Fun and Sensible
Published Feb 20, 2020 04:05 pm
If you look at the what the different car makers are offering these days, popular on the road are the pickups, seven-seater SUV’s, crossover SUVS, compact sedans and hatchbacks. A lot of customers are buying them with automatic transmissions, which makes sense because getting caught in a traffic jam isn’t fun in a vehicle with manual transmission. But there’s a lot to be said about the feel of driving a car with manual transmission on the open road. With that in mind, we recently had the chance to spend some time with the Suzuki Swift MT, and here’s the low down.
Exterior
This latest Swift is an attractive five seat hatchback with an easily-recognizable profile, which appeals to both men and women alike. If you squint, you’d still think it was a Mini Cooper from a distance. Up front, there’s a distinct red stripe and Suzuki badge on the black grille. Being a base model, the headlights are halogen, but you do get fog lamps, LED Daytime Running Lights, and LED rear combination lights. You’ll notice from the side the blacked out A- and B-pillars give an illusion of a floating roof, and the hidden back door handles in the blacked out area of the C-pillar is a nice touch. The front and rear bumpers and side mirrors are color keyed.
Interior
When you step inside, the first thing you’ll see is the racing inspired tilt-adjustable steering wheel. The predominant color scheme is sporty black. There aren’t any soft-touch materials, but despite the abundance of hard smooth plastics, they all feel pretty hard wearing and will probably stand the test of time. The seats are upholstered in black cloth and are quite firm, but not uncomfortable. There are some brushed aluminum and white accents around the cabin. Inset between the tachometer and speedo is a 3.5-inch monochrome multi-info display that toggles between a clock, fuel range, fuel consumption and trip meter.
Powerplant
Under the hood is a four-cylinder 16-valve 1.2-liter gas engine that puts out 82 Hp at 6,000 rpm with 113 Nm torque at 4,200 rpm. It’s mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
Safety and other amenities
Standard are the dual front SRS airbags, three-point seatbelts for all five seats, ISOFIX child seat anchor points, Antilock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic BrakeForce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist function. Also standard is the driver and passenger seatbelt reminder. The seven-inch touchscreen entertainment system has four speakers with Bluetooth, USB, Aux connectivity and navigation. This Swift also has lots of storage nooks, cup and bottle holders.
The drive
Although traffic jams may make a good case for an auto tranny, getting back to the basic joy of being in complete control is what driving a manual transmission is all about, We were surprised that the clutch was light and didn’t take much effort to depress. Getting used to putting it in neutral and putting up the handbrake when stopped for long periods became second nature quite quickly. You won’t mind the frequent gear changing as getting on the clutch and into gear is painless. The gear lever throw and ratios are a bit long but feel sporty enough for quick changes on winding country roads — a reminder that only a manual transmission gives you satisfying downshifts for spirited driving.
The overall ride is comfortable, but firm enough to minimize body roll. The Swift is a good-sized hatchback, which has its advantages: small, maneuverable and nimble. There’s a good 242 liters of luggage space which grows to 546 liters when you fold forward the 60/40 split rear seat.
Priced at PhP755,000.00 makes the Swift one of the more affordably-priced compact hatchbacks locally available. If you think about it, it’s a sensible, serious contender for your hard-earned peso if you’re in the market for a hot hatch.
Text and photos by Neil Pagulayan