Suzuki Swift Sport 2020 Review

There’s more to the Suzuki Swift Sport than a mere badge.

The light-class warm hatch, by dint of its road performance, physical presence and minimally-compromised equipment and safety credentials, is deserving of respect in a market segment where you would not normally expect a lower-end player to be active.

Suzuki certainly has little doubt where the Swift Sport belongs: Just recently launched in updated Series II form, its circa-$27,000 price puts it within reach of Euro hot hatches such as the Volkswagen Polo GTI, the base MINI Cooper and the recently-launched Ford Fiesta ST.

This might seem a bit of an ask for a warmed-over model stemming from a light-car range starting well below $20,000, but it speaks volumes for the Swift Sport that it nevertheless has a loyal band of followers.

Its popularity also brings focus onto the fact that the Suzuki Swift range remains a strong presence in the light-car segment, where it currently runs in fourth place behind the outgoing Toyota Yaris, the relentlessly emerging MG3 and the Kia Rio, which has also just been upgraded.

On face value, the Suzuki Swift Sport Series II, for which Suzuki is asking $1500 more than the previous model, hardly appears to have changed.

From the outgoing manual-transmission version that was tagged at $25,490 before on-road costs, the updated Swift Sport justifies the lift to $26,990 (the auto variant is $28,990) with the inclusion of added safety technology.

This includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and heated door mirrors, as well as a digital speedo that can be called up as part of the information display. A new, two-tone orange/black optional colour scheme adds a little bit of extra fizz.

As before, the Sport version of the Swift fronts up with an aggressive face comprising a bigger and deeper, grille, while the rear-end displays a brash pair of tailpipes in a revised bumper.

The Swift Sport also gets its own front seats, cloth-covered and manually-adjusted as expected, but moulded to give extra lateral support. And the interior furnishings, though lacking any sign of soft-touch surfacing, don’t look low-rent.

Here, Suzuki takes the Swift Sport a step or two above the budget-compromised interiors of lower-level versions by presenting a welcoming array of coloured stitching on the seats, a flat-bottom steering wheel and stylish, glossy red-fading-to-black inserts on the dash, doors and centre console.

The mechanical specs remain unchanged: Power is supplied by the same 103kW/230Nm 1.4-litre turbo four, driving the front wheels through either a manual six-speed gearbox, or an also six-speed conventional automatic. Given the basically conservative power figures, there’s a key to the Swift Sport’s performance: its exceptionally light kerb weight of 970kg.

The Swift Sport comes as standard with (high and low-speed) autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, driver fatigue detection, auto-dipping LED headlights, folding/heated door mirrors, parking sensors (rear-only) and a relatively informative rear-view camera, all supplemented by the blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert that are now factored-in.

All the familiar electronic safety aids are in place, including stability control, anti-lock brakes with brake assist and brake-force distribution, while the cabin is fitted out with six airbags – for driver and passenger, side bags for both front seats, and full-length curtain bags. A five-star ANCAP rating was granted back in 2017.

Amenities are pretty good too. Standard sat-nav, climate-control air-conditioning, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto functionality and keyless-start help lift the Swift Sport above budget-price connotations.

It doesn’t take much to get the featherweight Swift Sport moving.

Eking out a seemingly moderate 103kW at 5500rpm, along with 230Nm at an unusually high (for a turbo) 2500rpm, the direct-injection 1.4-litre turbo four isn’t exceptional for its power (for example the Volkswagen Golf’s pedestrian 1.4-litre produces 110kW/250Nm).

But a good choice of ratios, combined with the mere 970kg it’s asked to move, enables the Swift Sport to punch well above its weight. This applies to both the torquey behaviour and the engine’s ability to venture happily towards the 6250rpm redline.

Compared to Ford’s new Fiesta ST (which is the most favoured in its segment in terms of power/weight ratios, and the Volkswagen Polo GTI, the Swift Sport is up there – better than a MINI Cooper.

