- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.4i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
70kW, 130Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 6.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2011)
2015 Suzuki Swift GLX Navigator review
My wife and I owned a 2008 Suzuki Swift automatic for five years before buying a new 2015 Swift GLX Navigator, which was made in Japan. I had no problems with the 2008 Swift, which I serviced myself apart from having the belts and idler replaced and four new tyres fitted. Plus, I also fitted new spark plugs and new front brake pads, a new battery and replaced the coolant.
- Fuel economy is just amazing using E10
- Car handles great in the dry or wet
- Tyre noise is very low inside the cabin
- Seats are very comfortable
- Acceleration is also great, as is braking
- Red needles in gauges that I cannot see in daylight
- Car has 16-inch mag wheels with low-profile tyres, but the spare is a space-saver wheel and tyre
- Cold air freezes your left hand on the steering wheel
- Only four gears. It needs an extra gear or two
I wanted another Swift, so long as it was made in Japan. I had read that some Swifts had been imported from Malaysia, and there had been problems with those, so Swifts were again imported from Japan. We didn't hesitate to order a new 2015 Suzuki Swift GLX Navigator that had 16-inch mag wheels, and the engine was now 1400cc instead of 1500cc for the last model. The decrease in engine size is not noticeable, as the new Swift is slightly lighter in weight yet also slightly larger in size, but looks the same as the old model.
I have fitted a Car Bra to stop stone chips, as the paint seems to chip more than the old model. I also fitted seat covers made from wetsuit material to protect the seats from the grand-kids, who like to push their feet into the rear of the front seats. I have also fitted four Suzuki mud flaps and a reversing camera with buzzer.
This car gets serviced every six months at the dealership where we bought it. We are very happy with the service department. We have done 60,000km at the moment and there is still some wear in the tyres.
The car connects to my wife's phone when she gets into the car, and she can answer the phone etc while driving. It will also read out any messages on her phone. The sound system is connected to an iPad with Spotify on it with over 1000 songs.
One problem I have is I cannot see any of the red needles on the gauges, including the speedo, in the daytime. At night, the needles turn to orange with the dash lights and can be seen. Any other colour of needle would have been okay, so I need to put the digital speed up on the screen on the display in the centre of the dash. Having the speed in digital form in the centre of the gauges with the time, average fuel settings, and tripmeter would have been great.
The headlamps are excellent, even though they are the standard halogen headlamps with fog lamps in the front bumper. This model also has vertical daytime running lamps next to the fog lamps.
The transmission and engine work extremely well, even though it only has four forward gears (automatic). The only problem seems to be with a heavy load of 3–4 people plus suitcases etc and going up large steep hills when on a highway or expressway at 110km/h. The transmission changes back to third gear, which is just too low, and the engine speeds up about 1000rpm higher. So, I just go slower and the transmission goes back to top gear. This would have some effect on fuel economy too.
One problem is the fresh-air vent close to the driver's hand on the steering wheel – with the air-conditioner on, it freezes your left hand. The design of the vent means it cannot be closed off like the air vents on either end of the dash can be.
Overall, the Suzuki Swift is an excellent, quality car made in Japan. Reliability is number one, which means a lot to me – thoroughly recommended. This top-of-the-line GLX model has an adjustable steering wheel – up and down, in and out – and four-wheel disc brakes, along with the 16-inch mags and low-profile tyres instead of rear drums and 15-inch steel wheels. I haven't tried to see if a standard wheel and tyre will fit in the spare wheel well to take the place of the space-saver wheel.