A
RECENT email from the Society of Irish Motorists told us that 71 per cent of
all new cars sold in Ireland this year are diesel and that silver is still the
most popular colour.
Diesel
engines with low emissions have become very popular and silver is nice and
safe. But it would be difficult to find a more attractive colour than the
copper-coloured Suzuki Swift I drove last week. The colour was, I think, very
appropriate for this time of year as everywhere we go now has a rusty look as
the leaves begin to fall.
The
Swift was named Irish Car of the Year in 2006 and the manufacturers made only
very small changes when they introduced a new model at the end of last year.
Now Suzuki has bought in a 1.3 DDiS diesel engine to this supermini. Like most
new cars the new model is longer and higher than the old model, but no increase
in the boot size, which is tiny. Side-on the Swift looks just a teeny bit like
a Mini, but only slightly.
There
is enough space inside for five adults, but somehow the interior lacks that
special spark; as there is nothing that jumps out at you as being new or
different. The controls on the dash are well laid out and easy to use and I
liked the radio controls where it’s so easy to scroll up and down the
wavelengths. On the steering wheel you get a few slave controls, but not too
many. But I thought that overall it was a bit too like the previous model, but
then Suzuki may say why change a winning format.
Swift
by name and swift by nature. The 1.3 diesel was lively, if a little bit noisy
and with a 43-litre fuel tank you won’t have fill up very often with this
frugal engine. As I said earlier there is very little boot space, but of course
you can leave down the back seats if you want to carry bulky items. And there
is room underneath for a
‘mini’ spare wheel.
Prices
for the Suzuki start at
?¬13,750, but this diesel version will cost you
?¬17,500.
For that money you get a five- door GLX model which includes seven airbags,
ESP, air conditioning, 16 inch alloy wheels, USB port and heated electric door
mirrors as standard. Naturally it has very low emissions and road tax is only
?¬104.
I
suppose the real problem with the pricing is that this is a supermini, not a
saloon and the price may be a bit high for this sector. The Swift is a very
popular model and if you are a fan of Suzuki cars and always wanted a diesel
then this could be the one for you. Suzuki is popular with women and more than
half the Suzuki owners in Ireland are female.
I
will leave the final words to Niall Maguire, who is retiring as General Manager
of Suzuki Ireland next month. Niall said:
‘
‘The new Swift DDiS is a great
addition to the expanding range of Suzuki diesel vehicles and gives choice and
variety to the discerning Suzuki customer.”