Suzuki Swift.anyone drive one? know about them?

Two questions: is the sport model a significant improvement on the standard model! enough to make it worth paying the extra for! Do they have the power to carry 2 people easily! Any other info appreciated.

My mother has the Sport model.

IMO its a massive improvement over the standard one, as well as a bit more power it has much firmer suspension, really good brakes and much nicer seats.

Plenty of power to carry two people but they are geared quite short so can be noisy and tiring to travel any real distance in at high speeds.

Aside from that the boot is tiny and the rear seats are very upright which I find a bit uncomfortable for long distances.Plenty of room back there though.Also no space for a spare tyre if that is a concern.

The Swift continues to be about the most over priced and under delivering car on the NZ Market. Its testament only to how people fall for heavy marketing and slick exterior styling.
The technology is old, features basic and price tag hefty.
Drive a VW Polo and see what you would be missing out on.

BTW my post was referring to the old model normal Swift vs the Sport.

The new shape doesn't come in a Sport version yet, they're still selling the old one

Edit; BTW I think the Polo is a great car, but its significantly more expensive than a Swift ($5k+)

After driving a Polo, I would still take the Swift over it.

True but you can grab an ex-demonstrator with just a few km's on the clock for the same money. At least then you have a proper car worthy of the price tag.

If you are considering the old model its even worse, as a car they are not as good as a 2001 Punto yet demand several times the price.

If looking for secondhand you may be able to get a MK5 Golf (thats the new shape 2004) or otherwise a Grande Punto. Both are lightyears ahead of the old Suzuki for similar money. Don't go earlier than 2005 with a Polo as the previous models were not up to snuff.

And the Swift should have better resale In NZ as they are more popular. It's a bit like Corollas - yes they are dearer but they hold their price quite well as there is always buyers for them down the track. I know two people who have Swift Sports and love them to bits.

You would be driving the old Polo though right!

This is true but it may not last. Plus if you are buying secondhand this is not a feature you want. Paying crazy money for an old technology second hand car that could fall from fashion at any point is not smart at any level.

No I've driven an equivalent age Polo to the Swift. It didn't feel like a huge improvement from the 2000/2001 Polos I had driven previously. I just knew that in 5-10 years the Polo would be a dog, while the Swift would still have its reputation to be a great car.

As per usual, thejazzpianoma hijacks the thread and blabbers on about other cars entirely.We all wish you would not do that.Here's an answer to the OP's actual question.

I have driven both models, the standard model for more kms (although have not owned one) and find the extra performance of the Sport model to be significant.The only thing that put me off was the driver's seat which I find too narrow.The ride is more firm, but the whole car feels tight and well put together.The Swift is the best-selling car in its class, and that's for good reason - people vote with their chequebooks.

The Sport model has more airbags, better audio, bigger wheels and tyres and more fruit all round.Resale wise, the base model that starts at $20k may be a better bet percentage wise than the sport, but in any model, Swift resale is better than average, and certainly better than any euro.

Without swaying your drift have you test driven the Suzuki SX4, they are in my opinion one of the best small cars on the market and plenty of styling / extras to boot. Of interest on the Suzuki Swift Sport be advised they do NOT have a spare wheel! Cause there isn't anywhere for them! If you get a puncture, there is a tyre pando in the boot that most times does not work. You will need as tow to the nearest garage for repair which is covered under the Suzuki roadside warranty (Not the cost of repair though). I worked in an Auto call centre that supported all new Suzuki's. They have NO common issues and are very very good value for money. As someone pointed out they are the top selling small car in NZ.
(Must ask Suzuki NZ for a payout for that promo!)

Cheers CeeBee (Auto Tech 30 years)

I think its not a bad thing that thejazzpianoma suggests people look at alternative cars that they may not have even considered. I have had much pleasure from owning and driving cars that are not Holdens, Falcons and Toyotas. Used cars, especially those that are not so popular (mainly Euros) are an absolute bargain in NZ. But I realize most people are not car enthusiasts and a car to them is simply a means of transport and their main criteria are reliability and fuel economy.

My parents have a Suzuki SX4 and have been very happy with it. They bought it new about 2 years ago. It is a 2 litre with 4 speed auto and it would drive better with a 5 or 6 speed auto and probably be more fuel efficient too. But at $23k brand new it was good value. They intend to keep it for many years.

