Here’s the thing: tiny hatchbacks are great, but they aren’t perfect.
As someone who’s owned hatchbacks for a number of years, I can safely say there are some of the best cars around. They aren’t made for going to the casino, sure, but for ripping fat handbrake turns while coming into an empty Hungry Jack's carpark? You bet.
But despite their low running costs, tiny road footprint, and all ‘round maneuverability, they aren’t perfect.
At highway speeds, most have a tendency to rev. Constantly. Due to their gear ratios being optimised for energetic city use, some produce a persistent buzzing sound on the highway that never goes away. It's like taking a journey with a colony of pissed off hornets.
But there's one Reddit user who seems to have gotten around that.
Spotted on /r/cars, user ‘Boorkus’ decided to do a simple mod after being sick of his exuberant 2008 Suzuki Swift Sport ripping a bombastic 3400rpm at 100km/h.
Seeing as he lives out in Western Australia – and spends 500km a week on the highway – you can see how this ‘might’ become annoying.
It's often overlooked by many, but thanks to a simple $350 kit, ‘Boorkus’ was able to alter the ratio of his top (fifth) gear and drop the engine speed to a much more pleasant 2800rpm at 100km/h.
According to Boorkus, the Swift is now “so. goddamn. quiet.” and while there’s less ‘punch’ at speed, it's overshadowed by the fact that there's still four other gears for acceleration.
Not only has the noise been reduced, but so too has the fuel economy.
It might not be as cool as stuffing a V8 under the hood, but it works. It's an intelligent modification that improves the practicality of the car with little-to-no downside. It's brilliant.
What’s the tiniest change you’ve made to your car that made the biggest difference? What’s the most practical modification you can think of? Tell us what it was in the comments below.
