Suzuki Swift hatchback review - Carbuyer

Although it doesn't wear a popular badge like the Ford Fiesta or Volkswagen Polo, the Suzuki Swift is a brilliant choice and one of the cheapest cars in this class. Only a 1.2-litre petrol engine is available, but it offers enough power for city driving as well as impressive fuel economy. A more efficient diesel engine, will be available in the spring of 2011. Front and rear passengers have plenty of space, but the boot is only really big enough for the weekly shopping.

[Tieal]

God i love this car. Swift proves that small cars can place huge smile on your face :).

[fortuner]

I've just looked at 10 Swift reviews on YouTube and this one is by far the best. I would have like to see more - a longer vid.

[Rinndonabo]

I got mine today, well i cant stop driving it, i took the long road home today just because i want to drive it.

[thundergod]

I have a swift, i love it, its got great visibility, decent space for rear passengers and is beautiful to drive.

[SifisMath]

Maybe the plastics of interior are cheap, but this is japan.
And japan means reliability!!!
You take a polo for his quality but his reliability can't compare with this car...
japan

[tristanvoros]

I rented this car in Australia. Was so much fun i put on 1000km in less than 2 days :D

[aaronkirkaldy]

just got one of these, as my first car, in 2020. didn’t realise Matt made videos this long ago. love it!

[ianmcfadden]

Have bought one of these in Horizon orange, built in satnav, cruise control, AC, Black alloy wheels, superb car!!

[fernandocabezas]

I bought this car back in 2012 partly thanks to this video. It's a great car.

[MrAfzalaziz]

I have it and  I have no qualms about the car and it is very reliable. It has not given me a single problem so far.  Easy handling and great for city driving. But I do wish it had a better suspension and a lesser turning radius for its size.

[-im]

Wow man I’ve just passed my test and bought this car, same colour and all I’m so excited. Cool af first car!

[itchyscratch]

I'd love one of these. It's a shame they don't do clever things with the back seats to make up for poor boot space. My 2007 Mistubishi colt (3.8 meter long supermini) has sliding rear seats so you can choose between rear leg room or boot space depending on each journey. The seats also unclip and come out altogether to create a small van! The Yaris seats also slide (even the mk1 Yaris) and of course the Honda Jazz has the 'magic' rear seat design for awkward loads. All these are small cars and manage to do something clever with the back seats. Having said that I would still buy a Suzuki Swift 2010+ model as it seems like great value, economy, reliability and looks. Road tax for the 1.2 petrol in the UK is only £30 per year and 50mpg is good considering it's quite powerful and responsive. 😍

[isaap]

My Swift is manual, I highly recommend getting the manual and not the automatic, the manual has a 5 speed gear box while the automatic uses a 4 gear box. As for the clutch, its really comfortable. I'm telling you, the swift is the way to go its a great car all around. The MPG on the swift is considerably better than its competitors, so you wont spend a lot of cash on gas.

[ruthwhittinghamcampbell]

I'm getting mine for my birthday gift from my self . Cant wait

[penvon]

I wish Canada had this car, I test drove one on vacation & loved it so much but there isn't any like this in the great white north...I will settle for a Toyota Yaris I guess.

[mathiastwp]

Here is my review as a passenger. (We have one, but I´m only 14).

I am 1.85, but there is just enough room in the back seats. But just barley. If i have a headset on, it will touch the roof. Something that one may find annoying. I also find, that when I sit in the front, I really have to have the seat far back if there would have to be room for a steering wheel. I have not tried adjusting the hight of the seat tho... But since I´m obviously driving, I can do with having my knees a bit higher, and there still room. I don´t know if it´s me, but I seem to have rather long legs. It´s my mum who drives, and is the only one in my family of 4 that has a drivers license. And I´m much taler than her. So if I´m going to practice-drive when I´m 16, there will be some back and fourth with the seat, and you can easily do so with the back of your foot towards the front of the seat of the... Seat.

The seats are not bad, and I like sitting in the front, not only for the view of the road, but also for the The suspension is indeed rather stiff, and if you face some of those annoying single-lane-supercar-destroying-speedbumps, you can sue that place for head wobble. 

