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Will there be a Sport version of the just-launched new-generation Suzuki Swift?
With small cars in general and superminis in particular dwindling in popularity against the ongoing SUV onslaught, it seems one of the budget pocket-rocket modern-day greats may disappear once production of the existing model ends.
Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the latest Swift in Melbourne last month, Suzuki Australia General Manager, Michael Pachota, could not confirm whether the Sport would continue beyond the current model’s run.
“I hope so,” he admitted. “At this stage, we haven’t been told if there’s going to be a vehicle that replaces Swift Sport down the track in the current guise.”
In the past, there has been a very definite lag time of up to a year or more between the regular and performance versions of the near-cult Japanese series.
As the existing Sport was released nearly nine months after the regular Swift debuted globally in late 2016, and given the latest iteration broke cover in Japan last October, Suzuki ought to be revealing plans for a successor – if any – sometime very soon.
For now, Pachota says there is enough supply to meet demand into next year, so if you’re thinking about buying a rousingly fun runabout at a reasonable price (and with a manual gearbox option to boot), there isn’t much time to waste.
“I’m happy with what we’ve got as a model line-up within Swift itself at the moment,” he added. “We will sell the Sport side-by-side (with the newer-generation Swift) at this stage, because it’s still got good enquiry and we still sell a good number of cars per month.
“And I’ll do that as long as I can. We’re still manufacturing it so we’re still getting cars. And it will definitely continue into 2025.”
Affordability is key to the Sport's success. Powered by a 103kW/240Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, the Suzuki remains a sharply-priced proposition, from $29,990 before on-road costs for the manual and $2000 more for the torque-converter auto.
Further discouraging news for Swift Sport fans are reports its other key right-hand-drive volume market – the United Kingdom – will discontinue the series once production of the existing model ceases in the near future, along with other non-hybridised nameplates like Jimny and Ignis, in favour of as-yet unreleased electric vehicles (EVs).
This is said to be due to increasingly punitive regulations based on the percentage of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles compared to EVs under the UK's newly-implemented zero-emission vehicle mandate.
Somewhat based on the latest Californian anti-pollution legislation, a brand’s ratio of EVs must be 22 per cent or higher from this year, rising to 28% next year and 80% by the end of the decade. Failing to do so incurs a £15,000 fine (over $A28,500) per ICE vehicle sold.
While the knock-on effect will almost certainly kill off the Swift Sport as we know it, the flipside is the promise of some sort of electrified next-gen successor, especially considering Suzuki’s (albeit sporadic) near-40-year presence in the bargain pocket-rocket scene.
In fact, it beat all others in Australia – including Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen – with the original Swift GTi of 1986.
Of course, the same global sales-shifting and carbon-tax-increasing challenges also apply to rival ICE supermini hot-hatches, which in 2024 can be counted on one hand in Australia.
These include the Hyundai i20 N from $34,990 before on-road costs (ORC), the Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo from $38,990 drive-away and the related VW Polo GTI from $40,390 driveaway.
Obviously, the brilliant/ballistic Toyota GR Yaris from $51,390 before ORC also falls into this category, despite being virtually unobtainable.
With the demise of the Ford Fiesta ST in 2022, the current Swift Sport is widely regarded as the best bang for your buck buy in this class.
But for how long is now the big question.
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