*Interior image shows manual derivative
A simple Google search of the word “swift” reveals a lot about South Africans’ internet habits. Just typing this proves that, locally at least, people aren’t as interested in the songstress with a similar last name—sorry, Taylor—and good luck trying to find if the word “swift” is an adjective, noun, or adverb. Generally, it’s considered an adjective. You’re welcome.
“But ja, it’s because of SEO and paid ads”. Well, yes, but not entirely. The Swift—Suzuki’s B-segment budget hatchback—is so often searched by South Africans that it has taken on a digital footprint of its own. It was third on the list of SA’s best-selling passenger vehicles at the end of 2024 with nearly 16,000 units peddled and the only Suzuki on this list if you don’t consider the 4th-placed Toyota Starlet to be a Zook.
Of course, there is some nuance to this popularity. End-of-sale clearance sales of the third-generation model to make room for the truckloads of inbound new Swifts probably helped, but I’m also of the opinion that Suzuki’s B-segment budget beater is so popular because it somehow transcends the constraints and expectations that are part and parcel of this price point.
How do I know? Well, we have a second-generation Swift parked in the garage, and while it was a low-kilo bargain too good to ignore, the missus traded in her sportier hatchback and has never looked back. That superbly mechanical manual gearshift, the VVT engine gleefully turning over at 4,000r/min, the economy, and naturally, there’s that chassis that can shrug off any ham-fisted handling errors.
Fast forward to the fourth generation, and the Swift has definitely grown up, and matured even. But has it traded that Swift factor of old, that unquantifiable quantity that made it exceptional in the budget B-segment, for pure, simple, drab functionality?
Not entirely. On the inside… It's a Suzuki, which is to say functional and without fuss—hallmark elements of the Swift. The plastics are dense and generous, but Suzuki has made an effort to try and spiffy it up by incorporating some plastic print textures that are instantly noticeable on the passenger-side dashboard. The seats? Naturally, Suzuki had to keep competitive costs down, so the entire range rolls out with cloth-cladded seats that are comfortable enough over short-to-medium length jaunts.
Front and centre on the dash of the GL+ is arguably the biggest selling point of the mid-range model and a key consideration for especially younger buyers, a 7-inch infotainment screen. It’s intuitive, with decent phone mirroring capability, and is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Times, though, have changed, and while a 7-inch used to be the industry standard in the pre-phone mirroring era, simultaneously using music streaming and navigation on Android Auto renders the individual interfaces too small for my liking. Then there’s the chunky screen bezel which constantly reminds you that you don’t have the 9-inch unit in the GLX. I’m sure the effect on the bottom line would have been negligible if Suzuki had decided to place that same infotainment screen as standard fare in the GL+ too, but then again, there wouldn’t be much more room for upselling if that was the case…
So, the interior… It looks less budget-bin B-segment than its predecessor, the screen could use an extra two inches, the boot is significantly more copious than the generations before it at 265 litres, and then there are the interior rattles. Did I mention that? No biggie, but on rough roads (read: pretty much most South African roads), an incessant rattle reared its head inside the dashboard.
A mixed bag so far, but it’s in the driving department where the Swift has historically punched well above its weight. Under the bonnet, it has a new, 3-cylinder, 1.2-litre engine that replaces the 4-pot and churns out 60kW and 112Nm. While these are not exactly grand figures, the Swift GL+ has a kerb weight of only 932kg so the available power and torque are effectively utilised for driving duties and not necessarily overcoming inertia.
With that said, my tester was fitted with the CVT, the three letters to make any driving enthusiast cringe. While I’m not oblivious to buying trends that favour automatic over the tried-and-proven three-pedal setup, it robs the Swift of that visceral connection that’s synonymous with the 5-speed manual.
It’s not horrible, per se, since it effectively gets the Swift to inner-city speeds without much in the way of fuss. As a side note, the new model is deceivingly quick. It’s on the highways, though, where the gearbox chatters up a storm en route to the national speed limit. While I’d love to hate it purely because it’s a CVT, and the engine noise entering the cabin as it tries to simulate gear changes is absurd, it gets the job done of finding and extracting maximum engine performance. A case in point: On a steep uphill stretch on the N12 where naturally aspirated cars tend to wheeze, the Swift managed to maintain and even build momentum. Foot planted on the loud pedal, it comically hunted for the optimum point on the tachometer near the red line without running out of steam. All while maintaining fuel consumption figures hovering around 5.7l/100km.
And the handling? Suzuki underpinned the new Swift with an evolution of its Heartect platform that’s known especially for its lightweight and rigid qualities and paired it with recalibrated suspension. It decently straddles the line between comfort and agility but tends to invoke less confidence when the going gets spirited compared to, say, previous Swifts and especially gen-2.
The Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL+ CVT represents good value for money, especially considering that you get a B-segment budget hatchback for budget A-segment money. For context, the entry-level VW Polo Vivo 1.4 poses the biggest hurdle for the Swift to overcome at R266,600. The Swift trumps it, though, in several areas, including price, power (60kW vs 55kW), and several specification items, including six airbags as opposed to the Vivo’s two, park distance control sensors, as well as a reversing camera.
If you have an extra R5,000 in your budget, the Swift GLX manual comes in at R264,900 and comes with a bigger infotainment screen, LED projector headlights, cruise control, and, crucially, a 5-speed manual gearbox that should be as satisfying as the previous editions.
Here’s the thing, though: The Suzuki Swift remains excellent value for money and retains most of its good-natured traits. But I can’t help but feel that it has lost some of that cheeky character that doesn’t necessarily boil down to a singular component but rather a collection of elements that made its drivers behave a bit like delinquents—ask anyone who’s had a Swift damn-well sniffing their exhaust fumes.
Still, it’s a well-finished and well-built product (rattles aside), a competent drive, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anything better for the price, but it’s just gone and grown up, and with that, it lost some of its sense of humour. Unfortunately, spec sheets and fantastic pricing don’t make me giddy with excitement, and for that reason, our Swift will stay in our garage for a while longer.
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