Suzuki Swift - long-term review

Let’s talk specification. The attractively blue Suzuki Swift we are running here is the top spec 1.2 Mild Hybrid Ultra Allgrip which costs a very reasonable £22,049 on the road. But, the question I know you are itching to find out the answer to is... what do you get for that small mountain of cash? Allow me to enlighten you.

Top of the list is ALLGRIP Auto Four-wheel Drive – this will make so much sense when there is snow falling out of the sky and everyone else is skidding around in their incredibly heavy, two wheel drive cars, swearing and going absolutely nowhere. It will also make light work of the woodland lanes around where I live and hopefully keep me going when the going gets muddy and sticky. Big tick for this, then.

You also get ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, lane departure warning (frankly I can do without LDW), lane departure prevention (ditto), weaving alert (again), traffic sign recognition (ditto), rear cross traffic alert (again), intelligent speed control support (nope), driver monitoring system (definitely no), and blind spot monitor (actually very useful). All superb safety features, some of them required by law, which will be very alluring to the vast majority of people looking at buying a small car. Safety first, after all. No one wants a nasty accident and these systems will help a lot of drivers avoid ooospies. I’m just somewhat old-fashioned and prefer to be vigilant and keep my eyes open.

What else do you get? Adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, an auto stop start system, rear parking camera and sensors (this I am completely in favour of), LED projector headlamps, high beam assist (I loathe this) and heated driver’s and front passenger’s seats (I love this). Plus you also get a wireless smartphone link with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, USB (type A & type C) and AUX connectors, and satnav – all very useful indeed. Also all things you would have been amazed to see on a small car back in the days of wind-down windows and condensation.

There’s obviously more stuff – like polished 16in alloy wheels, body-coloured exterior door handles and mirrors, and black A and B pillars – but lists are boring to write and even more boring to read, so we will leave it there and just acknowledge that the Swift has literally everything you could wish for and quite a lot you wouldn’t even imagine a small car being treated to.