this year, the swift got its mid-life face-lift. it now comes with a roof spoiler, side-mirror signal indicator, a GPS navigation system, as well as keyless door entry. champions motors did a wonderful job of sustaining the buyer interests by packaging it with these premium goodies, especially the GPS.
Suzuki
i've driven the old swift while i was still serving national service. it was a borrowed car from one of my army friend. that was a no-frill, i-will-get-you-from-point-A-to-point-B car, has adequate power and came in a hatch or a sedan/saloon (the americans call it the former while the brits like the latter) version. i could still remember squeezing 6 full-size adults into the car and it still managed to climb up a road bending at 30-degree. and the best part is, its engine capacity was only about 1000cc... not bad. really. for a period of about 10 years, champion motors's business was all swift, swift, and swift. it was a good car. suzuki makes good car although their motorcycles are even better. the name haiyabusa says it all.
Side
Front
An angled view
The almighty GPS!
today, the swift is still the car that turns the company around. if i haven't remember wrongly, before this model of the swift was release, champion motors has a hard time selling suzuki branded cars. suzuki globally didn't have a world car. they borrowed the cars from daewoo and rebadged them and sold as suzukis (GM is an expert at this, imo). anyway, enough of history, i got the key to this white swift. it's time to take it on and see what it has got.
engine performance
ok. globally, car manufacturers have started to upsize cars and fit them with small displacement engines. the move is touted as a way to save on r&d cost for the makers and to help consumer save on petrol costs. of course, the challenge here is to make fuel efficient cars. the new swift retains the same 1500cc DOHC in-line 4 gasoline engines that puts out roughly about 101 bhp and 133 nm of torque. that is more than adequate for singapore's driving conditions. it also has VVT or Variable Valve Timing which is a must-have. the engine is lively, making the car eager to sprint. although i may be a little exaggerated, getting it to sprint from 0 to 50 is really really very easy on an auto transmission. i do not know on paper the exact rpm for the maximum torque but this new swift which i've tested, i could feel a jet-lag when stepping hard on the accelerator and revving it all the way up to the 2500 mark. no bad. i can assure you, last minute overtaking won't be a problem. oh, highway overtaking is also a breeze. i attributed the engine liveliness to the expertise of suzuki on making super motorcycles. the new swift also has a variants of engines: the 1200cc and the 1300cc. the 1200cc is imported by the parallel importers and comes with CVT. a word of caution to potential buyers: please do not opt for this engine specification because it will make the car sluggish. the 1300cc ones are carried in by champion motors as well. personally, i feel getting the 1500cc one would be the best choice although the car body weighs only about a ton.
handling
the steering is accurate but heavy. it feels heavy because of the use of hydraulic gears i guess. compared to the axio, which is electronically operated and ultra light, the new swift steers like those mitsubishi canter trucks.
sound insulation
well, i thought the new swift has a relative quiet cabin. the only noise pollution i could think of is the road noise.
conclusion
i like the swift for its lively engine which is attributed to its very good power-to-weight ratio and its compact size for easy manuever in all kinds of situations. thumbs up for suzuki!
