New Suzuki Swift Sport and Ford Fiesta ST Take The Moose Test

Instead, we're going to look at these two videos as a kind of indirect comparison between the two cars. While they've never been direct rivals, the Sport and ST are often cross-shopped by younger drivers looking for affordable thrills.

While Suzuki briefly offered a £1,500 discount at the launch of the Swift Sport, its real price is £18,000 which is uncomfortably close to the Ford Fiesta ST at £18,995. Of course, you also need to take standard equipment offered into consideration here.

But the performance gap between the two is quite large, with the Japanese car having 140 horsepower from its 1.4-liter turbo compared to 200 from the Fiesta's new 1.5-liter 3-cylinder turbo unit. But what about the handling?

Well, the Spanish magazine that performs these maneuvrability tests says the Swift is more softly spring and has a longer steering ratio than the Fiesta ST. However, they say both inspire confidence and provide an ample sense of control behind the wheel.

The Suzuki managed to do the test at 77 km/h, and while it was still in full control at 80 km/h, the driver couldn't avoid hitting a cone. As for the new hot Ford, it also did the moose test at 77 km/h. It's a playful car, so we're not surprised to see it lifting a rear wheel. At 80 km/h, the Fiesta avoided all the cones but looked more difficult to control due to understeer.

The stiffer setup was put to the test during the sudden changes of direction of the slalom. It's worth noting that the Fiesta ST has not only more traction due to 205 tires but also a special rear suspension setup. Find out more from our test drive!