I followed an SX4 the other day and was surprised at how quick it was. Looked like a neat little car.

Old persons car, if you want to be held up on any of the roads in the Bay of Plenty or Coromandel, 9 times out of 10 it will be by someone driving a Suzuki "Swift".

I like old technology, toyota tends to use it to great effect very efficiently. Even old holden V8 are like that and people bash and bash and BASH on them daily. Lots of isuzus are low tech. The mr2 which I love was outdated when it hit the market but still a great 90's car.

I also like swifts :)

Actually, you have a point, I got my change overr year wrong (was thinking Golf).
I think is about 2009 that is the changeover. What you said is right, you won't have noticed much differencebecause the Polo is basically the same under the skin from 02-09.
However the ex demonstrators that I suggested are of course the new model which is finally a decent Polo.
The Grande Punto is the better bet for the older small car unless they can stretch to 2004 Golf money.

I like golfs to, the R32 goes like a bat outta hell. Better than the R32 of the nissan kind

To put it into perspective, the Suzuki was put up against the Grande Puntoand theTata (Cheap Indian Domestic car, although from a growing company) on an Indian Automotive show. (yeah year I know, Indian motor show blah blah what would they know, well actually quite a lot they do really good reviews)

What was interesting is that because they were reviewing the Diesels all three were running the Fiat 1.3 Diesel (the Fiat Diesel is a real cracker and sought after under license by other manufacturers).

This was a really interesting test because it took the motor out of the equation. Of the 3 the Suzuki was rated consistently poorly and the Tata was much prefered over it. The only fault with the Fiat was a lack of power (bigger heavier body) however that is not an issue in NZ as we have the 1.9 Diesel option along with the quicker petrols.

Anyone who does a bit of running in a Suzuki (especially if its the dog awful auto) and then tries the Grande Punto will see exactly what I am talking about.

I had a friend by two Swifts brand new when they first came out, I was really excited to try them because the styling was so good and had high hopes for the rest of the car. Well, I was really dissapointed, I was running a 2000 Fiat Punto CVT at the time as my own work car and the handling, power and experience was not even close to what the cheaper older Fiat had to offer.

Since then Fiat have released the "Grande Punto" which is a whole other level of car again, so no wonder the Suzuki can't compete.

Absolute top marks to Suzuki on marketing and exterior design, you couldn't have done better. But the rest of the car is pretty rubbish, and overall a good decade behind others like the Grande Punto.

A LOT has happened in little cars in the last decade so there is no point in trying to kid yourself into thinking old technology is better, its not. Little cars have finally got serious spec (lots of airbags and goodies you would find on big expensive cars), plenty of efficient power and lots of gears which is the most important thing for small engines.

As a result the better small cars of the last few years really are not a compromise, they handle beautifully and are comfortable on longer trips. Power is abundant, economy is fantastic and you have a huge level of safety and spec.

Suzuki have not really capitalized properly on that gear.

Whats even more astounding is they are still working on trading on "image" with the latest one out. The idea of releasing a new small car in the last couple of years that still uses a 4 Speed regular auto is beyond ridiculousness. Sit that against the Polo's 7 speed unit that also dosn't have a power sapping torque converter and the driving experience is 20 years apart.

sheesh jazz, obook wants a suzuki, not a euro propaganda speech. will give you that your vws have good ads on tv at the moment, although they dont do the ute any favours, cant even keep traction going around a trough, hate to see it on rough going.

I do like those VW adds, just wish they would actually tell people more about what they are getting though. Once you understand the differences its easy to see why they are so much better, trouble is getting people to understand so they go and test drive them.
BTW, that loss of traction is from all that German HP. its got to go somewhere!

Oh and you know I like a good rant when it comes to Suzuki's, not much irks me more than people who get suckered by cheesy marketing and peer pressure. I call is "Prius Syndrome".

beauty is in the eye of the beerholder, I wouldn't necessarily say any vehicle is better than another vehicle, more suited to individuals need. just a shame about 90% of euro "styling". as for suzuki! own an eiger, but you wont catch me in one of those swifts ever, I dont get claustraphobic except for in one of those things.

as for german hp, do the germans not make decent suspension that can handle the hp!

um.well just finding out.

thanks for all comments.

interesting polo comments. I have one currently (2004 from memory) and it's really only good for aound town, and not that great on hills. I would expect golf to be better. Swift seems like a one person car.