Suzuki starts production of New Swift in Hungary
Short after the first undisguised images of Swift appeared on the Web, the Japanese automaker held the world premiere line off ceremony today, for mass production of the new car at its Magyar Suzuki Corporation production facility at Esztergom, Hungary. Just 2 high-resolution renderings and the minimum of crucial information about the “new” B segment car from Suzuki have been released, which is understandable as car goes on sale in the autumn.
Swift has been a very important model, along with the crossover SX4, and this new Swift is aiming to become even more successful as buyers worldwide chose smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles over gas guzzlers. The development of the new Swift has been focuses on styling, impact safety, driving performance, handling, energy efficiency and ecology.
The extensive use of higher strength steel makes the new bodyshell lighter and stiffer than before as well as offering refinement in underbody design. This latest body design has also helped improve impact safety for pedestrians as well as occupants. Increased track and larger diameter wheels with lower profile tires allow for better handling. The interior design has undergone some refinement too, featuring black as its keynote colour with accents of silver throughout the car.
New Swift has grown slightly in length with a significant 5 cm increase in wheelbase; the front track has been increased to by 5 mm at the rear and full 10 mm at the front to accommodate larger 16-inch wheels when cornering. At L: 3,850 mm (+90 mm); W: 1,695mm (+5 mm); H: 1,510mm (+ 10mm), the new Swift brings more interior space than before.
In the spirit of downsizing, the new petrol engine brings what European customers are being used to having in a subcompact (B class) car: a 1.2-litre, 16-valve, 4-cylinder engine, with variable valve timing (Dual VVT manages intake and exhaust valves), and a decent power output. As before, Suzuki is bringing one of the leading specific power outputs (94 PS from 1.2 litre makes 78PS/l) at pretty high engine speeds (@ 6,000rpm). For example, Opel is offering Corsa with 1.2-litre (1,229 ccm) 16v VVT petrol unit which produces 85PS (@ 5,600rpm) and 115 Nm (@ 4,000). Even Hyundai is proud of 78PS / 119Nm (@4,800 rpm) produced by its 1.2-litre Kappa engine. It nearly exceeds the norm for the 1.2 moniker as the displacement is 1,248cc. Suzuki's 1.2 Dual VVT engine maybe makes 1 Nm less than Hyundai's, but it is 16 PS more powerful.
Fuel consumption on the combined cycle is now 56.5mpg for the manual transmission model, an improvement of 7.8mpg over the previous 1.3-litre unit that Suzuki used to put inside the Swift.
Emissions are much lower as well; the new 1.2-litre engine with manual transmission produces just 116g/km on the combined cycle; representing a 24g/km or 17 per cent improvement over the 1.3. An optional automatic transmission will be available for the petrol engine from launch.
Even better option will be the 1.3-litre diesel engine, but buyers would have to wait for it until the next year. This engine emits 109g/km (down from 119g/km) and has an impressive combined fuel consumption of 67.3mpg, an improvement on an already highly credible 62.8mpg from the outgoing Swift DDiS. This Euro 5 engine has more precise engine management than before with reduced levels of mechanical friction for smoother running and flexibility.