Overview Suzuki Swift 2000

Suzuki's mini Swift hatchback coupe has a great value sale price, then gives high fuel economy on the road on petrol.

Model Lineup

Suzuki's Swift comes in GA and GL options. The standard Swift GA excludes air conditioning and stereo, which come as standard on the GL.

Each model uses the same four-cylinder engine with a manual five-speed gearbox, and there is an optional three-speed automatic transmission.

Walkaround

The Swift's exterior styling maintains a traditional overall wedge-shaped form and the aerodynamic nose and side panels continue to look contemporary.

The front angles sharply forward to a rounded front end where a narrow central grille and halogen headlampsare surrounded by a thick black sport bumper which extends around corners to the forward wheels. Curves on the front hood accentuate the headlights, with all the lines flowing upward and rearward until merging into the windscreen.

At the top of the windscreen the roofline extends along in a flat line until descending into a hatchback lid that drops down to a thick bumper. Side panels bulge in waves above a band of molding, but black tires capped by full wheel covers measure only 13 inches wide and seem undersized.

A wrap of tinted glass rings the passenger compartment and makes Swift look tall, although the roof actually rises only four and a half feet above the ground.

Interior Features

Swift's cockpit fits well. Inside are twin bucket seats up front and a modest two-place rear bench. However, you don't feel crammed into subcompact confines of what otherwise could be a mobile sardine can because Suzuki's designers managed to deliver the impossible in a midget economy car: Elbow room.

The front bucket seats appear ideally placed to prevent shoulders and arms from bumping against a passanger or door. Headroom is generous, reflecting the high ceiling, but a long-legged rider will find the space a little tight.

At the rear, legroom is further cut back, making the back seat suitable really only for children. The rear bench also folds forward to expand rear cargo space - the best configuration.

Front seats provide four-way directional adjustments. The central console has cupholders and a floor-mounted gearshift lever. Carpets extend from front to rear, with each side door adding a vinyl insert and map bin.

The dashboard's central section has controls for air and optional audio, and the straight-forward instrument panel adds analog gauges for speedometer, tachometer and water temperature, plus a trip odometer and warning lights for oil pressure and battery charge.

Driving Impressions

Steering a Victory Red edition of the two-door Swift GL hatchback a quick-cut lane-changing maneuver it was able to dart ahead of a conservatively driven Porsche.

Our GL, with snappy five-speed manual shifter, popped off the line at each of the traffic signals. In second and third gears, it behaved aggressively when racking revs to higher rpms. By the time we shifted into fourth, that crisp response diminished somewhat, but by then -- and subsequently into fifth overdrive gear we were pushing at the speed limit.

An optional three-speed automatic transmission dims this liveliness only slightly but takes a bite out of Swift's fuel economy figures.

Swift's good road manners stem from good mechanical hardware, such as a crisp rack-and-pinion steering system and four-wheel independent suspension with MacPherson struts over coil springs plus front and rear stabilizer bars in place to check excessive body sway. The strut design does a reasonable job of smoothing out bumps, but the short wheel span imparts more harshness to the ride quality than would a larger car with longer wheelbase.

A side benefit from the abbreviated wheelbase on Swift shows up when steering in tight corners like a crowded parking lot. Its relatively brief turning radius allows Swift to steer circles around larger cars and easily work itself into the narrowest parking space. This trait makes it ideally suited for inter-city transit. Meanwhile, the thrifty fuel economy numbers point toward service as a commuter car.

Despite a meager 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine producing only 79 horsepower and equally tepid torque numbers, the featherweight scale of Swift actually counterbalances its puny power figures and results in rather lively throttle responses.

Swift comes up with fuel-economy of 36 miles per gallon for city driving and as much as 42 mpg on the highway.

The Swift has a number of covert passive and active safety features help bolster driver confidence. For instance, the structure of this subcompact contains front and rear crumple zones as buffers to a steel safety cage which surrounds the passenger compartment, plus steel beams in side doors to check side intrusions.

Each A pillar is made of a single strong, rigid piece of steel, while each B pillar has been strengthened for extra rigidity. Standard safety assets include dual airbags, front seat head restraints and firm anchors in the rear to secure a child's safety seat, with daytime running lights aboard so the small car can be seen better in traffic.

Conclusion

The Swift in present design has been around through six model years, yet it continues to look fresh and measure well against more recent competition. Attributes and limitations counteract one another in yin-yang fashion: It's tiny in overall dimensions, but easy to maneuver in the crunch of urban traffic; affordable for a tight car budget, but nicely equipped and quite comfortable; the small engine may lack power, but that accounts for the frugal fuel consumption.

In short, Swift still deserves keen consideration in the midget economy class.

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