Written by Alan Taylor-Jones and Ryan Gilmore Updated: 6 March 2025

Cheap new small cars are an increasingly rare sight, so will Suzuki buck the trend prove there’s still life the sector yet?

Tested by Ryan Gilmore

Update one: Welcome

Introducing the Suzuki Swift Mild Hybrid Ultra

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Suzuki Swift. A 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport (in Championship Yellow) was always my go-to first purchase in Gran Turismo 5, and I’ve come close to buying a more modern Swift Sport on two occasions now.

I’ve always liked the razor-sharp styling, featherweight construction and ingenuity of the Swift, even if always sat in the shadow of the Ford Fiesta. But, with the death of the de facto small car, now could be the time for the Swift to shine. After all, it’s still in production and still very affordable. The Swift Sport has been a casualty though, a crying shame.

Admittedly, the new one has lost the sharp styling. There’s a bit of a water-bloat aesthetic going on here, and the piddly 16-inch wheels look like shirt buttons. But it’s still exceptionally lightweight at less than a tonne, and that food-baby exterior means the interior is big and airy. Ingenious.

It also feels decidedly old-school. The interior feels familiar if you’ve driven a small car from 2014 or so, albeit with a nine-screen nestled on the top. A five-speed manual or CVT make up the gearbox choices, I’ve got the manual. A physical handbrake and the mildest of hybrid systems complete this Swift. It all sounds rather pleasant.

Check out the Suzuki Swift specs page on Parkers for the entire range.

What you get with a Swift Ultra

The Swift is well-equipped price for the money, even in base Motion trim. Our Swift is an Ultra model, which costs an extra £1100 over the standard Swift Motion for a list price of £20,299. The additional cash for an Ultra gets you polished alloy wheels, electrically adjustable mirrors and automatic air conditioning. You also get the side indicators mounted in the door mirrors. Here are the main features you get as standard on both versions of the Swift:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Heated front seats
• Rear view camera and parking sensors
• Keyless entry and start
• Wireless smartphone pairing (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto)

A very fetching shade of Frontier Blue Pearl Metallic, a £700 option, finishes off the Swift’s specs.

Optional extras?

Aside from the usual rubber floor mats and roof bars, there’s very little that doesn’t come standard on the Swift. Darker wheels can be optioned, as can some natty side decals, but it’s not the buffet of packs and options found on some premium small cars.

The only very tempting option is the All-Grip AWD system, making this technically one of the smallest and cheapest 4x4s on sale today. It isn’t present on my Swift and bumps the finance price up a fair bit but will serve a noble purpose for those who need it.

First impressions

The efficiency has bowled me over so far. Despite doing a lot of short trips and the stop-start feature activating intermittently, it will not dip below 54mpg. It’s not like I’m hypermiling either, I’m having to work that tiny engine quite hard to get it up to speed.

On a less positive note, there’s nowhere to store my phone. While you get a panel of ports under the heating controls, the small nook nearby doesn’t quite fit my iPhone 13. It’s also slides around making an awful scratchy noise. I’ve found it much more useful to dump my phone in one of the central cup holders if I want to charge it. I’m also sorely missing a wireless charger here.  

It does get massive brownie points for the water bottle storage in the door pockets, which are perfectly shaped and snugly nest my bottle in place.

Everyone who’s gotten into it so far has liked it. They’ve liked the interior space and low list price. Rear space hasn’t been a concern either. Although, at 5’7 (the same height as Tom Cruise may I add), I’ve never had a complaint that I’m sat too far back.

I’m now almost constantly thinking about whether this would make a good Swift Sport. My current conclusion is yes; the chassis is beautifully sorted and some extra poke would make it even more fun. We’re sorely lacking affordable small hot hatches and a new Swift Sport could be a blinder.

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Update two: Easy squeezey

Slotting perfectly into the tightest of underground parking spaces has fully convinced me of the merits of a small car.  

‘Pah, there’s no way that Mercedes E-Class will get into that spot,’ I triumphantly declared to my less-than-amused girlfriend as it made its doomed attempt to back into the four-poster parking spot.

A Vauxhall Meriva came and went too, unable to master the tricky bay. With four unyielding concrete posts eating up space, it was undeniably tight. It was also prime parking real estate on this busy Saturday afternoon, and I wasn’t going to miss out.  

With finger-tip-light steering, giant panes of glass to look through, and the standard-issue rear parking sensors and camera, backing the Swift into this spot was a doddle. And yes I know that humble brag makes me sound like Alan Partridge. But, this single parking accomplishment fully sold the Swift as a small car to me.

