Suzuki Swift Sport Review 2024

Suzuki is bang on trend with its latest Swift Sport, which was first launched in 2018, as it now has hybrid power. This is the third incarnation of this car since it made its debut, so we cannot accuse Suzuki of sitting on its laurels. The Swift Sport is an engaging warm hatch when taken on its own, offering decent performance and running costs allied to good handling and a practical cabin. 

There have been two significant changes for the Suzuki Swift Sport since this generation arrived in 2018. Firstly, the car was launched with a turbo petrol engine, so saying goodbye to the older non-turbo motor that did so much to endear this mildly warm hatch to so many.

The new engine may have been smaller in capacity, toting 1.4-litres to the previous motor’s 1.6-litre size, but the addition of the turbo boosted power to 140PS. 

As a result, the Swift Sport was a much better drive without the need to thrash the engine just to access the power. It was far nicer at everyday speeds too with a less frantic nature and much stronger in-gear acceleration.

On paper it accelerated from 0-62mph in around 8.1 seconds, so wasn’t quite a hot hatch, but did compete alongside 'warm' alternatives like the SEAT Ibiza FR 1.5 TSI Evo and Ford Fiesta ST-Line 1.0 EcoBoost 140.

So far, so good. Then Suzuki got all zeitgeist-y and made the Swift Sport a petrol-electric hybrid. Not a plug-in hybrid or one with an enormous electric motor, just a mild hybrid. Overall, it means power for the Swift Sport has dropped to 129PS while mid-rev shove has risen by a modest 5Nm to 235Nm at 2000rpm.

Fortunately, Suzuki has kept the six-speed manual gearbox as fitted to the old Sport, but performance has suffered and the Swift Sport now takes 9.1 seconds to get from a standing start to 62mph, while top speed is 130mph. Neither is going to blow the socks of performance car fans, especially when the Sport’s price jumped by £3500 with the addition of hybrid tech.

Suzuki argues the latest Swift Sport comes with more standard equipment and that it’s cleaner and more economical. All of this is undoubtedly, unequivocally true, but it’s also a fact the far superior Ford Fiesta ST can be had for the same sort of money.

Take a look at the Swift Sport as a range-topping version of the Suzuki supermini and it’s a more appealing prospect as it does have a lot of enticing kit as standard. It also looks good in a gently sporting manner and it still deals with corners in an enthusiastic fashion.

There’s also the fact the Swift comes as a five-door only model, so it’s more practical than other supermini-derived hot hatches.

Yet the problem remains that on scale of bang for buck, the Suzuki Swift has got worse not better with its latest revision. It’s hard not to miss the earlier 1.4-litre non-hybrid model for its chirpily uncomplicated approach and appeal.

The Suzuki Swift Sport may have taken a backward step in terms of performance with its transition to hybrid power, but the car remains a delight when you encounter a deserted twisty country road. 

There’s good grip from the tyres and the 17-inch alloy wheels are not so big that they are too easily wrong-footed by potholes or minor niggles in the road’s surface. Rather, the Sport tends to flow with the road in a very contented, controlled manner. All of this is helped along by accurate, quick witted steering with ample feel and sensation.

On urban roads, the Swift Sport continues to feel very comfortable and at home with a supple ride, while on the motorway, the Swift is stable and deals with high-speed bumps as ably as it does everywhere else.

The Suzuki Swift Sport is powered by a 1.4-litre BoosterJet engine and a small electric motor, which increases low-down shove by 5Nm to 235Nm over the previous petrol-only model. However, outright power takes a drip from 140PS to 129PS, and weight is up by 15kg due to the hybrid powertrain.

The result of all this is the latest Swift Sport is slower than the pre-hybrid version, which seems like a very retrograde step for a car with some hot hatch leanings. Now, the claimed 0-62mph time for the Swift Sport is 9.1 seconds, which is a whole second behind the earlier model that just used the 1.4-litre BoosterJet turbo petrol four-cylinder engine.

The Suzuki Swift Sport has twin front, side and curtain airbags, as well as Dual Sensor Brake Support, which is the firm’s own version of autonomous emergency braking. On top of this, the Sport also has Hill Hold Control and a Blind Spot monitor.

Swift Sport buyers are also treated to Lane Departure Warning as standard, along with Lane Departure Prevention, Weaving alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. You also get traffic sign recognition, all-round parking sensors and a reversing camera, and High Beam Assist.

