Drove the updated Suzuki Swift last week, named South Africa’s top award-winning Budget Car of the Year, it has a fresh, new look and some extra specifications as well.

The Suzuki Swift has been around in SA since 2018, and has long been a popular model amongst buyers, and it is a best-seller abroad as well. It has won a raft of awards, Globally as well as at home, over the years.

So it was with anticipation, that we headed out to Waterfall, to see the latest offering from this high-flying brand.

Changes to its face.

The grille is the first noticeable change for the Swift, the new model shows a distinctive chrome line, that divides the grille into a section with the large Suzuki emblem, and a separate section that holds the front number plate. It also has a different mesh pattern that emphasizes the sporty nature of the Swift, and the GL & GLX models come with fitted front fog lights.

The Swift GA also comes standard with rear parking sensors, which I personally enjoy. Dual -tone colour schemes are there for buyers of the GL model, and the top spec GLX model has a reverse camera, which I love even more than sensors, also spec two-tone colours and you get 15 inch polished alloy wheels. These seemed to give the car a solid , planted feel as well, so would be my choice.

Into the cabin.

Suzuki claim that the Swift is one of the best specced in it’s class, and judging by what’s featured, you would battle to argue the point. All models feature electric windows, air conditioning and central locking, with the GL models adding fog lamps, an audio system with USB and AUX inputs, a tachometer and electrically adjustable mirrors.

The GLX models replace the standard air conditioning with climate control, add keyless access with a Start/Stop button and replace the 14” wheels with polished 15” alloys.

In addition, the GLX has also added electric folding side mirrors. This model, in manual or AMT, also has Suzuki’s high-resolution colour touch screen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and a reverse camera. So, pretty comprehensive spec indeed.

The Engine.

The engines don’t change, and why would the have to? The rigid HEARTECT platform and the free-revving and frugal K12M petrol engine. It’s a 1.2 L petrol engine, for the layman, and pushes out a deceptively low sounding 61kw & 112 Nm of torque. Let’s not kid ourselves here, this little baby can shift around town. And it’s frugal as well, with a claimed 4.9 litres per 100 km in a combined testing cycle.

We whizzed around the highways, and had no problems with power, and this on the Highveld as well.

Safety & new colour palette.

The Swift comes with all Automated Manual Models (AMTs) having Hill Hold Assist as standard, and GA-specification models get a free parcel shelf to hide luggage from prying eyes. Buyers who upgrade to the GL specification will also notice an additional light in the luggage bay.

The most significant addition to the Swift range is Electronic Stability Control (ESP). This valuable safety feature will be added across all Swift models and will be added to the already-standard list of safety equipment, which includes SRS front and passenger airbags, ABS-brakes with emergency brake assistance (BA) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD).

All models are also equipped with ISOFIX anchor points for child restraint systems, central locking, safety belts fitted with pre-tensioners and force limiters, and an immobiliser and alarm system.

The standard colour palette will include Fire Red, Midnight Blue Pearl, Lucent Orange Metallic, Arctic White Pearl, Silky Silver Metallic, Magma Grey Metallic and now also Midnight Black Pearl.

Buyers of the GL and GLX specifications will further have the option of three unique dual-tone colours. These are Fire Red with a Black roof, Midnight Blue Pearl with a White roof and Arctic White Pearl with a Black roof.

Pricing.

Every Suzuki Swift is sold with a 2-year / 30 000 km service plan and a 5-year / 200 000 km promotional warranty. In summary, it was pleasure to drive the Swift again, the enhancements make it look better, and it delivers the same smooth changing, zippy drive.

The MY2021 range consists of the following models and pricing incl Vat.:

• 1.2 GA Manual       R180 900
• 1.2 GL Manual       R199 900
• 1.2 GL AMT           R214 900
• 1.2 GLX Manual    R218 900
• 1.2 GLX AMT        R234 900
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