Suzuki Swift 2010 News

The production version will star for the brand at Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Drawing styling cues from the Suzuki Swift S Concept from which it was based, the new Swift Sport is the first full model change since its original launch in 2006. It features more aggressive styling with a low-slung body and oversized grille. Suzuki promises both power and good fuel economy from the 1.6-litre engine, which is mated to a six-speed manual transmission -- both developed exclusively for the Swift Sport.  The new Swift Sport "offers superior cornering stability and responsive handling thanks to struts with internal rebound springs and an exclusive rear-suspension design", Suzuki says. Like the standard Swift, the Sport's safety is helped by a light, stiff, impact-absorbing body plus seven airbags (including a driver’s knee airbag) and ESC. “We are very excited about the preliminary release of the new Swift Sport, but we are still some way off finalising the Australian version,” said Suzuki Australian General Manager Tony Devers. “The Swift Sport will not go on sale here until next year, so we still have some time to work through the specification level suitable for the Australian market. What we do know is the Swift Sport will offer better performance, handling, economy and style than ever before. We can’t wait to launch the ultimate pocket rocket to our customers.”

He is - or was - Hirotaka Ono - a visionary who re-invented the Japanese brand and changed everything, from boosting the quality of its cars to creating the can-do attitude among senior managers that's essential for the success of any car company. Ono had a giant advantage because he was married to the daughter of company founder, Osama Suzuki.He was able to use his family connection to ramrod a range of changes which would have been impossible for anyone else, especially a 40-something revolutionary in a country which usually puts age and experience ahead of youth and enthusiasm. Even so, he still had to walk the walk on everything from design and driving enjoyment to bottom-line financial deals.The award winning Suzuki Swift is an Ono car, so too is the current Grand Vitara, as well as the Kizashi. His track record also includes the less-successful second-generation XL7, thankfully only sold in the USA, but everyone makes an occasional mistake. Ono died too early at the end of 2007, but not before he inspired the cars coming through Suzuki today and forecast the global financial crisis - as well as planning the way his company would react to the challenge."Thanks to Mr Ono we have learned what we can do. He inspired us," says Tak Hayasaki, managing director of Suzuki Australia. Hayasaki has his own challenges in trying to lift Suzuki's share of Australia's annual car sales from its current 2.4 per cent to around six per cent, but he knows he has the strongest lineup in the company's history.The Alto is too small for a lot of people, but a $12,990 driveway bottom line makes plenty of sense with six airbags, ABS and ESP, as well as alloy wheels. The Swift is getting very old but is still a good car, the Grand Vitara is a safe choice and the SX4 does a good enough job.Kizashi is the game-changer for Suzuki, the same as the first Mazda6 and Accord Euro were for Mazda and Honda, combining Euro-type driving enjoyment with Japanese quality.This week the company is adding an all-wheel drive car to the Kizashi line, the Sports, and believes it can boost its sales by 100 cars a month. That's 50 per cent of the current volume. It's a big call for a car which already goes head-to-head with Mazda6 and Euro and now faces up to the might of the Subaru Liberty, the car that convinced Australians about all-wheel drive.As he looks forward, with a new Swift before the end of the year - not   that you would pick it as all-new from pictures - Hayasaki knows where the credit goes. "I have to thankyou to Mr Ono for what he has given us. He proved that we can do it."

