Suzuki Swift review

The Swift once lived right at the cheap end of UK price lists, but increasing fun and tech – brand-new, super light platforms don’t come cheap – has edged it into the general throng of the supermini sector.

Prices officially start at a quid under £15,000, but Suzuki’s bunging on discounts and offers like it’s early Noughties Citroen, so you’d be tremendously unlucky or inattentive to pay full whack.

With the stock Swift you’ve a choice of three trim levels – SZ-L, SZ-T and SZ5, with seemingly little rhyme or reason to their naming structure. The Swift Sport comes with one trim level that’s pre-ticked every conceivable bit of kit, undoing some of the panic about its price soaring into the 20s.

Anyhow, only the SZ-T and SZ5 get the option of a CVT automatic, and only the SZ5 can be specced as a 4x4… and that only comes as a manual. Beyond that, you’ll be happy whichever spec you go for, we reckon. SZ-L has all the good stuff you really need – air con, 16in alloys, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – with the addition of a 'T' or '5' bringing slightly more superfluous stuff like an in-built sat nav (your phone will continue to do a better job), electric rear windows, rear parking sensors and keyless go.

All Swifts (indeed, all Suzukis) get a generous wodge of active safety tech as standard. Radar brake assist and adaptive cruise control are present at every trim level, while SZ-T onwards brings lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and traffic sign recognition.

And perhaps just as crucially in an increasingly style-led corner of the market, the two-tone colour scheme pictured here is available across the whole range. The Swift looks good with or without it, but we’d argue it’s especially neatly styled with a black contrasting roof.