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With links to its JWRC contender, Suzuki's Swift Sport is the new performance model in the range, honed on the roads and test tracks of Europe. Simon Bickerstaffe takes a look.

The Swift range has been with on sale since 2005 but until now, Europeans have not had access to the three door Sport version. One year on, the European-specification Swift Sport has been released, with revised chassis and performance, offering old school fun and a top speed of 124mph.

The junior hot hatch used to be made to a very simple formula: tune the engine for a little more power, tweak the suspension and add a body kit. Not the last word in refinement nor luxuriously appointed, but cheap and most importantly: fun.

Citroën’s AX GT had only 85bhp from its eight valve 1.4 litre engine but tipped the scales at only 720kg: power to weight ratio was the key to its performance. Suzuki took a similar approach but with a little more sophistication: it used a 16 valve cylinder head – then almost unheard of in cars like these – and extracted 100bhp from its high revving 1.3 litres to create the Swift GTi, offering a top speed of 113mph.
But that was back in the 1990s and although the Swift continued, the GTi has long since departed, leaving quite a gap – until now. The current range has just been topped by its spiritual successor: the Swift Sport.

Euro-spec Swift Sport: funky; chunky

The chunky little shape is fresh and distinctive, the wheel at each corner stance not unlike the Mini Cooper; a car singled out by Suzuki as a direct competitor, along with the Citroën C2 VTR; all three cars are powered by 1.6 litre 16V engines.

The detail design is very good and although twin chrome exhausts may not be strictly necessary to handle the spent gasses from a small four cylinder engine, they suit the look of the car perfectly and make a pleasingly fruity noise.

The interior is rather plain – no swooping curves for example – but is straightforward and logical and all the better for it. Quality materials and excellent fit-up match the best in class and are light years ahead of the small hatchbacks of yesterday; small cars have grown bigger and heavier but they have also become more comfortable and more accommodating. Standard equipment is generous, and includes MP3-compatible CD player, very effective air conditioning, keyless entry and deadlocks.

The Sport weighs 1105kg: not super light but competitive within the segment and a trade-off against the features mentioned plus a comprehensive array of passive and active safety measures. Protection stretches to six airbags and to help ensure they aren’t needed, the chassis has traction control and electronic stability control (ESP). The large brakes offer particularly good stopping power and are backed up with ABS and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD).

High strength steel and tailored blanks have been used extensively throughout the body in white, and the car has been awarded four and three star Euro NCAP ratings for occupant and pedestrian safety respectively.

The suspension benefits from stiffer springs and new, monotube dampers for the conventional front strut/rear torsion beam arrangement. Bushings have also been revised and the result is very tidy handling coupled to a compliant ride. Steering is nicely weighted and accurate. In essence, the car is simply great fun to drive whilst retaining the everyday comfort and user friendliness of the standard models.

The heart of the matter: Swift Sport gets zesty M16A engine

What they don’t have is the Sport’s new 1586cc engine. The all-aluminium DOHC M16A VVT unit features variable valve timing, higher lift intake and exhaust cams, a polished intake manifold, forged pistons and a compression ratio of 11.1:1.

It develops 123bhp/92kw @ 6800rpm and 148Nm/109lbft @ 4800rpm. Specific output is 77.8bhp/litre and power to weight ratio is 112bhp/tonne.
Fuel consumption is 37.7mpg combined (7.5l/100km), and emissions are 175g/km CO2.

Like the old Swift GTi, the power comes high up the rev range but unlike the older car, the Sport is more flexible, given the more complex valvetrain and engine management system. However, like all sixteen valve engines, it likes to be revved and the Suzuki thrives on them before hitting the limiter at 7000rpm. 0 – 62mph takes 8.9s and top speed is 124mph.

The engine spins sweetly and is smooth and refined but rather loud at speed: at 70mph in fifth gear, the engine is turning over at almost 3900rpm. This is in keeping with its hot hatch character and gives good acceleration without the need to change down but on a long drive, makes you wish that the car had six speeds or a taller fifth. That aside, the quality of the transmission is superb. Suzuki says it has paid a lot of attention to the gear selection mechanism and it shows. Operated via PTFE coated cables, gear changes are light and precise and together with the (uprated) hydraulically operated clutch, would not be out of place in a bigger, more expensive car.

Built in Magyar, Hungary as well as in Japan, China and India, the Swift is the first product of Suzuki’s new model programme, intended to strengthen its position as a manufacturer of compact vehicles. The Swift chassis was refined in Europe to meet the requirements of the European market, and included development work at the Nürburgring circuit.