• Deceptively large interior
• Plenty of headroom, too
• Boot space is only average

How much space is there?

More than you’d think given the Suzuki Swift’s external dimensions. Despite the supermini sizing, the interior feels nice and roomy. It might be shorter than rivals like the Renault Clio and Volkswagen Polo, but the more upright design means there’s excellent passenger space inside. The oatmeal-coloured plastics that dominate the cabin only add to the feeling of airiness.

The seats are on the tall side and you sit a bit like you’re in a school chair – bolt upright. However, the taller roof means that headroom is never an issue. Legroom is good too, although taller passengers may be pushed for knee room in the rear. The middle rear seat is best reserved for very occasional use, a long trip in it would be tantamount to being squeezed in a vice.

Boot space and storage

The Swift’s boot capacity hasn’t changed from the previous version’s. There’s 265 litres of space with the rear seats in place, which isn’t bad for such a small car. But when rivals like the Skoda Fabia offer 360 litres, it looks rather paltry. It is at least bigger than the purse-sized boot in the MINI Cooper.

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The boot is at least easy to access and a nice useable shape even if there’s a big lip to lug items over. With the back seats folded down you get 589 litres of storage, up 10 litres from the old Swift. The rear seats fold in a 60:40 configuration, but don’t lay flat. There’s a big step between the boot floor and seat that makes loading longer items awkward and poses a damage risk for long, delicate items.

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For smaller items, the cabin is a mixed bag. Dedicated water bottle slots in each door pocket are very nice additions, but elsewhere it’s slim pickings. There’s nowhere obvious to put a phone and the storage space under the heating controls lacks the grip to hold anything securely.

Is it easy to park?

With rear parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard, the Swift has all the tech to make parking an easy affair. There’s no park assist, but the small, narrow dimensions partnered with large windows mean visibility is excellent. Light steering and a small turning circle ensure you’ll never build up a sweat.

Safety

• Dishonourable entry on our safest car list
• Three-star safety rating for all Swifts
• Lacks some crucial safety technology

The Achilles heel of the Swift is its safety rating. Car safety experts Euro NCAP awarded it a mediocre three out of five stars when it was assessed in 2024. While it scored well for the frontal and side pole impact test, child safety was noted as disappointing. It ranked among the lowest-rated cars tested by Euro NCAP last year.

There are the slew of safety features you’d expect from a modern car. All Swifts get six airbags, two Isofix points for the rear seats, child locks, a tyre pressure monitoring system and electronic stability control as standard. The only safety feature not included on the base model is a height adjuster for the front seatbelts, and that’s more for comfort than safety.

There is also most of the active safety tech you’d expect on a new car. There’s blind spot monitoring, driver attention monitoring, lane-keeping assist, traffic sign recognition and eCall to keep you safe. The lack of seatbelt warnings in the rear is a disappointment though.

Watch the Suzuki Swift Euro NCAP crash test