We video test the 2017 Suzuki Swift RS, a remarkably well equipped and complete package, that also brings a healthy dose of fun and personality to the mix.
Since the Suzuki Swift launched in 2005 it has dominated its segment, only being beaten to the top spot by the Toyota Yaris in 2015. But it is not only the light segment that the Swift dominates, it is also the best-selling new car to private buyers by a significant margin and that is not even counting the huge amount that have come into the country as used imports.
And now there is a new Swift that Suzuki hopes will continue the Swift’s dominant run in the local market.
The new Swift is slightly larger (10mm longer,40mm wider and with a 20mm increase in wheelbase) than the old car and sits on the same “Heartect” platform as the Baleno and Ignis, making it is as impressively lightweight as those two cars, with the Swift weighing in at a between 855kg and 925kg depending on model, or around 135kg less than the old car.
The new Swift will initially come to New Zealand with a choice of two engines - a 66kW/120Nm 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol (the same one that is in the Ignis) in the GL and GLX models and an 82kW/160Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol turbo unit in the RS that we look at here.
The RS comes remarkably well-equipped and even includes Suzuki’s new dual sensor brake support system that adds emergency autonomous braking, radar cruise control, lane departure warning and weaving alert as standard.
But most importantly the new Swift RS is still a remarkably complete package that also brings a healthy dose of fun and personality to the mix. Pricing for the Suzuki Swift RS we look at here is just $25,990 with the Swift range starting from $19,990.
