MOTORING

Swift to prove its credentials

ADAM TUDOR-LANE reviews Suzuki Swift Sport Hybrid

I’ve always had a big, huge, soft spot for the Suzuki Swift Sport. A few years ago it went turbocharged and lost a little of its raw, thrummy hum, but it was still super light and a hoot around county lanes.

What’s new? Well, Suzuki is going hybrid across their whole range, even the Swift Sport.

So they’ve added a 48v (incredibly mild) hybrid system, turned down the power, added more weight and increased the 0-62 time by a whole second.

Oh, and the cost has gone up to a whopping £22,570.

Nothing has changed on the exterior; bar the simple addition of a ‘Hybrid’ moniker on the back.

From the off, you’d never know the Sport is down on power; that clever 15kg hybrid system torque fills like a supercar at lower revs.

Off the line feels pretty immediate, as if you have an EV type shove from a standstill.

‘Hooning’ it across town and the nimble nature still shines through, it’s a fun little hatch which you can drive at 100% of its abilities without the worry of killing yourself by flying backwards through a hedge on fire.

But one thing that’s kerbed the fun is how the hybrid system starts sapping away speed

Little has changed in the Swift interior apart from some extra menus on the LCD display

as soon as you let off the throttle. As the system is gearbox driven, you start slowing to charge the hybrid battery once you let off the go pedal.

Over nearly 300 miles, I never saw this battery fully charge; that was over long sections of A road, motorways and town driving; the most it ever got to was three bars, halfway. That’s just annoying.

One good thing about the system is that the little Swift managed 45 MPG over our time together; sadly, I don’t have any MPG numbers for the non-hybrid model, but judging by ‘HonestJohn’s real MPG figure’, 44.8 MPG is the average for the hybrid-less Swift Sport. Not quite the 6% improvement claimed by Suzuki, but this isn’t a scientific test.

Power has been decreased to 129 BHP from 138, no doubt due to emissions and the power that the new ISG 48v gearbox add-on can cope with. Torque is up a smidge by 5Nm over the non-hybrid Swift Sports 230 figure.

Inside is just the same as the non-hybrid version, apart from some extra menus in the

FACTS AT A GLANCE

Top Speed: 130 mph Performance: 0-62 in 9.1 secs Power: 139 BHP Economy: 50.1 MPG (Claimed)

LCD dash display to tell you the battery charge and energy flow.

That ‘hybrid’ tech sits under the front seats, so there’s no encroaching on boot space, but it does feel as though you sit a little higher because of it…that could be all in my head though.

Back in 2014, a Suzuki Swift Sport would set you back £13,999 – a bargain, right? 2018 that increased to £17,999, crikey…and now it’s £22,570.

A Ford Fiesta with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost mHEV (mild hybrid) will hit 62 in 9.4 seconds and set you back £22,015. Sorry Suzuki, but I know where my money would be going.