Brother is really keen on getting one. Drove one last year and I liked it but have no idea about reliability. My parents have a Swift which has been good. Anything to watch out for? I realise this is a Skoda forum but do know some here have owned them. Couldn't fully test the handling on the one I drove but if its anything like a standard Swift its magic.

I weighed up one of these when I brought my fabia earlier in the year. The thing that put me off was economy- I know on paper it reads well but practically it's not as great as they state.

The handling was brilliant on the one I tried and was a lot of car for the money.

i too weighed up there top spec sport model against some other cars at the time, found the old people image too much but the car was good to drive and i would imagine reliability being equal to or better than any VAG product.

why doesn't your bro want a fabia though?

i too weighed up there top spec sport model against some other cars at the time, found the old people image too much but the car was good to drive and i would imagine reliability being equal to or better than any VAG product.

why doesn't your bro want a fabia though?

The Monte is slower and is a lot more money. Doesn't want a diesel vRS either. I offered him mine before I traded it in. There's a few decent Sports about for around 5k now with low miles and one owner. I quite like the looks but you can tell it's sporty and is a bit boy racer-ish.

mike wrightson on here had one for a while, he brought it to a few of the meets too...

in all, a very good little car, underpowered, but the handling is really sorted (aftermarket company like bilstien or something set up as standard from the factory) because they rallyed them.. so really good for a blast down a back road, a bit panda 100hp style! aparently they are a bit sensitive to tyres, its an odd size with not much available...

reliable, very good (as you'd expect) mechanically, but apparently they all had a glitch in the electrical system, that would cause all sorts of big problems, even to the cars randomly cutting out! (which you wouldnt want, ever!)

I think thats why mike got rid of his, but I cant be sure, I'm sure he'll see this and post up soon

I cant imagine much going wrong with it being Japanease.

mike wrightson on here had one for a while, he brought it to a few of the meets too...

in all, a very good little car, underpowered, but the handling is really sorted (aftermarket company like bilstien or something set up as standard from the factory) because they rallyed them.. so really good for a blast down a back road, a bit panda 100hp style! aparently they are a bit sensitive to tyres, its an odd size with not much available...

reliable, very good (as you'd expect) mechanically, but apparently they all had a glitch in the electrical system, that would cause all sorts of big problems, even to the cars randomly cutting out! (which you wouldnt want, ever!)

I think thats why mike got rid of his, but I cant be sure, I'm sure he'll see this and post up soon

It was indeed enormous fun down the twisties, not a rocket in a straight line, but that wasn't the point of it They were fitted with bilstein dampers and it rode surprisingly well! Despite 4000rpm at 70mph I was up to a 43mpg average on one trip, so they aren't too bad on fuel.

Goodyear Eagle F1's on it as standard (brilliant tyre!) but they are a unique size and stock is very tight, they also cannot carry a spare wheel as the silencer takes up the space where the spare wheel well is on the lower cars.

Engine was really sweet and revvy, gearbox was amazingly fast-shifting, seats were brilliant. No reach adjustment on the wheel though which means you can end up sitting a bit too upright.

Reliability was good, though I did have a Body Control Module fail on mine which basically made all the gauges turn off and dash lights on like an xmas tree whilst doing 70 on the motorway. I pulled off, turned the car off and it wouldn't start. Once I had popped in the reserve key (it's keyless start as standard) it started and was back to normal, but would intermittently fail again. The dealer ordered the part and the wrong one arrived twice before it was fixed 2 weeks later.

From the Swift owners forum, this seems to be an unlucky failure as I can't recall anyone else reporting it. I had a 1.5 Swift before the Sport that behaved perfectly.

So, Pros:

great handling

great gearbox

great seats

low ratio gearbox means it's very easy to keep the engine on the boil

comfortable

light weight

cheap to insure

you can still get a new one (while stocks last) for about £11k - massive bargain!

Cons:

unique tyre size

boot is a bit small

rattles and squeaks on rough roads

road tax is high

early cars MUST be run on super-unleaded, (later ones don't but I would not recommend running it on 95)

not that quick in a straight line

low ratio gearbox means it's noisy on the motorway

Between the Sport and my Fabia TSI, there is not a lot of difference in the real world, so do not think that the Monty is a lot slower, because it isn't. Where the Monty will lag behind is the handling, though again there will not be that much in it. There is also a new Swift Sport coming in January for an estimated £14k. More powerfull, lighter, 6 speed box for better mpg and better emissions. Interior looks much improved too. I'll be giving one a test drive when I'm due to change

Thanks for that. He's seen a black one locally for about 6k on an 07. He will probably part ex his Felly so may get a bit off but will still try to haggle for more. Didn't realise they didn't have spares. The Eagle F1's I know from experience are a good tyre but as you say a unique size. Haven't seen the car yet but wouldn't be surprised it has budgets on. It's only got 20k on the clock, how long do tyres last?

At 20k, it's just possible that it's on its original tyres, but that will mean they will need changing. I never got to the point of changing tyres but they lasted anything from 14k to 19k. Some were fitting 205's to the stock wheels in place of the 195's.

If it has aftermarket wheels on, it could have anything on it.

That car had gone. Rung up this morning and it went "yesterday" :wonder: Something about the tone of his voice put me off anyway.

Any alternatives to the Swift Sport. He's not interested in French stuff or Fiats

There is stuff like the Mitsubishi Colt CZT (150bhp turbo), Seat Ibiza FR, Mazda 2 Sport, all would be secondhand at that kind of price. I'm struggling to think of much else. Alfa MiTo perhaps. Monties may be coming onto the used market but will be more expensive.

If he has a £6k price in mind, and he's after driving fun, it's well worth considering an MX5

I've found details of the new Swift Sport and it is using the same tyre size as before. I did a search and can find hardly any stocks of tyres in that size. It's a great car that you just can't get tyres for. Puts me right off it TBH.

If he's able to buy new at around £14k:

Fabia Monte Carlo (1.2 TSI 105)

Ibiza Sportrider (1.2 TSI 105)

Mazda 2 Sport (1.5 100bhp)

Alfa MiTo Sprint (1.4 105bhp)

Edited 20 November, 201114 yr by Mike Wrightson

There is always the cooper s, I know it's a bit girly but great to drive

I cant imagine much going wrong with it being Japanease.

But made in Hungary...but of course so are some VW Golfs.