Used Suzuki Swift 2017-2024 review

Suzuki’s unwillingness to stray far from its established conventions is well evidenced by elements of the new cabin.

Although the design has been overhauled, there is little in the material quality to suggest that the manufacturer has sought to move the bargain-basement status of its supermini further north in buyer perception.

The glovebox is pitifully small and there’s no under-elbow cubby to speak of. So although the Swift is equipped to charge a range of devices, anything larger than a modest smartphone is liable to be sitting next to your feet

Nic Cackett

Road tester

Brass tacks: this means there’s a lot of hollow, shiny black plastic – a little too much of it on prominent display.

Elsewhere, Suzuki has attempted to get marginally funkier with the climate controls and vent placement, although – much like the exterior – you’d be forgiven for missing the cleaner appearance of its predecessor.

Fit and finish are about on a par with the outgoing Swift’s – so the new model is acceptable withoutever threatening to overhaul the South Korean opposition, let alone those from Europe.

However, the driving position is decent, augmented by a 20mm drop in the hip point of those up front, as well as redesigned and slightly more pliant seats. Those in the back sit lower now, too, and thanks to the longer wheelbase and some real estate liberated from the engine compartment, there’s marginally more leg room on offer.

It isn’t of class-leading proportions, but the packaging and the relative generosity of the roofline mean that two regular-sized adults fit without much fuss.

Of likely greater consequence to most buyers is the 25 percent of additional boot space – a 54-litre gain that lands it significantly closer to the standard sizing of five-door rivals such as the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Polo.

Suzuki’s glass-fronted multimedia system, with a 7.0in touchscreen, is less new than the car around it, but it will seem revolutionary enough to anyone labouring with the previous Swift’s much older, clunkier unit.

The polished fascia doesn’t necessarily blend in with the surrounding plastic trim, yet it makes for one of the car’s few nice surfaces to slide your fingers across. Obviously, that’s helpful in a touchscreen — especially one that isn’t always deeply intuitive.

Nevertheless, the range-topping SZ5 trim of our test car adds additional speakers (a DAB tuner and Bluetooth streaming are standard across the entire Swift range) and a satellite navigation system, which is fine except for the fact that it insists on disengaging the address keypad while you’re in motion.

That’s an aid to safety, no doubt — but it is not much help if you find yourself trying to recall which exit is yours on the outside lane of a motorway. Getting the voice recognition to decipher your pronunciation is certainly no more convenient.