2021 Suzuki Swift Sport - Full details

After taking a formal exit back in 2016, Suzuki Motors has made a striking comeback to the Malaysian market recently. Naza Eastern Motors is the new sole distributor of Suzuki cars in Malaysia and the very first car launched in the country under the new subsidiary is the third-generation Suzuki Swift Sport.

“We are ecstatic to kick start Suzuki’s reintroduction in Malaysia with the highly popular hot-hatchback that won the hearts of many enthusiasts back in the days. We believe that this model can captivate enthusiasts once again from its aggressive styling, all-new drivetrain, and responsive handling.” said Datuk Nik Hamdan Nik Hassan, Group CEO, Naza Automotive Corporation Sdn Bhd.

Suzuki is offering the new third-generation Swift Sport only in one variant, fully imported from Japan, priced at RM 139,900 (on-the-road, excluding insurance but including the ongoing SST rebate). The new tag is much higher than the previous model priced between RM 97,888 and RM 102,888. Included in the price is a three-year or 100,000 km manufacturer warranty. Here, we bring all the details of the new Suzuki Swift Sport for the ones who are looking to buy this all-new sporty hatch.

Exterior

On the exterior, the new version mainly borrows the iconic shape from its predecessor, however, it features a large honeycomb grille, new sport front, and rear bumper, and carbon fibre skirting all around the car. The new grille is flanked by LED projector headlights, outlined by new daytime running lights.

Other exterior highlights of the Suzuki Swift Sport are:

• Halogen fog lamps
• Power folding wing mirrors with integrated turn indicators
• Blacked out A-, B- and C-pillars
• LED combination tail lights
• Weave-pattern on front bumper spoiler and rear bumper diffuser
• Rear spoiler with white lens third brake-light
• Dual exhaust outlets 
• 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels wrapped with 195/50R16 Yokohama Advan tyres

The Suzuki Swift Sport colour options include Champion Yellow, Burning Red Metallic, Speedy Blue Metallic, and Pearl Pure White.

Interior

The funky interior of the new Swift Sport has attributes of sportiness as well as quality along with all the modern-day features. Equipped with sports semi-bucket fabric front seats, the hatchback has red accents all around the cabin. There is red stitching on the seats and steering wheel, and red/black trims on the dashboard, central tunnel, and door inserts. The ‘Sport’ lettering is also embossed on the seats. Standard interior features include:   

• Red-faced tachometer with a 4.2-inch multi-info information display 
• Leather-wrapped, flat-bottomed multi-function steering wheel 
• 7-inch touchscreen infotainment display with Apple CarPlay connectivity
• Automatic air-conditioning
• Aluminium sports foot pedals
• Cruise control
• Keyless entry with push-start button
• Bluetooth and voice recognition support
• Reverse camera
• 265 litres boot space, expandable up to 579 litres 

Engine specifications 

Suzuki ditched the high-revving, naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre engine and brought the new Swift Sport with a turbo power mill. That’s a 1.4-litre four-cylinder Boosterjet turbo unit that generates a maximum power of 140 hp at 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 230 Nm from 2,500 to 3,500 rpm. The engine is coupled with a 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters that drives the front wheels of the hatchback. 

Based on the new ‘HEARTECT’ platform, the automatic version gets an incredibly low curb weight of only 990 kg i.e. 20 kg less than the manual trim, and 80 kg lighter than the previous unit. According to Suzuki, the new platform also improved the overall rigidity of the chassis and high-speed stability.

Performance-wise, the hatchback can hit the century sprint in 8 seconds, before attaining a top speed of 205 kmph. Speaking about the 2021 Suzuki Swift Sport fuel consumption, the company claimed a figure of 6.1 litres per 100 km (16.39 kmpl).

Safety

When it comes to safety, the Swift Sport is quite disappointing as it does not have any advanced driver assistance system on board. The automaker has only added the basic safety bits to the specs sheet, including six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, hill hold assist, and dual Isofix child seat anchors for the rear seats.

Summing up

With the new third-generation Swift Sport, the Japanese carmaker has put an evolved foot forward in the sporty hatchback segment in Malaysia. From the style to performance, everything seems to be on point, however, the absence of ADAS and manual transmission may disappoint some customers. Well, how this comeback changes the equations of the Malaysian automotive market, stay tuned with us to see.

Also read: Suzuki Jimny returns to Europe as a light commercial vehicle