19 Jul 05
Suzuki's new Swift, the unexpectedly good supermini with the low price and the Mini-meets-Mégane looks, has spawned a souped-up sibling due for UK sale next June. It has an engine enlarged to 1.6 litres, a power output of 125bhp and we've been driving a prototype in Japan.
This is the car that will form the basis of Suzuki's next Junior World Rally Championship contender, and it will carry a big weight of expectation given that the Ignis has already been an unlikely winner of that championship. Clearly the rally car will be far removed from the road version, but the new Sport shows much promise.
4Car sampled the Swift at Suzuki's Ryuyo test track near the company's base in Hamamatsu, west of Tokyo, a track with curves of variable camber and radius, a long and undulating straight and the opportunity to find out more about a car's character than many test tracks offer. We found out enough to help convince the project's chief engineer, Eiji Mochizuki, that a few chassis changes might be a good idea, but the bottom line is that at £10,500, the Swift Sport will be a major bargain.
The prototype pictured has a five-door body, which will be standard issue in Japan, but European Sports - which will be made at the Magyar Suzuki factory in Hungary - will all be three-doors. Otherwise the look is similar: gaping vents in the front valance with blade-like aerodynamic tabs, side sills shaped to reduce rear lift, a tailgate spoiler and a deep rear valance from which sprouts a wide-based pair of hefty tailpipes. The rear lights have round elements beneath their wrapover lenses, and the wheels fill the ample arches convincingly. Wheel size is 16-inch as standard, 17-inchers optionally, shod with 195/50 or 195/45 tyres.