The interior is rather nice, despite the plastic. I rather like the layout, and I really like the little room for your phone or whatever on the top of the dash. But the glove box is a bit weirdly  built, and you can clearly see beyond it. You may loose a penny in there...

The boot is actually surprisingly big, for what it appears to be. Back in the days we used to have a 1999 Citroen Berlingo, and the boot in that thing is the Vatican. But the 4 of us came us from Stavanger to our grandma in Flekkefjord for christmas, with personal items and nearly all gifts. You´ll be surprised what you can fit in places if you just try hard enough...

And then we come to the design. I rather like it, and it looks happy. Tho. Unfortunately I don´t like it´s ass. It like this with all cars, but why do they all have to have that sloping side windshield line? Why do it lift it´s ass? Maybe most cars just have to poo... Maybe that´s why they can make such a noise... Apart from that, it´s rather happy looking, and it´s rather nice overall. But there is some weirdness with the lines around the mirrors... But this one, is a rare one. It has the black window coulombs and gets that Scania like feature. If you make the bonnet black, you can almost call it a Scania baby. A Babya... I have really never understand that black hood thing... With trucks I prefer the Volvo over the Scania. I really like Volvo. Would not mind a good Volvo as a first car. Hell, I wouldn´ mind a swift for a first car. As far as panel gaps are concerned, there is nothing to worry about.

When it comes to the engine, this thing is no slowpoke. It really want´s to get up in speed, I can report as my mum´s opinion on the area. But she is still able to control the speed and keep it there, whilst crazy drivers, - that apparently think it is 90, to there is no higher than 80 on that route, - all come pile-ing up behind us. We have seen some crazy shizzle out there on the streets of E39 and I´m thinking of going all Russian-style and get a hood-cam on there. Tho I think I got a guy on film doing some dangerous business with my Samsung Vloging-style camera.

When it comes to safety, I must say it´s rather good. I have watched the 5-star car´s clip, and it seems to deform in all the right ways. It has 2 airbags in the front and curtain airbags on the side. There seems to be a beam in the middle of the cab, going across the roof. Whether this is a roll-bar, or just a feature, I do not know.

So what about the conclusion then? Well, we bought it used in 2012 for approximately 200.000 NOK, witch is not bad. And there was and is no problems with it as of right now. After having had the Berlingo for over 6-years, we first got a VW Touran, but the gear system was all gone. When my mum drove it back from the dealership the clutch went. We got it repaired again, it happened again, we got it repaired again. But it happened AGAIN! Something like that never the less. It was a diesel, but now we have the swift with an automatic. I might just have bought this as a first car. If it has to be a small car I might as well go for this one. Rather safe for such a small car, and the room is just enough in the front. BUT. I´d rather have a Volvo XC or V.

In comparrison to itself: 8/10

In comparrison to everything: 7/10

Has some untaped potential, as far as my taste go. All around nice car. This over the diesel Touran for sure.

[keithusa]

I sold my beloved Suzuki Swift and bought a Ford Fiesta Zetec to which i loved just as much..But guess what, as of last week, i traded in My Ford and got a great deal on a 2017 pre registered Suzuki Swift SZ-L again in White with Black 16 inch Spoke glossy alloys and a FULL SPEC..Man it looks beautiful.. No way is it noisey or rough on Motorways and the fuel economy is a tad better than the Ford...BOTH cars do exactly what it says on the tin....I am going to keep this car for two years and see what happens with the prices on the NEW SHAPE THE 1.0 BOOSTER JET ENGINE....

[isaap]

I recently had to decide weather to buy the Swift or the Mazda 2. Honestly both are great cars. to answer your question yes. the boot is a bit smaller, not considerably... in other words you should make a choice by driving both either one is a great option.
Have you considered the fiesta? it has the same motor as the Mazda, you could enjoy that as well.
Personally I could not be happier than with my Swift. I never get bored of driving and I drive a lot!

[DoctorOfPhilosophyMD]

I'm thinking about getting a swift for my daughter's first car after she gets her license. I'm not entirely sure though, however, after reading a few of the comments, I'm fairly certain this is a suitable car. Thanks for the video.

[enderbilsen]

we got a 84 model 820.000 km suzuki alto. Suzuki doesnt decay or oxidized. Same model honda's mitsubishi's mazda's and even bmw's are decayed and in junk yard.