Suzuki Swift. Are they good cars reliable mechanically sound ect cheers

are they good cars! reliable mechanically sound ect! cheers

uh oh.

I have a 05 swift and really like it.
I previously had a turbo subaru which was chewing through the gas and tyres.
I do a lot of short trips around town for my job, and this car suits. Its a bit nana ish, but its cheap to run and still looks good.

They are chain driven, so no need to replace the cambelt. I have never had any issues with mine. I do get regular services done, twice a year.

In a nutshell they do the job. However they are terrible value for money and the technology under the skin is sparse and outdated.
Lots of people get excited about the resale value, but if looking at a secondhand one why not just buy the better car that costs half as much in the first place!
If buying a new one you are sacrificing value for money on the bet that they will stay in fashion and retain their over inflated used value.

If your only measure of a car new car is reliability, then they are great, at least as good as anything else!

Talk to somebody who both owns one and used to mechanic for Suzuki.Me.
Great wee cars and very reliable. Worst things are rattles and squeaks from the plastic trims. Sport has amazing front seats. I'm lost a Jaz's comment about outdated tech as mine is a 08 and it has variable valve technology, ABS, stability control, multi airbags, electronic power steering, and god knows how many more tricks and features. As for "bang for buck", price up other models that do 6.5ltrs per 100kms, 8.5sec 0-100kms, 15,000km servicing and all the extras. They are very competitive.

Good Idea!

Suzuki Swift Sport, Available from around $15'000

Fiat Punto Abarth, Available from $5000
Also has:
Electric power steering (and its user adjustable)
Multi Airbags
0-100 in 8.6 Seconds
ABS
Pretensioner's
Traction and Stability Control
An even longer service interval of 20'000km
5 or 6 Speed gearbox vs Suzuki's 5 Speed only.
Factory Sub Woofer and the list goes on.
The Punto is also excellent for reliability.

The only thing the Suzuki Swift Sport has on the Abarth is a small economy advantage in urban conditions, but at a third of the price to buy, $10'000km buys a lot of fuel.

Oh, and yes the Punto is older, but thats the point, you could get all that in a car thats nearly 10 years older than berg's. (although even for just 5K you would geta newer one than that)

For what you typically pay for a nice 2008 Suzuki Swift Sport (say $19'000) you can get LOADS more car. For that money you can get a VW Golf with 3 times as many airbags as the swift, the legendary 6 speed manual or 6/7 speed DSG (vs Suzuki's 1980's laughable 4 speed abomination). Handling, features and build quality from the class leading car that is twice the price of the Swift new.

The depreciation curve on the Swift also only benefits the new car buyer. The person who buys a high spec $19'000 Golf is going to enjoy depreciation that is at least as good and likely better than someone who spends the same on a Swift Sport.

Its easy to consider the Swift a good buy if you are out of date with what else is available for the money. Also, the clue is given when 25 year old technology like variable valve timing and ABS is quoted as "up to date".

No offence is intended to the poster quoted, their hearts in the right place and the Suzuki is equipped as stated. What has not been taken into consideration though is what else you can get for the money. thats where the Suzuki falls down. Every car has a price its worth, but for what you are getting a 2008 SwiftSport is more of a $12'000 car not a $19'000 car. If its a standard Auto one then its real value is considerably less again.

OP take everything above poster says with a healthy grain of salt.

For a start $5000 is at the very low end of Punto Abarths.For another thing a Swift Sport has 6 airbags standard same as a Golf or punto of the era (don't know where on earth the 3x came from).

The Swift also has some trump cards of its own like better seats, a better chassis (than both a Punto and Mark 4 Golf) and really good brakes (in Sport trim at least).Build quality is better than a Punto but worse than a Golf.

Areas where the Swift is genuinely lacking is boot space, ride quality and rear seat comfort, it has everywhere else fairly well covered

Actually where Japanese/Korean vehicles are concerned it pays to take anything that jazzpianoma says with a grain of salt. I am convinced that he is being paid by Fiat and VW to help them sell old used vehicles. If someone wants to buy a NEW Suziki they are not looking for a 10 year old Fiat/VW

We bought a brand new Swift Sport three years ago.
Since then it has cost us nothing but fuel and servicing.
I don't drive it much but the other half does about 20,000ks a year in it on motorways and rural unsealed roads.
When I do drive it I enjoy it immensly, it's fast, handles really well and feels safe.
My only gripe is that the front seat backs are a bit narrow, I am a front rower though, and the fuel tank is a bit small.
I haven't driven a base model but I have driven the equivalent size fiats, minis and VW's. They are not a patch on the Swift.
Highly recommended.

thejazzpianoma wrote:
Oh, and yes the Punto is older, but thats the point, you could get all that in a car thats nearly 10 years older than berg's. (although even for just 5K you would geta newer one than that)

Who would buy an old fiat!they are shit when new and they certainly don't get better with age

NZ Autocarmagazine had the 1.3d Punto and the Swift Sport as finalists in the "small car of the year" catagory (in 2006) and the Swift just pipped the Punto to win it.
cheers stevo