New Suzuki Swift Sport: less heavy, more turbocharged

Details at last on the new Suzuki Swift Sport! Revealed with one lonely picture and no tech data, we worried the new Swift Sport might be hiding some lardy, tardy secrets. But no. It’s lighter and more powerful than the last car. We loved the last car. The new one ought to reach infatuation, if it lives up to these specs…

First off, it weighs just 970kg. That’s a massive 80kg saving versus the last Swift Sport, which already felt like it would blow away in a stiff breeze. Though the new one’s 40mm wider, Suzuki says its new platform is the key to cutting out chub. Not bad going, since the engine has sprouted a turbocharger.

Yes, pray silence for the passing of the last naturally aspirated hot hatch. And when you eye the specs and see the new Swift Sport’s ‘Boosterjet’ 1.4-litre turbo engine develops 136bhp – just 2bhp more than before – you might feel a tad cheated. Fear not. You don’t need more power when the cabin has more red highlights than a Paramore concert. That’s got to be worth fifty brake horsepower.

Happily, torque is now a chunky, Toyota GT86-busting 169lb ft – up by over 51lb ft – and dished out lower down the rev range. This lighter, heartier Swift ought to feel properly punchy for a little’un. Suzuki’s still not released acceleration times or top speed, though. But the engine is probably quite light, because it appears to defy gravity altogether in the image Suzuki has provided. Anti-gravity engines? That’s a world-first in TG’s book.

The suspension’s had a thorough workover, with stiffer anti-roll bars and wider-spaced wheel bearings. Because nerdy changes equal big B-road smiles, hopefully. The wheels are 17-inchers, wearing another controversial feature: bigger rubber. 

Yep, tyres are 40mm wider front and rear, which slightly sets out scrappy handling fun alarm bells off. Let’s hope Suzuki has kept the last car’s brilliantly approachable balance, instead of just concentrating on growing up. The tech spec list is seriously mature – you can have adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning assist, anti-crash braking and a driver drowsiness alert. Drowsy? In one of these? We doubt it…