First look: Early entry for Suzuki’s next Swift

FIRST images of the larger, stiffer, safer and more spacious – yet allegedly lighter, more efficient and better performing - replacement for Suzuki’s volume-selling Swift have emerged even earlier than expected, following today’s official line off ceremony to mark mass production of the all-new car in Hungary.

Suzuki Motor Corp marketing chief for our region Masaki Kato told GoAuto at last month’s Kizashi launch that the third-generation small-car star would be revealed at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Esztergom by July – a month ahead of its European launch and three months before it is formal global unveiling at the Paris motor show on September 30.

While a truck-load of new Swifts have been seen in blurry spy photos snapped in Europe over the past week, two official pictures have now been released and Suzuki says others will follow later this month - more than six months ahead of its Australian release in the first quarter of 2011.

The rear of Suzuki’s redesigned global B-segment hatchback is not shown, but the all-new five-door appears to be a subtle evolution of the distinctive Swift design that is more rounded in all directions.

The latest Swift retains its handsome overall profile and trademark styling cues, including blacked-out A-pillars and oversized front and rear lights, which are now less angular and separated by two prominent full-length shoulder lines that merge into one at the rear.

Suzuki has confirmed that compared with the outgoing Swift – sales of which are up 12.7 per cent so far this year, with almost 5300 sales making it Australia’s fifth best selling light-car – the MkIII Swift rides on a 50mm longer (2430mm) wheelbase and is also 90mm longer overall at 3850mm.

Width is also up, by 5mm to 1695mm, while height is up 10mm to 1510mm, increasing space in the as yet unseen five-seat cabin, which Suzuki says has “a more dynamic feel, featuring black as its keynote colour with accents of silver throughout the car.

The rejuvenated Japanese small car maker also claims extensive use of higher strength steel makes the new bodyshell – which is also said to be more refined in terms of underbody design - lighter and stiffer than before, offering lower fuel consumption and emissions, plus better impact safety for occupants and pedestrians.

Combined with now-standard 16-inch wheels and an additional increase in track widths by 10mm (to 1480mm) at the front and 5mm (1485mm) at the rear, Suzuki says its newest model delivers “even better handling than the already highly acclaimed outgoing Swift that first went on sale in 2005”.

From its launch in Europe, the 2011 Swift range will be opened by a 1.2-litre model, powered by a new petrol engine that could come from Volkswagen as part of the company’s technology sharing deal with Suzuki.

Featuring dual variable valve timing, the new engine (with an unspecified number of cylinders) is said to develop 69kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 118Nm at 4800rpm – slightly more than the outgoing 1.3-litre unit – and will be mated to both manual and automatic transmissions.

Combined with a manual transmission the new Swift 1.2 is claimed to return average fuel consumption of just 4.2 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 116 grams per kilometre – 24g/km less than Europe’s current 1.3-litre Swift.

Currently, most Australian Swifts are powered by a 74kW/133Nm 1.5-litre petrol four, mated to either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, while a replacement for the current manual-only 92kW/148Nm 1.6-litre Swift Sport flagship is expected to emerge globally in 2011.

At the other end of the model range, Suzuki is also expected to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of the next Swift, employing a development of the petrol-electric drive system that is currently undergoing Japanese field tests in the outgoing Swift.

Suzuki’s Swift Plug-in Hybrid, which received type approval from the Japanese government just last month, matches a 660cc petrol engine with a 55kW/180Nm AC synchronous electric motor to deliver a 2.66kWh Lithium-ion battery to deliver an EV-only driving range of 15km.

From early 2011, however, the new Swift’s economy leader in Europe will be a revised Euro 5 emissions-compliant 1.3-litre diesel engine that is said to consume just 3.5L/100km and 109g/km – 10g/km less than Europe’s outgoing Swift DDiS.

Currently, Australia's entry-level Swift, which is priced at $16,290, has a kerb weight of 1000kg and returns 6.3L/100km as a manual, but Suzuki Australia general manager Tony devers has confirmed the all-new Swift will also offer improved performance and efficiency in Australia.

"We are very excited about the preliminary release of the new car, but we are still some way off finalising the Australian version of the next Swift," he said.

"The new Swift doesn’t go on sale here until the first half of next year, so we still have some development time to work through.

"I can confirm the Australian-specification Swift will offer even better performance and economy than the current benchmark model," said Mr Devers.