Mini-review on the Suzuki Swift 1.5GLX I bought for my sister back in May 2006. The car has now done 5000 miles. I drove it recently and also drove it for its first 500 miles back in May.
Sister has been highly delighted with the car. It is used daily for short runs in suburban/rural driving. Not usually more than about 6 miles, but occassional runs of 50+ miles.
I drove the car recently and the engine has loosened up remarkably - very punchy in 2nd gear which will carry you from 5mph-40mph very swiftly. The engine sounds much smoother than when new and has lost the 'throbbing' note that it had. Engine likes to be revved, VVT cuts in about 3500rpm. Gearbox is excellent in all respects. Brakes and steering also very good.
The chassis is quite sporting and the car is fun to drive on our local country lanes and feels 'light and nimble' - good levels of grip (Conti tyres) and good handling.
MPG not as good as expect. Short runs and she leaves the a/c on all the time. Ranges from 32-38mpg. Don't think its ever been better than 38.
I have read reports on the Internet of Swifts suffering trim rattles and squealing brakes - this one is fine in these respects and there have not been any problems with it so far. No rattles/squeaks or anything broken as yet!
Upsides:
Good chassis/steering/brakes/gears - fun to drive.
Bodyshell feels solid, even on rough roads.
Comfotable seats, roomy even for me (18st and 6'4")
All safety/comfort features you need (6 airbags, CD, A/C, very good keyless entry system).
Downsides:
Useless MPG meter.
Sunvisor doesn't seem to be in quite the right place for me.
Clutch bite point set too high.
Indicators too quiet - I forget to cancel.
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didnt this car get a better review than the bmw mini?????...by jeremy clarkson in last weeks sunday times..
or it may have been the sport version of the swift...either way ..he liked them.. :)
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sometimes a little bit too much opinion....but its only because i care !!!
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One year on, my Swift has completed 9000 km in pretty demanding indian roads. It is the 1.3 used on the previous Swift. Agree Aprilia on most points but had a clutch failure at 3000km. Dealer tried to pin it on me saying that I drove with the handbrake on. I offered to pay them to remove the rear brake drums in the presence of the suzuki service rep to prove his point. They relented and changed it under warranty. My sources told me that there was a bad batch of clutches released.
There have been complaints about rattles - they are currently replacing the electric window motors of those cars. Ride has suffered with 195/60 tyres on Goodyear F1. These are thai made and seem to have gone hard. A friend of mine has them on his C220 D and says the traction control light keeps flashing on.
Wonderful chassis and feels quite solid. Only grouse - thick pillars and passenger side mirror too far back to view
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Interesting Ajit. Is the India Swift the same as the Euro/Japan model? I thought they might be a bit different (Maruti?).
Tyres on UK Swifts all appear to be German-made Continentals - low profile.
Personally I really like the big door mirrors and the good visibility from the car, you seem to sit high and have a good view through the windscreen and to the sides.
For a long journey I would probably prefer a larger-engined Polo or Fabia, but for local running around the Swift has no obvious competitors for the money.
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Noted your comments about fuel consumption not being so good Aprilia. A chap just up the road has one of these Swifts. He was absolutely taken with it and was telling me that it took them quite a while to get him a white one.
He kept on about the marvellous fuel consumption he got. "Hardly ever have to fill it up" was his comment. Hardly a scientific analysis but he is fairly experienced with cars.
Also said that absolutely nothing has gone wrong with it.
Looked very good in white actually whereas I have never liked the colour.
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Noted your comments about fuel consumption not being so good Aprilia. A chap just up the road has one of these Swifts. He was absolutely taken with it and was telling me that it took them quite a while to get him a white one. He kept on about the marvellous fuel consumption he got. "Hardly ever have to fill it up" was his comment. Hardly a scientific analysis but he is fairly experienced with cars. Also said that absolutely nothing has gone wrong with it. Looked very good in white actually whereas I have never liked the colour.
The fuel consumption in my wifes Swift automatic is around 34 mpg. I would have thought a manual version should get near to 40 mpg without too much trouble. The fuel gauge is terribly inaccurate, indicating a half full tank at about 110 to 120 miles and an empty one at about 240 to 250 miles.
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For a long journey I would probably prefer a larger-engined Polo or Fabia, but for local running around the Swift has no obvious competitors for the money.
In what way is the Swift deficient for long journeys? Is the suspension too stiff?
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>> For a long journey I would probably prefer a larger-engined Polo >> or Fabia, but for local running around the Swift has no >> obvious competitors for the money. In what way is the Swift deficient for long journeys? Is the suspension too stiff?
I have done a few journeys of around 160 to 190 miles (round trip) and found it tiring in a way that our C5 never is. In other words I feel like I have been in a car for 4 to 5 hours, whereas in the C5 I step out as fresh as a daisy. Not a fair comparison I know, as the C5 is just about the most comfortable car I have ever been in. The Swift is a small car, with a small wheelbase, and it rides like one, with a fair amount of pitching.
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The fuel gauge in the one I've driven seems to be OK. The warning light comes on when there is around 5 litres left.
This particular car tends to be driven on short journeys and she tends to rev it a bit through the gears. I suspect that is the main reason for relatively poor economy. Sympathetic driving could probably push it towards 40mpg.
As regards the long journey comment - well it is a fairly small car. The chassis seems to be biassed toward sporty handling and the ride is fairly firm. Having driven Polos and Fabias I would say that they are not as much fun to drive and don't handle as well (in 'standard trim') but they do have a softer ride.
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The fuel gauge in the one I've driven seems to be OK. The warning light comes on when there is around 5 litres left. This particular car tends to be driven on short journeys and she tends to rev it a bit through the gears. I suspect that is the main reason for relatively poor economy. Sympathetic driving could probably push it towards 40mpg.
