Swift sales still growing

Test Drive by Graham Breeze

The Swift has been an unbelievable success for Suzuki since its unveiling to the European market - and the story is set to continue.

Swift has proved a key model for the company globally and is now easily the most recognised Suzuki on UK roads with over 80,000 currently registered here.

So it’s little wonder that bosses at the Japanese company are euphoric about the future when they reveal that Swift is their best-selling model in the UK this year.

The company has set an ambitious sales target of 13,000 models for the year, that’s an increase of 20%. And you can understand the excitement when sales during the first four months of 2019 were already 30% up on the same period last year at just under 4,000 units.

The current model is the third generation Swift. It has been on sale in the UK for two years this month and is available in SZ3, SZ-T, Attitude and SZ5 grades.

There’s a 111PS, 1.0 litre, three-cylinder Boosterjet Turbo offering CO2 emissions of just 110g/km and combined fuel consumption of 51.4mpg; a 90PS 1.2 litre four-cylinder Dualjet engine offering fuel emissions of 106g/km and combined fuel consumption of 55.4mpg and a Boosterjet engine available with Suzuki’s SHVS hybrid system wit CO2 emissions of 123g/km.

SZ3 models utilise a lightweight platform strategy with a kerb weight of just 890kgs.

With a high demand trend for personalisation in the super mini sector Suzuki didn’t want to miss a trick and offer a range of 10 colours for both exterior and interior to ensure there’s a choice for everyone.

All Swifts get six airbags, air conditioning, DAB radio, privacy glass, LED daytime running lights and Bluetooth as standard. SZ-T adds a smartphone link display audio, rear view camera, front fog lamps and 16-inch alloys.

Step-up to the Attitude Special Edition, which arrived in January, and you quickly see it’s based on the SZ-T but with the 1.2 Dualjet engine and unique exterior styling.

SZ5 adds automatic air conditioning, Navigation, LED headlamps, polished 16-inch alloy wheels, rear electric windows, dual sensor brake support and adaptive cruise control. The model is also available with Allgrip Auto 4WD system.

One of the secrets of success for Suzuki lies in its pricing structure. Swift prices start at £15,195 for the 1.2 Dualjet SZ3 and top off at £21,245 for the 1.0 Boosterjet SZ5 Auto.

Swift is the latest success story as the Suzuki brand grows in popularity in the UK and industry honours just keep flowing.

J.D. Power named Suzuki as the highest ranked volume brand for overall customer service satisfaction in their 2019 UK Customer Service Index Study with a score of 813 points out of a possible 1,000.

This score was significantly above the volume brand average of 786 and notably just two points behind the winner of the Premium Brands section of the study. The study measures UK customer satisfaction with their service experience at dealerships for maintenance and repair work. It explores overall customer satisfaction with their service dealer.

The sought-after Jimny recently landed the World Urban Car Award and won a “Game Changer” accolade at the recent Autocar Awards. It’s just a shame Suzuki can’t meet demand for this brilliant little 4X4 as the order book continues to grow.

On top of that good news Suzuki Celerio was awarded a “Best Buy” accolade in the What Car awards and Vitara continues to fly off dealership forecourts.

This is starting to sound like an advertisement feature for Suzuki but it really is difficult to find fault with anything in the current range.