The new Suzuki Swift is great; we decided that even before driving it. In fact, all small cars are excellent - Renault Twingo, smart, Fiat 500 - until you get to own one. But in Japan, the Swift is more like a compact, and it comes with features you might not expect.
You can't get the Ford Focus with AWD, and the hybrid has only been available for a few years. But the Japanese Swift has both at the same time, which is as rare as... the AWD Prius. But because it's a cheap car, this configuration is likely to be the most popular in the country.
We've shown you walkaround videos of the 2017 Swift from the land of RHD before. However, this is the first POV driving footage, and we are impressed with pretty much everything. It might no be the fastest car in the world, but it's certainly quieter than a Mazda2, if you're into that kind of thing.
The interior is much better designed and built than the Vitara, which was Suzuki's previous most impressive car. The little Swift also comes with a lot of safety gadgets, though with the cautious way Japanese people drive, crashing might never happen. The hybrid is supposedly capable of doing 3.65 liters per 100 kilometers or 77.3 mpg UK, but only if you avoid spirited driving.
The RS is by no means related to the mighty Focus hyper hatch. Instead, the trim level offers some slightly sportier styling and 185/55 R16 wheels and tires. RS features a honeycomb grille with a red stripe down the middle. The new bumper also has a spoiler effect, being accompanied by side skirts and a new rear bumper.There are other engines available besides the hybrid. The base unit is an inline-4 DOHC 1.2-liter producing 91 PS and 118 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm. Until the Swift Sport debuts, the one we're most impressed with is a 1-liter turbo kicking out 102 PS and 150 Nm of torque.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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