Motoring Launch
| by Tristan Wiggill
Swift given the boot
➲ The pick of the newcomers is the
rather quirky-looking 1.2 DZire in GL trim
Suzuki Auto South Africa has plugged the price gap between its newly updated Swift and entry-level Alto
range with the 1.2 litre Swift hatch and 1.2 litre Swift sedan, the booted version otherwise known as the DZire.
N
either of the two newcomers
receive the updated Swift’s
cosmetic and features upgrades.
Standard equipment on the GA derivative
is adequate if not class-leading, with
air-conditioning, electric windows and
two airbags. The base model Honda Brio,
the smaller engined Swift’s closest rival,
costs two grand less.
Made and sourced from the Suzuki
Maruti plant in Manesar, India, the
1.2 litre Swift range has been adapted
specifically to local conditions, which
means an increase in ride height and
the fitment of 14-inch steel wheels as
standard, although the GL models are
also available with 15-inch alloy rims as a
R4 000 option.
The DZire sedan weighs slightly more
than the hatch and, naturally, has a
bigger (300-vs 210 litre) boot, but it’s
still modest by Polo Vivo and Ford Figo
standards.
Unlike the hatch, the DZire can be
specified with a beige or black interior,
whereas the hatch’s interior is black,
black and more black. Build and
assembly quality looked good at face
value, but I was more impressed with
the amount of headroom available,
both front and rear. Rear legroom
is (very) marginally better in the
DZire version and acceptable for the
segment.
Transmission options include a fivespeed manual or rather old-fashioned
four-speed automatic (the competing
Brio has a five-speed auto), the latter
of which went untested by us on the
launch day drive in the Cape.
The four-cylinder K-series petrol
engine, featuring Variable Valve Timing
among other technologies, develops
63kW and 113 Nm of torque, which
is more than adequate for this size
and type of vehicle and on-par with
its most direct of competitors in the
performance stakes.
Suzuki claim a 5.7 litre per 100 km
combined fuel consumption rate for the
manual versions and 6.3 more for the
range-topping autos.
| Wheels in Act