres
Luggage: 242 – 556 litres
Turning circle: 10.2 metres
Ground clearance: 120 mm
Standard tyre size: 195/50R16
Warranty: 5 years / 200 000 km
Roadside assistance: 5 years / unlimited distance
Service plan: 4 years / 60 000 km                               


Generation-4 Suzuki Swift Sport: Lighter, stronger, faster, longer. New engine, new automatic option, updated kit. With all the good stuff from before.

Suzuki South Africa released this latest generation Swift Sport last July after dropping the previous, 1600 cc, model 18 months earlier. As expected by now, the new car’s body uses higher strength steel to render it stronger (for safety), more rigid (to improve handling) and lighter. Much lighter. It shed 90 kilograms even though it’s 50 mm longer. Added lightness, in the wise words of Colin Chapman, aids handling and stopping while improving fuel economy.

The extra body length does little for passenger room but adds 21 litres of boot space. That’s despite packing a spacesaver spare rather than the old car’s pump kit. A minor trade-off is a fuel tank five litres less capacious although, with the new (and smaller) turbo engine, range is hardly effected.

The engine: With 1400 ccs, roller rocker VVT to reduce internal friction and a close-coupled turbocharger with electronically controlled wastegate, it produces three kilowatts more than the old motor did, but at significantly fewer revs. And 70 Newton-metres extra, developed at 2500 rpm rather than 4400. That translates as seven-tenths of a second quicker to 100 km/h and 10 clicks faster overall. And noticeably lighter on fuel.

Among “the good stuff from before” are six airbags, a multitude of pedestrian safeguards, ISOFix anchorages, automatic air conditioning, Monroe sports dampers on revised suspension, ABS brakes with all the usual acronyms, supportive sport seats and keyless starting and entry.

New kit includes LED lights front and rear; automatic headlamps and a seven-inch infotainment centre with touchscreen, smartphone connectivity and reversing camera. If keeping your finger on the pulse at all times is important, an extension of the onboard computer allows monitoring of fore-and-aft motion, torque and power, acceleration and braking, and fuel usage history.

Apart from that small frivolity, Swift Sport remains an honest little fun car - no menus, no modes, no unnecessary “features” - just value-for-money hot-hatch performance. You wear it like your favourite jeans and tee, everything is within easy reach, the centrally mounted hand brake works strongly and smoothly and pedals on the automatic transmission car are placed close together for easy heel-and-toeing.
 
Or toe-and-toeing if your feet are big enough. Those who indulge in left foot braking may even find them too close together, leaving a big gap between pedal and footrest. Repeat after me: You can’t keep everyone happy all the time.

New to South Africa, because we weren’t offered the previous generation’s CVT, Swift’s optional six-speed autobox is a very nice computer-controlled, twin-clutch unit from Aisin-Seiki. Its transmission control module is located inside the gearbox to reduce external wiring, keep it protected and encourage longevity. At idle, with foot brake depressed, it automatically selects neutral to reduce internal temperatures and improve fuel economy.

All you need to know is that it adds hill start assist, changes smoothly, kicks down promptly and automatically selects a lower gear when coasting downhill. For manual override, pull the stick a further notch back, to the M position, and engage paddles. They also permit short-term change-down when attacking corners spiritedly and default back to auto when necessary.

Winding country roads are what Swift Sport is especially good at; give the engine lots of revs, work the paddles and brakes and try not to grin too wickedly. People might wonder where you’re off to.

Back to earth: The boot lip is about 71 cm high; the well is 21 cm deep and the space is neatly rectangular. There’s a light and a bag hook, the seatbacks split 60:40 and fold with a step. Their catches are accessible from behind.
 
Space for six-foot passengers is adequate, there are three each of belts and head restraints, one map pocket, really small bottle bins and  a cup holder at the rear of the central console. Suzuki provided two iSize mounting sets for baby chairs, but only one courtesy light; right in front.

Driver and co-pilot have more headroom and will find their seats very supportive, if perhaps a little snug for bigger frames. Both adjust mechanically, with elevation control for the driver. Two cup holders, easy-to-use secondary controls and lots of little storage spaces make life comfortable.

With most natural competitors now overloaded, overweight or overpriced, Swift Sport remains true to the cause. Check it out.

Test unit from Suzuki Auto SA press fleet

We drove the previous model in 2012

Launch report

Review

For more on this engine see the 2019 Vitara review

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.