32-38mpg is roughly what I would expect for this type of car, and usage. The combined cycle consumption for this car is 43mpg, so with city driving it's likely to be less than 40mpg, and air con will knock it down further.
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The fuel gauge in the one I've driven seems to be OK. The warning light comes on when there is around 5 litres left.
I have driven my wife's car with the warning light on for over 60 miles and still the most I have ever been able to get in the tank is about 39 litres. Either the tank isn't filling fully, or there is still a fair amount of fuel in it when everything else indicates that it should be very near to empty. I have to say that I find the tank difficult to fill, as the fuel nozzle has to be positioned in exactly the right place, or the fuel delivery keeps cutting out.
I complained about the fuel gauge to the dealer we bought the car from but they were not sympathetic, and insisted there was no fault with the gauge. It was like talking to the proverbial brick wall.
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Machika
There has to be something wrong with your tank or filler pipe.
I have filled my sister's car on two ocassions (from empty to full) and the fuel goes in dead easy until it is full to the brim. Have a look at the filler pipe to see if it is kinked or if the tank is dented from a jack.
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Machika There has to be something wrong with your tank or filler pipe. I have filled my sister's car on two ocassions (from empty to full) and the fuel goes in dead easy until it is full to the brim. Have a look at the filler pipe to see if it is kinked or if the tank is dented from a jack.
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The dealer said there was no problem with the tank. They were no help at all really and I decided it was a waste of time trying to get any further.
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It is different in that it has a modifed Esteem/ Swift 1293 cc engine instead of the VVT engine. More for cost and durability reasons. Also with two airbags and no stereo. People prefer to put in their own. Tyres are normally 165/70 - I upgraded.
I really like the climate control on such a small car and its stability. It beats my Honda hands down. All I could ask for is more power!
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Aprilkia, do you by any chance know what the ratio of mph to 1,000 rpm in top gear is? It could be that like the Honda Jazz and a few other Japanese cars in particular it's doing 3000-4000 rpm at 70 mph. I'm sure the engineers would say that it does the engine no harm - but it's not very relaxing for the driver. A 6th gear would come in useful for some of these cars, even if you only used it on motorways.
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My wife's auto does 3000 at around 80 mph in top gear (4 speed box). I would doubt that the manual gearbox is much different in top gear. 4000 rpm is an awful lot of revs at 70 mph. Mind you, my wife's car doesn't have a lot of shove at 80 mph in top gear
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IIRC its around 25mph/1000rpm - so 3000rpm gives you a genuine 75mph (probably a few % more shown on the speedo). Engine noise is not too bad a 70mph; there is a slight amount of transmission whine at this speed, which you can detect if you have a good 'mechanical ear'.
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From reading all these messages in this thread, I am getting the impression that the new Swift is nowhere near as good as the old one???
I have a 1996 old shape Swift, 993cc engine, automatic, 5 door version.
It may be a shade on the small side, but it is very comfortable; I took it from Epsom to Tintagel this summer and had no discomfort whatsoever.
And very easy to drive [ despite the lack of power steering! ] plus on a longer trip I can get 40 - 45mpg out of it [ with premium petrol like BP Ultimate or Shell V Power in it ]. An urban cycle still returns around 30mpg, which I reckon is pretty good for an automatic with a high proportion of short trips from cold?
One thing I note in common with the new version from the comments above is the unreliability of the fuel guage - I know from the manufacturer's handbook that the tank capacity is 45 litres [ 8.9 gallons ]. Yesterday I filled up from the "E" mark and I could only get 26 litres [ about 6 gallons in it ]; on other occasions I have been able to put that much [ and a bit more! ] in it from the quarter full mark...
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From reading all these messages in this thread, I am getting the impression that the new Swift is nowhere near as good as the old one???
With all due respect Muggy, you are comparing apples and oranges.
The new Swift is a fair bit bigger, heavier and more powerful.
BTW - I've not noticed any problem with the fuel gauge, but then I'm not the regular driver.
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3000 rpm at 75 mph sounds quite comfortable. I got looking at the price lists in What Car and the Swift does seem remarkable value for money at £9,000 for the 1.5 GLX of Aprilia's sister (Aurelia? Fulvia?). You get a basic 3-door 1.2 for that money from the opposition, even the Skoda Fabia now that Skodas are selling on quality and not just VFM.
I'm surprised not to see more of them on the roads - shorrtage of dealers or a limit to the number imported perhaps. It ought to be on people's shortlists if they are in the market for this size of car - and being well reviewed by the press as well as by Aprilia it should hold its value.
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3000 rpm at 75 mph sounds quite comfortable. I got looking at the price lists in What Car and the Swift does seem remarkable value for money at £9,000 for the 1.5 GLX of Aprilia's sister (Aurelia? Fulvia?). You get a basic 3-door 1.2 for that money from the opposition, even the Skoda Fabia now that Skodas are selling on quality and not just VFM.
That's why she ended up with the Swift. Not a lot to touch it at the price (I negotiated some discount at a dealer about 50 miles away and got £500 off list and a set of mats plus tank of petrol). She wanted something a bit 'trendy looking' too, and the Fabia didn't cut it with her. She wasn't keen on the Micra either so that didn't leave a lot of options other than Getz, which she didn't like the look of.
There are a fair number about in our area (there's a dealer 7 miles away) and there was also quite a long wait for it to arrive - they were struggling to get the cars through to meet demand, don't know whether this has changed in recent months. I gather the Swift Sport is selling well, but it only comes in a 3-door, which seems odd.
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They always have a few in stock at our local dealer. It comes down to whether the stock matches up to what people want.
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