And just sometimes, you can get it all and still hear the reassuring sounds of change rattling in your pocket.  Small cars don't have to be cheap and nasty or even perform like an asthmatic snail in a bid to maximise fuel economy. Nor do they have to be cramped or have the visual appeal of a packing crate that instantly identifies you as cheap.  Here are five small cars that will haul you and three friends - and do it on a miserly fuel budget.The good news is they're all less than $30,000. And that includes comprehensive safety features with electronic stability control and ABS brakes.  But best of all, turn up the wick and these things will give you a decent thrill.  Two are turbocharged and one has a 2.5-litre engine. No need to be red-faced at the traffic lights in these.Mitsubishi Colt RalliartThis looks like a small apartment block sitting on a cute set of alloys. In fact, it's a powerhouse that will dust of a lot of cars with twice the engine capacity and has room for four adults, parks in weeny car bays, runs on a sip of fuel - though you'll need premium brand - and is the perfect shopping trolley for people who like their food fast.Price: $25,740Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cyl turbocharged 113kW/210NmTransmission: 5-speed manualFuel economy: 6.7 l/100km premiumPerformance: 0-100km/h in 7.6 secSafety: two airbags, ESC, ABS, BAVolkswagen Polo GTIThis baby sister of the Golf GTI quickly gets off the mark thanks to some component sharing and a 1.8-litre turbo engine. It comes only as a three door so may limit those with heaps of friends, though certainly looks as good as it goes. Solid German construction and versatile interior add to its appeal.Price: $26,990Engine: 1.8-litre, 4-cyl turbocharged 110kW/220NmTransmission: 5-speed manualFuel economy: 7.9 l/100km Premium0-100km/h: 8.2 secSafety: 6 airbags, ESC, ABS, diff lockFord Fiesta ZetecYou can get this in three and five-door versions (extra money for the five door) and while it's not turbocharged, is a spirited performer with lots of aesthetic charm. It's an easy hatchback to live with and aside from a small fuel thirst, runs on cheaper unleaded petrol. Comprehensive safety features show you care for your friends.Price: $20,490Engine: 1.6-litre, 4-cyl 88kW/152NmTransmission: 5-speed manualFuel economy: 6.1 l/100km Unleaded0-100km/h: 8.2 sec (estimated)Safety: 5 airbags, ESC, ABS, BASuzuki Swift SportYou know the Swift, now meet its more beefed up brother. The Sport is unassuming though gets a bigger engine and tauter suspension to accentuate its handling and acceleration. That makes it as practical and reliable as its less-powerful relations. Also has great features and the full safety package.Price: $23,990Engine: 1.6-litre, 4-cyl 92kW/148NmTransmission: 5-speed manualFuel economy: 7.5 l/100km Unleaded0-100km/h: 8.8 secSafety: 6 airbags, ESC, ABS, BAMazda3 SP25This is a great package at a superb price. The SP25 just takes the refreshed Mazda3 to another level, boosting power and torque yet not crushing attributes such as its fuel economy. The features are also excellent as is the safety equipment. It's physically bigger than its rivals here and that means more cabin and luggage room, so it never feels like a small car.Price: $29,740Engine: 2.5-litre, 4-cyl 122kW/227NmTransmission: 6-speed manualFuel economy: 8.6 l/100km Unleaded0-100km/h: 7.9 sec (estimated)Safety: 6 airbags, ESC, ABS, BA

Suzuki unveiled the third and final Kizashi 3 sports sedan concept at the show today, which previews plans Suzuki has for entering the medium passenger car segment.Built as the ultimate Suzuki, its 3.6-litre V6 engine features plated cylinders, a weight and space-saving technology that evolved from lessons learnt by Suzuki’s MotoGP and World Rally Championship teams.The 220kW VVT engine is teamed with a paddle-shift six-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive on 21-inch wheels.Kizashi - a Japanese word meaning prelude or foretaste - is a sign of things to come from the brand.“This concept represents a new direction for Suzuki in that it takes our expertise with smaller sporty vehicles and translates that into the midsized segment,” said Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers “We believe Kizashi will break the mould of typical midsized or family vehicles, when it goes into production next year.”While a firm timetable is still to be announced, Devers said production of the new mid-sized sedan would begin in late 2009.For now, Suzuki has added more style and value to the award-winning Swift and SX4 AWD with the release of limited edition versions at today’s show.Inspired by Suzuki’s domination of the Junior World Rally Championship, a run of 800 Swift RE3s come with more than $3000 of extras including a sports bodykit, unique seven spoke alloy wheels, and unique RE3 floor mats and badges, priced at $16,990.Suzuki has also waved its limited wand over 300 versions of the SX4 AWD Adventure. Based on Suzuki’s AWD hatch, the Adventure pack comes with roof racks, cargo tray, rear bumper protector, bonnet and headlamp protectors, Adventure decals and floor mats, and without a price increase.Suzuki Australia also today confirmed the all-new sub-light Alto would join the line-up in 2009.The fifth and smallest member of the line-up is also the most fuel efficient; the four seat Alto is aimed at urban drivers after eco-friendly motoring without sacrificing style, comfort, practicality, or performance.Powered by a three cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine producing 50kW and 90Nm, the Euro IV-compliant engine delivers just 4.5l/100km through a standard five-speed manual or optional four-speed auto, thanks partly to a low drag coefficient of just 0.30.Standard safety equipment includes ESP, a crushable energy-dispersing structure and six airbags. Pricing and final specs will be announced closer to the launch in the second quarter of 2009.

