USED Suzuki Swift Hatchback (05 - 12)

My car

I've just parted with my beloved Swift after a 3 year love affair in which, despite my pushing her hard, she never once missed a beat. The first time I test drove a Swift I fell in love. The design, the comfort and the go-kart like fun of the drive had me smitten from the outset. Not being a fan of buying cars new I found one that was 3 years old with only 3300 miles on the clock and in the 3 years that we shared we jointly added another 37000 miles to that total. In the last year that we were together we did 18000 miles in just over 6 months and, although on the motorway the cabin was a little noisy, even on a 6 hour journey from hell I was never once uncomfortable.

Above all, the Swift is a drivers car. It has endless grip - mine never once got close to misbehaving no matter how much I threw it around - and although the little 1.3 engine had to be worked hard, it always brought a smile to my face. The feedback through the steering is exactly right and the chassis is tight and balanced. Yes it has it's quirks. The rear seats are not great for adults, and the boot is not exactly vast (although was amply big enough for a weekend away with a family of 4). But apart from that it is the perfect town car.

My only complaint, and what ultimately led to us parting ways, was that at high speed the fuel consumption was just too high. But it's not a fair complaint. She wasn't built for that kind of life, and I hope her new owner can give her the life I never could.

My car

This is the best car that I've ever had. I've had my Swift for nearly 18 months and covered 15,000 in that time. Above all it's great fun to drive, with a very good driving position (the only downside is the lack of a footrest for the left foot), and excellent steering. The brakes are very good, if a bit noisy, and the gearchange is very positive. Acceleration is also good - it still surprises me sometimes!

The car is also very refined and comfortable, although I agree with other owners that space in the back is a bit tight. A bigger boot would also be welcome, but if I fold the seats down I can fit my five-piece drum kit in! I have no problems with squeaks or rattles from the interior and the car generally feels well built, with the possible exception of the tailgate that often needs a good slam to shut.

I see that others haven't found the Swift to be very economical. My only issue with running costs is the 9,000-mile service intervals - rather short for a modern car. Insurance costs me not much more than for the W-reg Fiesta that I had previously, and fuel economy is very good - I average 45 mpg but on a long motorway run exceed 50mpg quite often, which I consider excellent for a petrol engine of this size.

The car has done 16,000 miles now and the only reliability issue so far has been excessive rear tyre wear and likely to be a warranty claim (axle fault).

My car

We've only owned the Sport for a week so it's early days yet but have to say it's a great little car. Before buying we test-drove the mainstream offerings, Fiesta/Corsa/Punto/Polo...the Swift even in GLX guise was a much better driving experience..the new Fiesta has lost that famous driveability, we know as we owned the previous model.

The Swift Sport comes extremely well equipped, has decent build & best of all drives superbly. o.k the ride is a little firm, it is a Sport after all and whilst it's firm it handles potholes & the typically awful british roads without a problem.

I read reviews about the noise at motoway speeds but compared to our previous 04 1.4 Zetec Fiesta actually find it quieter so no problem for us.

The only negative I can find is that the standard stereo isn't the best, speakers are very poor and it suffers a couple of rattles, drivers door & dash, both of these are easily sorted by the dealer according to car forums though

I highly recommend the Sport, for the money it's impossible to beat...make sure you test-drive one before going with the obvious mainstream choices !!

My car

I absolutely love this car, it is fun, looks great and since buying an 08 registered Sport in August I have loved every minute. I was looking at the Mini but the cost really put me off - a test drive in the Swift completely changed my mind - I loved it immediately. I travel a lot on the motorway and understand the points of others on the noise in the cabin, but it is a sport and you should expect a certain level of noise. It is very responsive and great fun, a really good value for money sporty car! As others have pointed out also, people look at you in a Swift Sport because you don't see all that many on the road - a great feeling. Will report again later when it has it's first service - my opinion may change but I sincerely hope not!!!!