Test drive: the Suzuki Swift Sport, a small sports car with an ECO label. Perfect recipe?

Amid so many SUVs and electric cars loaded with screens and other technological gadgets, the Suzuki Swift Sport is almost a rarity in today’s market. Its simplicity, agility, personality and fun character make it, at first glance, a really interesting option, but will it be as good as it sounds? Let us tell you!

The fifth generation of the Suzuki Swift that we live with today arrived back in 2017 with many novelties over its predecessor, starting with its design, cabin, engines and technology. However, despite taking a big step forward in all of these areas, the small Japanese compact, and especially its Sport version (our protagonist today), kept its characteristic DNA unchanged.

After three years on the market, Suzuki wanted to give its Swift Sport a little push in terms of efficiency, fitting it with a 48 V mild-hybrid system. Besides slightly reducing consumption and emissions, this gave it access to the DGT’s ECO label, which among other things exempts it from the circulation tax, qualifies it for a registration tax rebate of up to 75%, and offers a 50% discount in regulated parking zones.

Youthful and spirited

Without straying from the topic, it’s time to start the analysis of the Suzuki Swift Sport and its design. A design that, after six years with us, still looks modern and which, despite being fairly understated, still draws the attention of both young and not-so-young people thanks to its 17-inch black and aluminium alloy wheels, its front bumper with a large air intake, its splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser in carbon-look trim, and its two exhaust pipes (real ones) that give it a very muscular look without tipping into vulgarity.

With the latest update that made it a “hybrid” model, the Swift Sport added the “Hybrid” logo to its tailgate, which in our humble opinion disrupts the symmetry and cleanliness of the model’s rear, even if it can work as a marketing tool.

Equipment designed to cover everything you need

Both the front light units and the rear lights of the Swift Sport feature LED technology, which not only gives it a more modern and up-to-date look but also offers really good visibility in low-light conditions. Combined with the automatic high-beam system, it lets you drive at night with a very high level of illumination and greater safety.

Moving inside, the small GTI has sporty fabric-upholstered seats that offer a good balance between lateral support and comfort, a multifunction steering wheel with red stitching and faux-leather trim of an ideal thickness, a six-speed manual gear lever with a very pleasant mechanical feel, and an analogue instrument cluster with a small 4.2-inch screen in the centre for checking vehicle information such as tyre pressures, the 48 V battery charge level, the speed set for the adaptive cruise control, or traffic sign recognition.

Well-executed interior

The dashboard, centre console and door panels of the Swift Sport are quite simple, with a predominance of hard plastics with a rough texture and no padded materials, which places it a step behind rivals such as the SEAT Ibiza, the Skoda Fabia or the Ford Fiesta. That said, we noticed no creaks or interior noises in the more than 1,200 kilometres we covered with the car.

As for its infotainment system, the Swift has a 7-inch touchscreen with a native system that could be improved, is not very intuitive and is rather unattractive. However, this shortcoming is solved by compatibility with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink via cable, giving us everything we need for day-to-day use.

Space and boot

Just like the front seats, the rear seats of the Swift offer quite generous space both for headroom and legroom, considering this is a car measuring 3.89 metres long and 1.49 metres high.

The Swift’s boot is not the best in its segment for capacity either, offering 265 litres, although its shape makes good use of the space and allows two people to carry several days’ luggage comfortably without having to play tetris.

Under the bonnet…

Starting with the mechanicals, the Suzuki Swift Sport features a 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine producing 129 CV and 235 Nm of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox, and a small electric motor of 14 CV fed by a 0.38 kWh battery as support (the component responsible for its ECO label).

Although its power is 11 CV lower and it weighs just over 50 kg more than the pre-mild-hybrid version (you can also read our test of that one here), the small sports car has not lost an ounce of its capability or fun, with a very eager throttle response from 1,800 rpm, very linear power delivery, and gear ratios that invite you to have a great time when you reach a good stretch of bends.

Blessed lightness!

The combination of the firmness and precision of its steering, the tuning of its suspension, the playful rear axle when you want to tease it, and the 129 CV of its engine (more than enough for a compact weighing just over 1,000 kg) make the Swift Sport a toy that wins you over and may even lead you to browse the used market with the bug to get one.

We can think of many options to make it faster or give it a more refined interior, but few cars offer so much for so little as the Suzuki Swift Sport, with a gear-shift feel of the old school, a sound that makes its presence felt without being especially attention-grabbing, and a setup that makes it very usable day to day, with consumption around 6 litres/100 km in mixed driving if you go easy on the throttle, five seats, a boot big enough for the weekly shop or a holiday for two, and a driver-assistance suite that includes blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, traffic sign recognition and rear cross-traffic alert.

Its price

As with other models, the price of the Suzuki Swift Sport has risen considerably with the general increase in prices: back in 2020, you could get a 140 CV Swift Sport for around 19,300 euros. Now, however, you’ll need to shell out close to 24,000 euros, a much less competitive price, but one that, given the current market and what you get in return, remains an interesting option.

In conclusion, the Suzuki Swift Sport is a car with a special charisma that few models today can boast. Its lightness, simplicity and analogue experience make you forget about little screens and simply enjoy driving, without giving up practicality in everyday life: as well as being fun and cheap to maintain, it is a very sensible car whichever way you look at it.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackSuzuki Swift6 versions · from 20,905 €