Suzuki Swift Sport – Ride and handling
A competent and reasonably comfortable thing, if not as exciting as Swift Sports of old. Hybrid steers and rides better
The suspension set-up is a fairly familiar combination of struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear. However, the Sport benefits from a 15mm lower (compared to the standard Swift) ride height, plus the adoption of Monroe gas dampers. At the front are heavier duty anti-roll bar mounts, while the wheel hub and bearings have been combined into a single unit, with a greater width between the bearings for a 15 percent increase in camber rigidity. At the rear there are bespoke trailing arms, but the rest of the set-up is carried over unchanged.
On introduction to it in 2018, we found the Swift Sport had ‘lost some of its raw charm and appeal’ and that ‘the fun factor has been diminished.’
‘Where the old car revelled in being taken by the scruff of the neck, the new version is a more measured machine, favouring a less energetic and engaging approach. It’s technically more accomplished, but it raises fewer smiles per mile.’
In the slightly heavier (by 55kg) mild hybrid, we found the accompanying chassis refinements worked to the car’s benefit, with a calmer ride and more intuitive steering.
In 2024? Being a bit of a novelty, it’s unsurprising the little Swift got a warmer reception. Its diminutive dimensions allowed you to exploit its appetite for a flowing progression. The bump to over 1000kg once hybridised might have made it the heaviest Swift yet but in its final days, it was an outlier featherweight. The suspension – with UK-tuned, Europe specific tuning – is well judged and the steering nicely resolved.
It does run out of grip on its soft-sidewall Continental tyres quicker than you were possibly expecting, but fling it around and its supermini objectives gently bubble to the service, although there’s never an explosion of fizz to keep you on your toes.
