Suzuki refreshes Swift with five-door Sport and 4x4 model

Suzuki is offering its cracking little warm hatch, the Swift Sport, with five doors for 2013. The family-friendly model shares its powertrain with the three-door Swift CAR ran (and loved) as a long termer last year – that means a naturally aspirated, 1.6-litre engine good for 134bhp, a six-speed manual gearbox and 0-62mph in 8.7sec.

Suzuki says it expects one-third of Swift Sport customers to opt for the five-door model – sales have so far averaged 1200 a year in the UK.

At £14,249, the five-door Sport is £500 more than the three-door model, and Suzuki claims it’s no more expensive to run, thanks to identical 44.1mpg and 147g/km ratings. That’s because the five-door Swift Sport’s dimensions match that of the three-door, from its length, width and height through to the identical 211-litre bootspace.

As standard, all Swift Sports come loaded with unique bumpers with fog lamps and 17-inch alloys on the outside, as well as climate control, push-button start, cruise control, Bluetooth and rear privacy glass.

Granted, it’s not a gaping hole in the market, but Suzuki’s plugged it anyway, with the new Swift 4x4 model. It’s the first time a 4x4 Swift has been sold in the UK since November 1992, and with the Fiat Panda 4x4 as its only competition, it’s targeting fleet and corporate sales thanks to its low CO2 of 126g/km – a mere 10g/km more than a two-wheel drive Swift. The five-door only supermini rides 25mm higher and uses a permanent all-wheel drive system, which adds only 65kg to the car’s overall weight.

In SZ3 guise(£11,516) , only a small ‘4x4’ badge sets the more rugged Swift apart from its front-wheel drive cousin, but higher-specced SZ4 models (£13,116 as pictured in our gallery) get a proper makeover. There are front and rear skidplates, black side skirts and black wheelarch extensions. SZ4 models also enjoy a more generous goodie count, including electrically folding mirrors and LED running lights.

By Ollie Kew