2018 Honda Jazz vs Suzuki Swift

What's the difference?

Honda's Jazz is like the little engine that could.

It occupies a shrinking part of the market but has seen off a bevy of once-were competitors (most notably the Hyundai i20) and continues to battle gamely with the Mazda2.

Honda gave the range a little tweak in late 2017 to hand us the MY18 Honda Jazz. Some features were lost, and a few gained in an effort to keep up with Mazda's finest.

The Suzuki Swift Sport is back for 2018, with the pint-sized speedster seemingly making the transition to fully-fledged hot hatch in third-generation guise.

It's small, light and now turbocharged, and comes with a more sophisticated and spacious interior than ever before. But is it good enough to sway buyers from the go-to nameplates in the segment like the Ford Fiesta ST, Renault Clio RS and Volkswagen Polo GTI?

Well, it seems to have done so already – Suzuki Australia reckons a staggering 1500 examples of the Swift Sport are already accounted for through pre-orders.

So, if you're one of those customers, or if you're undecided, or if you're just plain curious, read on to find out what I reckon about the Suzuki Swift Sport 2018 model.