The diminutive Suzuki Splash is expected to create more than a ripple at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but Suzuki Australia has broader plans apart from this sub-Swift hatch.

The Swift Sport, unveiled to Australian media in Japan this week, may not carry the famous GTi badge (it no longer has rights to the name) but it has the firepower to outgun its predecessor. Powered by a high revving 1.6-litre twin cam four cylinder engine, the four-door hatch is quicker from 0 to 100km/h than GTi and runs rings around it when it comes to handling. What it lacks is the raw edge that made the original GTi so much fun to drive, because like the off road Vitara it didn't have to bow to anyone. In this critical area, we would have liked to have seen a larger, more powerful engine, but hey . . . the Liana started life with a 1.6 didn't it? To create the engine, Suzuki engineers have increased the stroke and upped the compression of the donor 1.5-litre unit. It gets a new block, new inlet and exhaust camshafts, new pistons and rings, connecting rods, crankshaft, larger capacity sports muffler, oil cooler, intake and exhaust manifolds and an electronic throttle body. The result is a compact engine that delivers 92kW of power at 6800rpm and 148Nm of torque at 4800rpm. This compares with the standard car's 74kW and 133Nm - a significant increase. Swift Sport is due to go on sale at the end of September and looks set to build on the momentum of a car that has become a runaway success since launch in 2004. To go with the extra power, the car's chassis has been strengthened with extra cross members, a close ratio, short throw five-speed manual box has been added, along with firmer damping and of course bigger, beefier brakes. Cosmetic changes have also been made, with the addition of a deeper front air dam, black WRX-style side skirts and small rear wing plus a new rear bumper that incorporates twin exhaust outlets. The car sits on 16 inch alloys with 195/50 series rubber, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and six airbags. It looks hot, especially in bright yellow and Suzuki claims the Sport is good for 8.29 seconds for the dash from 0 to 100km/h, with a top speed of about 200km/h. You pay a small penalty for this extra performance as the car takes 98 strength premium unleaded, but it still manages to sip the stuff at the same 7.5 litres/100km, with a 43-litre fuel tank. We got to put the Swift Sport through its paces at Suzuki's proving ground at Hamamatsu. Weighing in at 1100kg, and with a power to weight ratio of 12.0kg to the kilowatt, it goes hard but lacks torque down low. This is particularly evident from a standing start as well as when exiting corners, but wind it up and it's a ball to drive. Our confidence in the Sport's handling grew with each lap of the proving ground as we pushed harder and harder through corners. Pour it on and the car remains composed and manageable even at the extreme limits of adhesion. The rasp from the twin exhausts sounds the part and inside there are some nice touches too, including sports seats (we're told they're Recaros), three-spoke leather stitched sports wheel, silver look gear knob and stainless steel pedals. In terms of performance, the original GTi weighed just 750kg and, with a 74.3kW motor, boasted a power to weight of just 10.1kg/kW (0-100km/h took 8.6 seconds). It wasn't forced to labour under the additional weight of the safety equipment that is imposed on modern vehicles. Launched in 1986 the original GTi roared out of the gates, but was plagued by dreadful torque steer and could be a real handful in the wet. In comparison, the Swift Sport is much more refined and desirable car. At $23,990 it comes fully equipped with few direct competitors. Suzuki benchmarked the car against the Mini Cooper and Citroen's C2, while Ford's Fiesta Zetec could also be considered a rival. None provide the size, interior space and four-door utility of the Swift. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, power ancillaries, steering wheel audio and fully featured trip computer. But there's no spare wheel and no room for one either - just a re-inflation kit. Whether the Swift Sport is indeed the successor to the GTi that Suzuki has been looking for remains to be seen. The car has not been released in the United States, but like us, the Canadians have expressed interest in bigger engines too. The Suzuki Sport certainly looks the goods and handles exceptionally well, but the extra $6000 could stretch the budget. With no turbo, however, it remains within reach of P plate drivers.   Chris Riley is a roadtester on the CARSguide team. His work appears here and in the 96 News Limited Community Newspapers across Australia – including the Cumberland Newspaper Group, Leader Newspaper Group, Quest Newspaper Group, Messenger Newspaper Group, Gold Coast Sun, Townsville Sun.