BY BRIAN BYRNE
WHEN Suzuki’s Swift won the Irish Compact Car of the Year 2025 category title at the recent Irish Car Of The Year Awards, I quietly cheered even though it hadn’t been my own juror choice — albeit by just a point. In my view, the latest version of a car that celebrated its 40th anniversary this year thoroughly deserved its win.
Carefully evolved in its fourthgeneration of the ‘modern’ version that debuted at Paris two decades ago, today’s car is still very recognisably the Swift that above all else in its time has been what could be described as an ‘honest’ car. Its makers knew where it should be, who it should be aimed at, and remained true to that course. When other small cars became bigger, snazzier, and their makers tried to make them seem more than they were, Suzuki simply got on with making a smart-looking vehicle that did what it said on the slogan: give ‘all the tech that you need’.
Suzuki’s tech has always been based in the engines, and from their first innovative 800cc 4-cylinder motors produced in the later 1930s, the company developed great engines and also a reputation for their engineering. A post-war hiatus ended in the 1950s when the company got back into personal transport with motorcycle engines that would become world famous, later adding mini-trucks and tiny cars to their product range.
For the modern Swift, developed as a totally new global car 20 years ago with a tidy supermini debuting at the 2004 Paris Motor Show, smart looks and minimal fussiness has served its maker well in many markets, including Europe. In sizing, there has been virtually no bloat — a little longer and wider and with an increased wheelbase, it is also lower than that first car, which at the time for some strange reason was sometimes remarked as an MPV rather than the B-segment hatchback that it was, and remains.
The changes from the previous car include a new treatment of the front lights, grille and bonnet. There’s also a shift back to ordinary rear door handles rather than the ones concealed in the C-pillar of Generation 3. A consequence is a slightly extended glass area that makes the car look longer, though actually not the case. An integrated rear hatch spoiler adds to the visual interest in that part of the car.
Inside, there’s a brighter two-tone dashboard and trim details, and a full colour infotainment and driver instruments setup fixes what had been a frustration for me with Suzukis for some years: grey on grey instruments graphics that couldn’t easily be deciphered in many daylight conditions.
I sense that the seats are better now too, not that they were ever uncomfortable. Heating in the front ones of the review car is probably an acknowledgement of a technology that used to be confined to cold climates but is today appreciated, perhaps even expected, by us in temperate zones. Electric rear windows are also standard, as are rear parking sensors and adaptive cruise control.
This latest Swift is offered in two grades, the main differences for the higher level being alloy wheels, electrically folding mirrors with integrated indicator repeat flashers, and a heater air outlet in the rear. The specification on the base model compares well to entry versions of key competitors in this space. Better fuel consumption is also claimed.
The new powertrain comprises a 1.2 mild-hybrid petrol 3-cylinder, claiming a 7% consumption improvement over the 4-cylinder unit in the previous generation. A five-speed manual is standard, which I found sweet to use. An automatic option is a new CVT type which I expect to be significantly nicer than the automated manual available on the previous car and allows a faster sprint to 100km/h than does the manual. You pay an extra €2,000 for that, which I’d be inclined to do, along with a quarter of other owners, based on Suzuki Ireland’s projections.
It’s definitely a quieter car in road noise terms, though there’s a typical buzzy sound from the three-cylinder motor when you push it to all of its 82hp. Depending on your ear, it can be pleasant enough.
