Bay Harbour: December 05, 2024

22 <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>Harbour</strong> News Thursday <strong>December</strong> 5 <strong>2024</strong><br />

Frugal Swift Hybrid an engaging drive<br />

MISERLY FUEL economy has<br />

underpinned the success of the<br />

last three generations of the<br />

Suzuki Swift 5-door hatch, with<br />

the hybrid variant the thriftiest<br />

of them all.<br />

According to combined fuel<br />

consumption tests, the Swift<br />

Hybrid’s 4.1L/100km has the<br />

potential, if the driver has the<br />

discipline to go easy on the<br />

throttle, to potentially travel<br />

about 900 kilometres on a full<br />

tank of petrol.<br />

The starting point for this<br />

likeable little fuel miser $28,990<br />

mid-spec GLX, or you can opt<br />

for something more posh with<br />

the $31,990 RS. A two-tone roof<br />

is a $500 extra but does add a bit<br />

of affordable visual pizzazz.<br />

This RS shouldn’t be confused<br />

with the RS Sport – the turbo<br />

charged performance member<br />

of the Swift family that sells<br />

for $31,990 with an old school<br />

manual transmission, or another<br />

$2k with for the automatic.<br />

The hybrid RS Swift added to<br />

the Swift Catalogue two years<br />

Motoring with Bob Nettleton<br />

ago is just the ticket for those<br />

who want hybrid thrift, but don’t<br />

want to go frugal on the finer<br />

things of motoring life, which<br />

they get in an abundance of in<br />

this model.<br />

Standard equipment includes<br />

electrically folding exterior<br />

mirrors, climate control air<br />

conditioning, steering wheel<br />

mounted paddle shifters, keyless<br />

entry, push button start, and a<br />

tilt/telescopic adjustment for the<br />

steering wheel.<br />

It has the added safety of<br />

buffer of Suzuki’s advanced<br />

forward detection system, lane<br />

keep function, lane departure<br />

warning, weaving alert and<br />

blind spot monitoring. Rear<br />

cross traffic alert warns the<br />

driver of nearby but of unseen<br />

vehicles while reversing, along<br />

with rear parking proximity<br />

sensors.<br />

Braking is upgraded over the<br />

GLX with discs brakes all round<br />

and dual sensor brake support<br />

comprising a monocular camera<br />

that “sees” mid-to-long distance<br />

and can detect pedestrians.<br />

Once the RS is moving above<br />

40km/h, the headlight high<br />

beam assist automatically<br />

switches the headlights between<br />

high and low beam depending<br />

on the presence of other vehicles<br />

and the lighting environment.<br />

This feature really does make for<br />

stress free night driving and the<br />

drudgery of constantly dipping<br />

your headlights for on-coming<br />

traffic.<br />

Mechanically, the cheaper<br />

GLX and RS share the same<br />

1.2 litre 4-cylinder motor.<br />

Suzuki launched its Smart<br />

Hybrid Vehicle system (SHVS)<br />

in 2016. It is a self-charging<br />

hybrid featuring a specially<br />

developed power unit assisted<br />

by a compact, high performing<br />

12-volt lithium-ion battery that<br />

adds a modest 25kg to the car’s<br />

kerb weight.<br />

This mild hybrid uses a motor<br />

to support fuel-consuming<br />

standing starts and acceleration<br />

and utilises automatic stop-start<br />

with the petrol motor shutting<br />

down when the car is stationary<br />

in traffic. Besides assisting<br />

the engine with an efficient<br />

regeneration rate, the compact<br />

lithium-ion battery also powers<br />

various electrical components,<br />

including engine electronics, the<br />

speedometer and audio unit.<br />

Rating out of 10: Performance 6; Handling 7; Build Quality<br />

7; Comfort 6; Space 6; Styling 7; Fuel Economy, road test<br />

average consumption 4.8L/100km; Value for money 7; Safety,<br />

ANCAP 5-star crash test rating.<br />

Overall points out of 10: 6.5<br />

During deceleration the<br />

system checks the charge status<br />

of the batteries and recharges<br />

them as needed. When the<br />

battery charge is up to speed,<br />

instead of generating electricity,<br />

engine power is solely used for<br />

driving.<br />

Interestingly, a base petrolonly<br />

1.2L Swift GL averages a<br />

miserly 4.7L/100km. This is only<br />

half a litre more than the hybrid<br />

consumes every 100km and may<br />

have some questioning whether<br />

the extra premium for the<br />

hybrid is good value for money.<br />

With that small difference<br />

in fuel savings, it’s going to<br />

take ages to recover that price<br />

difference.<br />

Together the engine and<br />

electric motor have a combined<br />

power output of 64kW, which<br />

by today’s hybrid standards is<br />

modest, but then this is older<br />

generation hybrid technology.<br />

This rather limp power output<br />

doesn’t make for pedestrian<br />

rather than electrifying<br />

performance. However, the<br />

sedate progress give you more<br />

time to appreciate the fuel<br />

savings the motor is making,<br />

and impressively low emissions<br />

of 94g/km.<br />

With its dated hybrid tech,<br />

the test car didn’t feel as lively as<br />

rivals such as the Toyota Yaris<br />

and Honda Jazz. The lack of<br />

performance intent is mitigated<br />

somewhat by the engines<br />

smoothness and low noise<br />

levels. I was disappointed at just<br />

how little time the test vehicle<br />

operated in electric-only mode<br />

over flat terrain in around town<br />

driving.<br />

Hopefully an all-new Swift<br />

due here in the next few months<br />

does better.<br />

Despite its advancing years,<br />

the current Swift remains a<br />

clever design. A good example<br />

is more compact engine<br />

compartment that frees up more<br />

cabin and load space, although<br />

never in copious amounts.<br />

A clean modern fascia<br />

complete with seven-drink<br />

holders is a masterstroke, but<br />

not the prevalence of hard<br />

plastic surfaces throughout the<br />

cabin that are reminder of the<br />

Swift’s budget car DNA.<br />

MacPherson strut and<br />

coil spring suspension have<br />

successfully under pinned<br />

Swifts for a while. Further<br />

refinements made for this model<br />

provide small but worthwhile<br />

improvements.<br />

It’s now more adept at<br />

absorbing bumps and vehicle<br />

occupant comfort has improved,<br />

but the suspension can be noisy<br />

over high frequency bumps<br />

during low-speed town driving.<br />

This Swift trademark agility is<br />

better than ever and the steering<br />

is crisp and responsive, making<br />

for a playful and engaging drive<br />

over undulating roads, and is an<br />

expected bonus in a mini hatch<br />

in this price bracket.<br />

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