SWIFTLY DOES IT (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Suzuki's fourth generation Swift supermini has been improved. But not beyond recognition. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 52

With the fourth generation version of their Swift supermini, Suzuki have stayed true to the design principles that have long served them in the small car sector, low running costs and great drive dynamics being the highlights. The car is now smarter and more sophisticated, plus there's frugal mild hybrid technology included.

Backgroundword count: 169

We've had 40 years of the Suzuki Swift model line and some varied designs throughout that time. They've done quite well for the brand though, the Swift offered in 169 countries and regions, with accumulated sales of over 9 million units at the time of this fourth generation model's announcement in late 2023. This version has a crisp design with greater sophistication but the company has aimed to keep what it calls the 'fun to drive playfulness' which has always marked this car's predecessors apart from a lot of other superminis. The other thing that's generally marked a Swift apart from a lot of other superminis has usually been its relatively low price. To try and keep that, Suzuki hasn't gone for huge engineering changes with this MK4 model; just an upgraded version of the old car's 1.2-litre three cylinder mild hybrid petrol engine. Even the exterior design is only mildly evolved. But do a lot of small changes add up to big improvement? Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 324

Suzuki says that this car's 82hp 1.2-litre three cylinder mild hybrid engine is 'new', but (as with the rest of the car), it's actually merely a thorough update of what went before. The brand claims it offers higher low-speed torque for greater responsiveness. As before, the engine's paired with a 12V mild hybrid system to improve efficiency. There's a choice of manual or CVT auto transmission and at the top of the range, unusually in this class, an AWD ALL GRIP system continues to be offered (only with a manual gearbox). Whatever model you choose, expect a more eager driving feel than you get with most budget superminis. And improved refinement thanks to sleeker aerodynamics and more attention on reducing road noise. For the first time on a Suzuki vehicle, sound and vibration adhesive has been applied to the under body to reduce transmission of noise and vibration into the cabin, particularly on bumpy roads. Suzuki calls its mild hybrid system 'SHVS' or 'Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki' technology and it's based around the use of what's called an 'Integrated Starter Generator' powered by a tiny 0.2 kWh lithium-ion battery that sits under the driver's seat. This set-up harvests kinetic energy when you brake and converts it into electrical energy. Not the kind that could take you short distances on electric power alone - the battery isn't big enough to allow for that. Instead, the regenerated energy is used to power the standard engine stop/start system and also to provide a mild extra power boost as you accelerate - around 50Nm of extra torque for up to 30 seconds. Thanks to a slight increase in engine torque over the old K12D engine (to 112Nm), the 62mph from rest sprint now takes 12.5s (5% faster than before) en route to 103mph with manual transmission - or 11.9s and 106mph with the auto. For the heavier 4WD ALL GRIP version, the figures are 13.6s and 99mph.

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