Ford scrapped its traditional Fiesta this year in the face of falling sales, but Suzuki has no plans to do the same with its own B-segment subcompact hatchback. No, the Swift, which has quietly racked up more than nine million sales since then. Its launch as a global car 20 years ago, returns for 2024 with new clothing and more luxury and protective equipment.
Suzuki says the fourth-generation Swift is all-new, but there’s definitely a strong resemblance to the car that came before, particularly around the nose. But this time the hood has shrunk, making the shutline more visible, the flanks have a pronounced swage line and the old car’s body-color camel hump in the otherwise black C-pillar has been flattened down.
There’s also a mix of old and new in the redesigned cabin interior. Call us old-fashioned, but those nice, transparent analog gauges look great, and replace the touchscreen built into the vintage car’s sprint with a 9-inch tablet in most cases. the sprint gives the newer Swift a more modern look. The weather panel has also been revamped to bring it in line with other Suzuki models, however, the ditch of foolproof rotary dials for toggle switches and buttons means the ergonomics have taken a step backwards.
Related: 2024 Suzuki Swift unveiled in Japan, same as the concept
On the other hand, security has definitely taken a step in the right direction. The new car’s systems come with Lane Keep Assist, Driver Monitoring, and Dual Sensor Brake Assist II, which uses a combination of camera and radar images to alert the driver. cars, bicycles, and pedestrians in its path, and can also apply the brakes automatically if the driver doesn’t react. However, it may not brake hard enough to avoid contact, making it look like Mercedes was doing that sort of thing. years ago. But hey, at least Suzuki now has a phone app.
Suzuki was criticized in a recent study for being slow to decarbonize, but while Suzuki is slow to move to fully electric vehicles, it is not opposed to adding electric power to its combustion engines. Like newer versions of the outgoing Swift, the new one becomes popular with a mild hybrid strength. Suzuki has yet to reveal power or functionality figures for the 1. 2-litre Z12E with triple assist, but we do know that it will be available with a choice of front- and all-wheel drive and that it has been optimised for low-speed torque. velocity.
As a guide, the outgoing car’s 1. 2-liter mild hybrid engine produced 82 hp (83 hp) and took 12. 2 seconds to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) with the optional CVT transmission. The Japanese edition of the 2024 car unveiled a few weeks ago comes only with a CVT box, but we expect the European style to still be available with 3 pedals and a lever. We’ll find out as the spring 2024 sale date gets closer.