By Brendon Carpenter
Hot Hatch or Pocket Rocket: Choosing the right term to describe the latest offering from Suzuki is a difficult task. Most vehicle manufacturers choose either one or the other. According to my “Brendon Dictionary” a Hot Hatch is: “An extremely good looking and super fast hatchback”. In the same dictionary the phrase Pocket Rocket refers to: “An unrealistically small pocket-sized rocket” or “An affordable car with explosive performance”.
The Suzuki Swift Sport fits the description of these phrases rather well. In terms of the aesthetic and design the Swift Sport is a Hot Hatch. Every angle and curve follows each of the three distinctive lines from the lower front spoiler, with the larger air intakes, over the widened wheel arches filled with 17” multi spoke rims and into the lower rear bumper diffuser, housing the two separated chrome tailpipes on either side. It looks like a ripped, pumped up version of the standard Swift that paid for its gym contract and actually made the effort to improve on its looks and performance.
The interior mimics the exterior in terms of sporty design with racy bucket seats, a sporty leather steering wheel, silver inserts and chrome sports pedals. The red, black and silver theme exudes the promise of lively performance. The European market can choose between both three door and five door variants of the Swift Sport, while you as a South African consumer will have to rely on your ability to slide the front seats forward in order to take your buddies for a spin. Passengers will have to call “shotgun” for the front passenger seat as lengthy journeys can become uncomfortable for rear passengers. With all the performance credentials evident in the look and feel of the tangible elements, the Swift Sport proves to be a one Hot Hatch.
The aesthetic look and design of a Hot Hatch is important, but the top trump in any car with sporting potential is the performance. The Swift’s free revving 1.6 litre engine develops 92kW of maximum power at 6800rpm and 148nM of torque at 4800rpm. The engine has no performance assistance like a turbo or further aspiration, just pure revving lunacy that really comes to life after around 4500rpm. A sprint from 0 – 100km/h can be achieved in just 8.9 seconds while the top speed is claimed at 200km/h (Car Magazine). The short shifting gearbox complements the Swift Sport’s naughty nature and inspires the driver to drive with addictive exuberance, although a sixth gear would’ve been ideal to tame engine noise at cruising speeds.
It is, in essence, a true driver’s car. The chassis is firm in its set-up but never compromises driving comfort while the 17” rims wrapped in Good Year Eagle F1 tarmac-gripping tyres makes the twistys much more enjoyable than the straight and narrow. The Electronic Stability Programme (EPS) keeps the car on the road when it gets slippery, while the supportive bucket seats keep your bottom from sliding around. Other safety features include ABS with EBD and six airbags. We had plenty of opportunity to test the cornering ability of the Swift Sport on our Breakfast Run to Hartebeespoort Dam with the Swift Owner’s Club.
Although the Swift Sport handles and feels like a little go-kart, it is still equipped with a multitude of extra’s to a decent specification level. Standard equipment includes a front loading MP3 cd player with 6 speakers, electric windows, mirrors and digital climate control and a rather interesting key-less entry remote system that allows the driver to unlock and start the car without removing the key from his/her pocket. Pocket Rocket? In order for the Swift Sport to really qualify as a Pocket Rocket it needs to be fast and affordable. We already know that the Swift Sport is a sporty, fast Hot Hatch but how well does it stack up in terms of value for money? At R199 900 it is priced to directly compete with its main rivals, the Renault Twingo RS (R199 900) and the Toyota Yaris 1.8 TS (R225 900). What sets it apart though is the fact that there are only 100 units available in South Africa, adding a sense a exclusivity and individuality. Our test unit was no. 81 of 100, complete with a signed certificate. So if you want your own Hot Hatch Pocket Rocket, you better move... Swiftly!
Special thanks to Suzuki Auto South Africa for the test car and the Swift Owner’s club for organising the breakfast run.
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