The 2017 Suzuki Swift has arrived to challenge the just-upgraded Mazda 2 and new Kio Rio in Australia’s struggling light-car market. There are four specification levels called GL, GL Navigator, GL Navigator with Safety Pack and GLX Turbo, with drive-away pricing from AUD 16,990 to 22,990.

Specification levels are well up, with features such as satellite-navigation, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Autonomous Emergency Braking and radar-guided active cruise control available. At 3840 mm long, the Swift is actually a tiny bit shorter than its already minuscule predecessor.


Features on the token manual GL – the only version not fitted with a standard automatic transmission – include six airbags, Bluetooth/USB, cruise control, daytime-running lights, steering wheel controls and steel wheels. The Euro NCAP rating is only four stars, though the Swift got an 88 per cent driver occupant protection score.

The AUD 1000 more expensive (or AUD 2000 pricier at list price) GL Navigator adds a CVT automatic, plus a 7.0-inch touchscreen with satellite-navigation, reversing camera, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and 16-inch alloy wheels. Does Suzuki just not want to sell the GL manual, given it lacks any of the above features and makes do with a 1990s-style audio screen?


Next is the AUD 19,190 drive-away (AUD 18,990 list) GL Navigator with safety pack that adds autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that works below 140 km/h, adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning. Atop the range is the GLX Turbo auto flagship at AUD 22,990 drive-away that uses the spunky little three-cylinder turbo engine from the bigger but same-price Baleno.

Other extras include paddle-shifters for its standard six-speed auto gearbox, polished alloys, auto high-beam LED lights, climate control and a proximity key. It’s the range-topper in lieu of a new Swift Sport – for now. Cargo space is now 242L, up 32L but still modest. Occupants sit a little lower than before, but have a few centimetres more legroom and headroom.


Under the body is a new platform that cuts the weight in this area alone by 30 kg. The new Swift rather remarkably weighs only 870 kg in base form, climbing to 915 kg for the GLX Turbo. Most rivals are more than a tonne. This architecture also has triple the high-tensile steel of the old one, which improves rigidity, and the design allows a tighter turning circle (just 9.6m). Suspension is an independent setup at the front and a basic torsion beam at the rear, and there’s new variable-ratio steering. The company has also added sound-deadening materials, and the stiffer platform theoretically reduces drivetrain vibrations. The Swift is a few per cent quieter at highway speeds than before.

There are two engines to choose from. The GL, GL Navigator and GL Navigator with safety pack get a 1.2-litre four-cylinder with a weedy 89 Hp of power at 6000 rpm and 120 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. Meanwhile the GLX turbo gets a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine with a turbocharger that pumps up the outputs to 111 Hp at 5500 rpm and 160 Nm from 1500 to 4000rpm. This gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 122 Hp per tonne, which is almost the same as the outgoing Swift Sport.