The Swift Sport does without a space saver or full-size spare wheel and, instead, makes do with a puncture repair sealant kit.

The Sport gets all the essentials right with a good driving position, well positioned pedals and decent all-round visibility. The driver also enjoys a steering wheel that adjusts for angle but not depth.

The Swift is one of the few supermini-based hot hatches that you could seriously consider for carrying four adults on more than a quick jaunt across town. It even provides good shoulder and elbow room for this kind of escapade, though trying to fit three adults across the back bench would be a squeeze too far even if Suzuki does fit a trio of three-point belts back here.

The 265-litre boot has decent enough room for a week's shopping or a pushchair and it's certainly an improvement over the previous Swift Sport

Like the standard Suzuki Swift, the cabin of the Sport is functional and well built, but does make do with some hard plastics in places. It doesn't feel especially plush or upmarket, but on the plus side it should prove durable.

Suzuki has added some extras to make it stand out, so the Sport has red trim on the dash and doors, sportier instrument dials and aluminium pedals. There are also sport seats with more side support and red stitching which extends to the gear lever surround, but it misses the lure of a Volkswagen Up GTI.

The 7-inch infotainment touch screen is well placed to be easy to reach from the driver’s seat and there are remote buttons on the steering wheel to operate the stereo’s volume and to answer phone calls while keeping your hands on the tiller. That sound control is very welcome as the one on the screen is fiddly to use.

The screen’s graphics and interaction lag behind the class norm. The screen is slow to react to inputs and the display looks very dated, especially the sat-nav map that can be difficult to read as it’s too fussy and lacks definition.

To help offset the high cost of the Swift Sport, Suzuki’s own finance offers are a way to drive this car without the hit to your wallet of paying the full price up front.

Suzuki has both personal contract plans and hire purchase available to customers, and it also routinely sweetens the deal with enticement such as zero per cent finance and no deposit required.

The other way to soften the blow of the increased list price of the latest hybrid model is by choosing a pre-registered or nearly new example. If you don’t mind being the second name in the logbook, you could drive off in a Swift Sport with only 2000 miles under its wheels from £14,000. That represents a saving of around £7000 on the list price, which makes the Swift Sport a much more appealing ownership prospect.

With every one of its approved used cars, Suzuki provides its own used warranty, along with guaranteed mileage and history checks.

Sticking to the current generation of Suzuki Swift Sport with the 1.4-litre BoosterJet engine, a two-year old model with 20,000 miles on the clock could be yours from £11,500.

Real MPG figures for the non-hybrid Swift Sport show it is capable of 44.8mpg versus a claimed economy of 50.4mpg.

Getting insurance cover for the Suzuki Swift Sport could be one of the few hurdles to ownership of this car. It sits in group 35 for insurance, which is the same as a Renault Megane R.S. with twice the power output of the Swift. As a consequence, the Sport may be too pricey for many younger drivers who would otherwise be attracted to a warm hatch. 

One of the main drivers for Suzuki option to fit the Swift Sport with a hybrid power set-up is to reduce the car’s emissions under the latest WLTP tests. As a result, the hybrid model’s 127g/km carbon dioxide emissions might not look much different from the previous Sport’s but it means the car now pays Vehicle Excise Duty at £165 for the first years thanks to qualifying as an Alternative Fuel car.

That’s a saving of £10 on the first 12 months’ road tax and the Swift Sport hybrid does the same in subsequent years with its £140 per annum tax burden.

Suzuki only sells the Swift Sport in a single trim version. So, you get 17-inch alloy wheels, twin exhausts, rear privacy glass, body kit, and black-painted door pillars as standard.

There are also front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, and adaptive cruise control. On the inside of the Swift Sport, you’ll find all-round electric windows, keyless ignition, driver’s seat height adjustment, and a 7-inch infotainment screen.

This comes with DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat-nav and you can access smartphone apps through Apple CarPlay.

Automatic air conditioning controls the interior temperature, while heated door mirrors make light work of frosty mornings.

You sit on sports front seats with Sport Exclusive upholstery, and the driver is treated to a leather-bound three-spoke sports steering wheel with remote control buttons for the stereo and cruise control. Rounding off the Swift Sport’s specification are unique main dials with red edging and a 4.2-inch digital display in the centre for onboard information.