Suzuki Swift. Would like hear what owners mechanics other posters think of the suzuki swift please advantages disadvantages cost

shannie1998, Jan 5, 10:49pm
Would like hear what owners / mechanics / other posters think of the Suzuki Swift please - Advantages / Disadvantages / costs to run.

My current car - a 97 Rav (lovingly referred to as the "money sponge")has had alot of money spent on it over the last 2 years. Now it as developed a very expensive noise, possible wheel bearings and CVs.

Rather than throw more money at it I'm thinking I might be better to look at a new car.
Opinions greatfully received.
kazbanz, Jan 5, 11:09pm
Shannie-the swift has proven to be a good reliable little car with no expensive costs cropping up.
My reservations with them are 1) the NEW shape swifts are popular and seem to sell for a comparatively high price. the only other reservation is that front bumpers seem to regularly become unavailable if you have a bit of a bingle.
They come in 1300cc and 1500cc-DON'T be puit off by urban legend aboutthe 1300cc engine-Take one for a drive
Normally I'd say ==Hey go for it but frankly I still feel theres a LOT better bang for buck out there
edangus, Jan 5, 11:13pm
Nice car, very boring, very practicle. Sucks with 4 adults in though.
franc123, Jan 5, 11:17pm
I've also heard that common smash repair parts have been time consuming to obtain through Suzuki, and not cheap either.With the huge sales success of the Swift in recent years It seems that Suzuki NZ aren't used to being volume sellers and haven't had large quantities of parts in stock.Of course this is your repairer and insurance co's problem, not yours but still something you need to be aware of.Given the amount of them on the road and new buyers still queuing up for them I don't think they are a crap car somehow.
tree51, Jan 5, 11:35pm
Mrs bought one brand new 4 years ago. It been great. After a month of owning it a silly tart in a toyota prado backed over the front of it and it was off the road for six weeks waiting for a front bumper to arrive from japan.
Apart from that it has been a great wee car.
irule, Jan 6, 9:04am
Inlaws have one, they love it. I can sit in the back seat and it's quite comfortable, surprising amount of room in the back seat for a wee car. As far as I know all they have had to do is service it in the 3/4 years they have had it.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 6, 9:13am
Over rated and over priced (secondhand).
They are just an example of how much clever and bulk advertising can affect a market.

The Automatic one is particularly disappointing.

The only good point really is the depreciation if you were to buy a brand new one and sell it after just a few years. in that respect they are a winner.

If you are buying secondhand there are a couple of significantly better options I can think of.
ducatiss, Jan 6, 9:52am
We had a Rav4 and never had a moments bother with it - just put oil and fuel into it and thats it. Sold at 240,000. Wife like the new suzuki swift so went down to Dunedin to buy one. Went to the show room in Andy Bay Rd and were totally ignored by the sales staff despite the fact that we were obviously showing interest in the car and looking it over. Went along the road and bought a new Toyota Yaris. 70,000 kms on and never had a problem - nothing at all has gone wrong. An innovative and well thought out interior means heaps of room inside. Only gripe would be that the new water based paint they use chips too easily, other than that its a good wee car and the 1500cc one can get up and go as well.
rover79, Jan 6, 9:59am
How many k's has the Rav done.
berg, Jan 6, 5:44pm
We have a Swift Sport and its a great car. 1600 twin cam, 5 star safety rating, 6.5ltrs per 100kms fuel consumption, 83000kms on the first set of tyres, 125000kms currently and discpads less than half worn and no problems to speak of. Mum and Dad come up from the South Island and love borrowing it to travel up here.
shannie1998, Jan 6, 8:40pm
Its done 150000km.
Has been regularly serviced every six month and has new warrent.
Had cambelt and fuel pump replaced at 90000kms. Brakes, radiator battery, new tyres, computer reset all within last 12 months

As a one car household we notice it when the car is off the road and there's been a few times over the last 12 months.
vtecintegra, Jan 6, 9:29pm
Yeah great little cars. Actually only a 4 star car for safety though.

BTW thats amazing tyre life, we've gone through a set of fronts at around 20,000 (not the cars fault either, just where it lives)
berg, Jan 7, 1:31am
We run 36psi right round and I rotate them and check for signs of wheel alignment issues regularly. Most of its running has been minimum of 1 hour trips (Mrs Berg going to work) on good roads so the tyres get good life. Lol, mate of mine sold his 07 Golf to buy one and said it was a great move. His flog (golf) was a complete lemon. He said he never had a complete working car because no sooner did the dealer fix it or replace something, it broke or something else fell off. He replaced it with a Swift sport and never had any further problems.
chris241, Jan 7, 1:44am
my wife harped on and on about wanting a swift so i bought her a rs toyota vitz 1.5. Had it for a year now and so we went and took a swift for a run and it was a 1.5 also. I would take the toyota over the swift any day. Better built better to drive and the toyota went better. I recomend trying the rs vitz befor you jump on the swift band wagon. just my experince tho you may think the other way round!
valleystream, Jan 7, 4:49am
Yeah agree. My mother test drove a 1300 Swift and hated it!Said she didn't like the handling and it wasn't grunty enough. LOL. Purchased a 1300 Toyota Vitz instead and is happy with it.