Shock horror - I know this is a Skoda forum but thought I'd just give some impressions of my son's new (OK, 2nd hand - 11k, 21 month old) Suzuki Swift.

I'll put it this way - If we'd thought of / researched / weren't so diesel-minded/ road tested the 1.5 GLX we'd have bought one.

What a car for

A few of the instructors are looking at the Swift Sport, a good package and a hoot to drive for a good price.

It wont have the effortless gait of the vRS Fabia, but it is a very good car.

Chris.

A few of the instructors are looking at the Swift Sport, a good package and a hoot to drive for a good price.

It wont have the effortless gait of the vRS Fabia, but it is a very good car.

Chris.

I believe several in this area are using the (bog standard) 1.5 GLX and are well - pleased.

I managed to deter my son from the Swift Sport for future commitments (impending mortgage), insurance purposes and the 'awful' stripes (OK on a Dodge Viper by me -but not on a Mini etc) - plus, the stripes almost say 'try me on'.

My mate bought one for his wife. I took it out on one of my favourite roads and it was great to drive. I agree about the fact you ahve to rev it to get anywhere, but compared to my Octavia vRS, that's a bit unfair.

Build quality is pretty good and seeing as they bought an ex demo, value was great.

Heard nothing but fantastic reviews of these cars! How thirsty is the 1.5 engine?

Chris

My sister has one, a very good car when sitting in the front and quiet spacious/nippy. But I had the misfortune of being a passenger in the rear a couple of weeks ago, and it was bad back there. The rear suspension can only be described as poor, at the slightest bump the car seemed to bounce violently, and speed humps would send you heading towards the roof if it wasn't for the seatbelt. The other thing she hates about it, the instantaneous MPG figure by the clock, why it wasnt an average mpg figure I dont know. Hers has the keyless ignition, which is quet funky though,

Chris, my sister seems to get mid 30s mpg from hers.

I drove a Swift Sport on Monday!

Performance seemed very similar to the Fabia vRS (obviously more work needed) with slightly better handling & nicer interior. Climate control, ESP & MP3 radio as well as keyless entry & ignition

Got it up to 115 (I was told to pretend salesman wasn't there ) which is quick enough for anyone but it does like to rev & pulls well across the range.

It ticks the boxes I felt but the whole experience was rather mediocre :( Can't really put my finger on why.

Edit for Chris: After a spirited drive (nudging the limiter at every change) it was doing mid 40's mpg That's with 520 miles on, broken in I'd expect it to improve.

My sister has one, a very good car when sitting in the front and quiet spacious/nippy. But I had the misfortune of being a passenger in the rear a couple of weeks ago, and it was bad back there. The rear suspension can only be described as poor, at the slightest bump the car seemed to bounce violently, and speed humps would send you heading towards the roof if it wasn't for the seatbelt. The other thing she hates about it, the instantaneous MPG figure by the clock, why it wasnt an average mpg figure I dont know. Hers has the keyless ignition, which is quet funky though,

Chris, my sister seems to get mid 30s mpg from hers.

Re the 'sitting in the rear'

I did sit in the rear as my son 'demo-ed' the car to a neighbour.

Yes, I felt / was aware of more bumps - but none were anywhere near as bad as you described given we were travelling over poorly maintained local roads (the 1st trip had been in the front and mostly motorway) and innumerable speed humps which the car took pretty well at 20 to 25 mph.

SWMBO keeps whinging because I keep saying "I WANT ONE!"

My mates dont like the look of it though, but who needs friends:rofl:

and the 'awful' stripes (OK on a Dodge Viper by me -but not on a Mini etc) - plus, the stripes almost say 'try me on'.

The stripes are optional - you can get the car without them! (IIRC you actually have to pay for them....)

The Swift is a little belter, I bought one

I have the 1.5 which got MP3 radio and an average MPG readout as well as instantaneous, much more usefull! It's great to drive and on a long run I will see 45mpg. I'm impressed with it

I drove a Swift Sport on Monday!

Performance seemed very similar to the Fabia vRS (obviously more work needed) with slightly better handling & nicer interior. Climate control, ESP & MP3 radio as well as keyless entry & ignition

Got it up to 115 (I was told to pretend salesman wasn't there ) which is quick enough for anyone but it does like to rev & pulls well across the range.

It ticks the boxes I felt but the whole experience was rather mediocre :( Can't really put my finger on why.

Edit for Chris: After a spirited drive (nudging the limiter at every change) it was doing mid 40's mpg That's with 520 miles on, broken in I'd expect it to improve.

I had a go of one today, and was impressed with the specs. Like you say, they have keyless entry etc which really got my attention and ticked some boxes.

Sitting in it was nice too, with a high seating position and excellent visibility, the rear window is far easier to see out of than the Fabia which was a problem I noticed right away when I was getting the Fabia.

All the controls seem nearby and well labled... however...

When I started it up and got going I wasnt overly impressed with the 1.5's performance, it was good - but nothing too nice to convince me to leave the 1.4 16v furby.

I noticed that the clutch travel was quite nice, but there is no where to rest your foot next to the pedal:( and if you think, "Its ok, Ill put it on the floor" beware, I caught the pedal on the way down several times.

Also, I like to hook my thumbs round the steering wheel - but the chunkyness of the wheel in this car prevented me doing that and I now have thumb ache:(

There is no where near the same amount of hiding places in the Swift as the fabia (such as under the passenger seat, under the steering wheel, under the radio etc) and the glove compartment is tiny.

The switches, as much as they were well labled everything seemed quite confusing to use and no where near as intuative as the furbys simple controls. Eg, the mirror **** had no label saying what it was for, the lights and fog lights etc are on the indicator stalk and its like a rubics cube to get to the light you want.

The windscreen wipers are much the same, with labels saying lots of things that dont need to be said - ITS A WIPER STALK FFS:rolleyes:

Apart from when I needed to change gear, and found the gearbox to be extremely hard and stiff; I must say that it was nice to drive with plenty of comfort and ease.

Spot on visibility make this car, in my opinion, better than the Fabia, and the cheeky styling on the exterior looks slightly better than the Fabia too. If only Suzuki could carry the styling on into the inside and keep the young stylishness in there

But, I think Ill keep my Furby thankyou Mr Suzuki:P Hell, I might even have a test drive of the new shape fabia next week

Oh, and the cheeky blighters at the Suzuki garage said there was a couple of things they would have to look at on my Fabia before they would give me a price for it, tut tut tut.

Mike

There is no where near the same amount of hiding places in the Swift as the fabia

Hmmm :eek:

Hmmm :eek:

Have you never played hide and seek on the motor way before, Val?

Well, they do look cute, and everyone I know who owns one loves them to bits! I test drove an early 1.3, which rattled alot inside, and had to be revved everywhere, so maybe wasn't the best example to test drive!

Anyone who is interested in one should have a test drive and make their own mind up, as cars change all the time - I wouldn't have one of the 1.3's on the basis of that crap test drive years back, but then again I am saving up for a Seat Leon after falling in love with the 1.9TDi Leon runabout at work, so I'm still a little biased towards VAG group cars lol!