This all happened in Cambridge, not a city known for being car friendly. Between bicycle-riding students and American tourists, the already narrow streets proved to be the perfect stomping ground for the small car. Navigating through the maelstrom was so easy in the Swift.

Only the cobbled streets proved to be its undoing. The bouncy, unsophisticated ride clattered over them, as it has on every pothole, expansion joint or manhole cover I’ve encountered. This is the biggest criticism I have for the Swift – the ride has proven to be far from cushioning. It’s very softly sprung but crashes about, an odd combination.

Oddly, the ride doesn’t settle at 70mph, it still crashes when most cars hunker down and settle. There’s a fair amount of wind noise and buffeting at speed, but the car doesn’t feel out of place on a motorway. In fifth gear at 70mph it buzzes along but is capable of overtaking lorries with ease.

Anything else?

Up until now I’ve been ignoring the in-built voice command system. It’s not very clever and it will not interact with my phone. It won’t give me the option to tune into a radio station that isn’t Absolute Radio no matter what I say, or a destination on the mediocre sat nav. But to my amazement, holding down the voice command button for a few seconds lets me ask Siri questions via Apple CarPlay. This is much better – I can request songs through Spotify and use Apple Maps. It’s a game changer.

A small squeak has also developed on the driver-side rear door. It’s not the end of the world, some lubricating oil would certainly stop it creaking every time I open the rear door. But otherwise there hasn’t been so much as a rattle from the Swift. It really has been nailed together properly.

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Update three: Swift versus food

Life in the Swift has mostly been smooth sailing so far, but practicality is always a worry with superminis. So how easily can it survive a big shopping trip and the trials of a car-based lunchtime picnic?

How’s this for a trial by fire for the Swift’s boot space? A weekend trip compounded with my first-ever visit to Costco. Between the dustbin-sized cans of beans and industrial toilet roll supplies, a trolley that felt as big as the Swift with none of the manoeuvrability was soon packed high as impulse purchasing got the better of me.

With three passengers in tow, I’d be unable to lower the 60:40 rear seats either; it would all be down to the 265-litre boot size. Could the Swift swallow a cabin suitcase, duffle bag and £70 of unnecessary bulk-order food? In short, yes.

Despite having a much smaller boot than rivals like the Renault Clio and Skoda Fabia, the Swift hoovered everything up – including some delicious nashi pears. Space was snug with everything and everyone onboard, and the higher-than-ideal boot lip made loading and unloading everything a bit of a faff, but the Swift took it all on the chin.

Which is more than can be said for the interior storage space as a trip through a drive-through revealed. My phone takes up one of two central cupholders to charge it without it sliding about, so the singular rear cup holder needed to be drafted in to hold two coffees.

Thinner sandwiches could nestle in the front door pockets with relative ease, but a particularly girthy sandwich – think chicken club sized – is a no-go. A bag of nuts or crisps will sit neatly in the central storage, at least.

It gets even less generous in the back. The rear door pockets are only suitable for bottle storage. I’ve taken to storing a bottle of glass cleaner in one of them — there genuinely isn’t room for anything else. There aren’t even pockets in the back of the front seats.

In a nutshell, while the boot proves to be usefully sized, the interior storage doesn’t score particularly well in the industry-standard meal deal test.

Anything else?

A couple of days away from the Swift and behind the wheel of a SEAT Ibiza has really made me appreciate just what a bargain the Swift is. The Ibiza may have felt sturdier and quicker, but it’s a good £4,000 more than my trusty Swift. And it didn’t have keyless go, heated seats or a reversing camera – all standard-issue on the Swift.

The door squeak has worked itself out, which is music to my ears. However, I’ve noticed a new door-based grumble – the door requires a good slam to shut. I think the low weight of the door, partnered with thick seals means it takes a fair bit of a shunt. Older Suzuki Swifts developed a reputation for door and boot seals failing and moisture getting in, so I’ll put up with a small bicep workout if it means water stays out.

The screenwash ran out, and there was no warning message or bong from the car – only a pathetic bubbly dribble and the sounds of strained motors. This irritating inconvenience has at least given me the chance to try out some Rain-X Screenwash, which supposedly helps rainwater bead off the glass. Only time will tell if it’s worth the tenner I spent on it.

Suzuki Swift Ultra Hybrid
Total mileage	6,477 (4,000 when delivered)
Real-world average fuel economy	53.7mpg
Official combined fuel economy (WLTP figures)	57.6 – 64.2mpg
Parkers ‘MPP’ (Miles Per Pound) calculation	8.4 – 9.4
Car joined Parkers fleet	November 2024

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