Suzuki unveils diesel Swift

SUZUKI has released a frugal diesel variant of its popular Swift light car in Europe, but its Australian future is cloudy.

Called the Swift DDiS, it has a new turbocharged 1.3-litre diesel engine producing 55kW of power and a muscular 190Nm of torque from a low 1750rpm. The new mill is mated exclusively to a five-speed manual transmission.

While the Swift diesel is no firebrand, taking a leisurely 12.7 seconds to get from 0-100km/h, it makes the expected improvement on its already miserly 1.4-litre petrol sibling’s claimed fuel consumption of 5.5 litres per 100km (for the manual).

Suzuki claims the Euro5-compliant DDiS has combined fuel economy of 4.2l/100km and carbon dioxide emissions of 109g/km, representing gains over the previous diesel Swift – which was never sold in Australia – of eight and nine per cent respectively.

In the UK, the DDiS will be available in mid-range SZ3 guise, meaning it will be specified with the full suite of seven airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, USB port and heated electric door mirrors as standard equipment.

Suzuki Australia communications manager Andrew Ellis told GoAuto: “We'll take a look at Swift diesel. Obviously it's only just been launched and is Euro build only, so there's a few elements to consider. (It’s) too early to call at this stage.”

While diesel-powered light-cars are commonplace in the European market, the Swift DDiS would face relatively scant mainstream competition if it went go on-sale in Australia, with the Volkswagen Polo TDI and Ford Fiesta diesel and Econetic its chief rivals.

Meanwhile, Suzuki Australia has confirmed that it will use the upcoming Australian International Motor Show – starting on July 1 in Melbourne – to give the upcoming Swift Sport its local debut before it goes on-sale here by the end of 2011.

The Sport is expected to come with a larger 1.6-litre petrol delivering 100kW – up 8kW from the previous Swift Sport and 30kW more than the standard 1.4-litre variants - mated to both manual and automatic transmissions and available in five- and possibly three-door guise.

Suzuki’s light-car duo – the Swift and Alto – continue to perform well in the sales race and are the Japanese manufacturer’s two most popular models here.

The future of a third model to slot between the Swift and Alto – called the Splash – remains up in the air, with Mr Ellis previously indicating that a viable business case would likely have to wait until production begins at the company’s new $251million plant in Thailand’s Rayong province.