• Well-made from cheap materials
• Good driving position and visibility
• Infotainment system is the biggest let down

How is the quality and layout?

The Swift is a typical Suzuki. It’s very well screwed together, but all the materials feel cheap. If you’re a fan of squidgy soft-touch plastics, you’ll probably be better served by the likes of the Peugeot 208 or the DS 3.

There’s something to be said for the Swift’s functionality, though. Because its cabin materials are cheap, you don’t need specialist leather or upholstery cleaners to keep them looking their best. You can muck out the entire interior with a clean rag and one of our best all-purpose cleaners.

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The layout is great, too. Suzuki has shunned the modern trend of touchscreen-led control interfaces and stuck with good old-fashioned dials and buttons. That makes them easy to use on the move because you don’t need to take your eyes off the road. The switchgear also has a reassuring action and feels very well-engineered.

The Swift Sport’s interior is a little different to the standard car’s but, thankfully, the substitutions don’t change the Swift’s honest character. The biggest alterations are a perforated sports steering wheel, red dials and trim, aluminium pedals, a racier gear lever and a pair of supportive bucket seats.

Infotainment and tech

Suzuki’s infotainment system isn’t exactly stunning. The screen is small, it’s clunky to use and the graphics look like they were lifted straight from an Eighties games console. It almost feels like an aftermarket system – and it’s disappointing when compared to the slick systems found in the Ford Fiesta and Hyundai i20.

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However, the system has a saving grace. It’s compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – and, mercifully, the technology is fitted as standard to every model in the Swift’s line-up. That means you can swap Suzuki’s antiquated built-in sat-nav for Waze and gain easy access to your favourite music through Spotify. The sound quality of the stereo isn’t sparkling, but it’s reasonable for a car of this price.

Is it comfortable?

• Good driving position
• Supportive seats with lots of adjustment
• Swift Sport has admirably comfy ride

The Suzuki Swift has a surprisingly good driving position, which isn’t always the case in cars that are this small and affordable. The seats have an agreeable range of configuration and there’s just enough adjustment in the steering column to allow taller drivers to get comfortable.

Or at least there is if you opt for the most expensive SZ5 or Sport models. The steering columns fitted to the more basic SZ-L and SZ-T cars don’t telescope. They only move up and down so, if you’re tall, you’ll likely find it more difficult to find a driving position where you’re not overreaching for the wheel.

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Road and wind noise are noticeable on the motorway, but that’s to be expected in a car that weighs just 911kg. Suzuki sacrificed some sound deadening to improve the Swift’s fuel economy and performance. So, while it might be overshadowed by the Citroen C3 in terms of outright comfort, it compensates with its driving experience.