And although we didn’t manage to reach the Swift Sport’s potential in the 2018 running of Australia’s Best Driver’s Car, it’s theoretically capable of reaching 100km/h in less than eight seconds.

Accelerator response is impressive and if there’s any standing-start turbo lag to be had, it’s completely disguised by the lowish first gear. From there it’s a quick trip up the rev band where 6000rpm comes up with repeated eagerness via well-matched intermediate ratios and the quick, short shifter.

The favourable weight/power balance comes into play where fuel economy and emissions are concerned: At 141g/km the CO2 figure is on-par with its major competitors and we came close to matching the official fuel consumption figure of 6.1L/100km by averaging 6.6L/100km on test.

Suzukis are typically economy-friendly and the Swift Sport is no exception – premium 95 RON fuel is listed as a requirement, but according to the handbook an E10 ethanol mix is OK.

The Swift Sport rides and handles pretty much as you’d expect: Although there’s some short-wheelbase chop over sharp undulations, the ride is well-controlled in most circumstances.

The steering is perhaps the main let-down. It’s a little slow (although the 2.8 turns from lock to lock deliver a nicely-tight 10.2-metre turning circle) and, for a deft, quick and sporty hatch, a bit over-assisted.

There’s little complain about in the Swift Sport’s overall ride/handling balance. The quality of the ride is probably contributed to by the relatively conservative 195/50R17 tyres which are narrower and fatter than those used, for example, on the Polo GTI and Fiesta ST, delivering slightly lower grip levels as a consequence.

There’s only one real omission from the Swift Sport’s repertoire: The rasping engine note that is engineered into many hot hatches.

The Suzuki Swift Sport comes with grippier seats than regular Swifts and these, along with a flat-bottom steering wheel, go a long way towards satisfying hot hatch requirements.

The dash, despite a total lack of soft-touch surfacing (as found for example in the Vitara SUV), is laid out with some thought and, apart from a bit of confusion setting the clock, plus a few other minor functions, quickly becomes familiar and easy to live with.

The amount of interior space brings no cause for complaint. Six-footers can sit one behind the other, while the tallish body dimensions mean headroom is consistently adequate from front to rear.

It comes as little surprise though that the Swift Sport’s boot, though relatively clean in shape, is not the most accommodating in class, behind even the tightly-dimensioned (though slightly longer overall) MINI Cooper hatch. Unlike other Swifts, there’s no spare wheel in the Swift Sport either: just a repair kit.

Out cruising, the Swift Sport is acceptably hushed even though the gearing is pretty low. At an indicated 110km/h the tachometer sits at around 3000rpm which means two things: one, you can hear the engine thrumming along – in a muted sort of way – and two, you are sitting in the power band’s sweet spot with plenty of response only an accelerator-squeeze away.

Suzuki has clearly done a thorough job upgrading the basic Swift hatch to Sport level, then stepping it up further in its latest Series II guise.

The looks, unchanged for the update, are the first thing to grab you: they are clearly more aggressive and more in your face than standard Swifts.

These impressions are backed up by a genuinely solid engine response as the nicely-considered balance of torque and power outputs comes into play.

The Swift Sport is always eager, even should you choose to rely on torque, rather than revs, to accelerate from low speeds and low rpm in a high gear.

Where some cars would be left wallowing, the Swift Sport happily knuckles down with a smooth, determined gusto.

It’s pretty nimble too, holding its line within the limits of the relatively high-riding rubber and the tending-to-slow, light steering.

The cabin, for a light hatchback, can’t be criticised for its space, comfort and fittings, and the boot, well, what do you really expect of a car that is based off a budget, light-class hatch?

Overall, this is a pretty cute package. For a few grandy less than its Volkswagen/Ford/MINI Euro competition, the Suzuki Sport II measures up admirably and it’s unsurprising that there are many faithful followers out there.

A little more weight in the steering and some more serious rubber would further elevate its hot hatch potential.

Oh, and there’s the matter of that missing rasp from the exhaust…

How much does the 2020 Suzuki Swift Sport II cost?
Price: $26,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 103kW/230Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 141g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2017)