Currently reading: Suzuki Swift Sport vs Volkswagen Up GTI: twin test
The previous Swift Sport was king of the affordable hot hatches, but the new one is more expensive and faces competition from the cheaper Volkswagen Up GTI

Raw power has never been the Suzuki Swift Sport’s thing.

Traditionally, its raison d’eÌ‚tre has been to wrap up just enough performance in a relatively svelte package and sell it at an attractively low price.

The previous-generation Swift Sport produced just 123bhp from its naturally aspirated 1.6-litre engine. Measuring it against a 300bhp- plus, all-paw mega-hatch wasn’t so much like bringing a knife to a gun fight as attempting to face down a howitzer with an egg whisk.

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But on the right road, and when you got that free-revving four-pot whirring like David’s slingshot arm, it could give any of the hot hatch Goliaths pause for thought. It used its agility to overcome any performance deficit and emerged as one of our favourite driver’s cars on a pound-to-pound basis, providing a legion of nascent but impecunious enthusiasts with a realistic route into the hot hatch club.

Times have moved on, and Suzuki is no more immune to the pressures of tightening emissions regulations than any other manufacturer. So it is that this new Swift Sport, the third, is fitted with a turbocharged 1.4-litre motor. It’s the same BoosterJet lump as you get in Suzuki’s larger Suzuki Vitara and S-Cross models. That might sound like something of a passion-killer, but the unit has been tweaked to produce 138bhp and 170lb ft and it doesn’t exactly have a lot of car to pull along; even in its latest guise, the Suzuki bucks the general industry trend for significant model-on-model weight gain by continuing to weigh about as much as a bag of Maltesers.

What’s expanded as dramatically as Mr Creosote’s waistline, however, is the price. Suzuki will charge you £17,999, pushing the Swift Sport to the fringes of Ford Fiesta ST territory, which is the car industry equivalent of smearing yourself in chum and leaping feet-first into shark-infested waters. A tacit acknowledgement of how ambitious this pricing strategy is can found in the fact that Suzuki UK is offering a £1500 discount on the price until the end of this month.

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Of course, the Japanese company will point to how you still get a lot of car for your money, which is true, but the price increase leaves the Swift Sport’s traditional bang-for-buck superiority exposed to some potentially compelling pretenders. Indeed, you don’t have to look too far for another modestly powered hatch vying for top honours in the sub-140bhp, affordable pocket rocket category – and this one’s pert rear bears three evocative letters that will rouse the attention of any self- respecting hot hatch fan: GTI.

Wolfsburg’s announcement that it would sprinkle its magic go-faster dust on the Up, the smallest model in its range, was initially greeted with a mixed reaction. Glass-half-full merchants reckoned the UpGTI would distil the spirit of the Mk1 Golf GTI, melding a light kerb weight with a small, nimble footprint and plenty of power to heady effect. Others furrowed their brows as they surveyed the Up GTI’s spec sheet and smelled a cynical marketing ploy aimed at exploiting the rosy-tinged nostalgic glow that surrounds the first high-performance Golf.

Either way, what the Up GTI did at launch was to slip deftly into a space in the market that the previous Swift Sport inhabited. So is Volkswagen’s baby the new bang-for-yer-buck champion? Or is the latest Swift Sport so good that you’d be well advised to speed-read the remainder of this article and get on the phone to your local Suzuki dealer pronto before that £1500 discount offer expires?

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Glance at the Up’s vital stats and you may think that it’s at a distinct disadvantage. The Up GTI makes do with a 999cc 113bhp three-cylinder unit. Where the Swift Sport’s engine makes 170lb ft, the Up has only 147lb ft. And where the Swift Sport tips the scales at 975kg, the Up weighs in at a comparatively portly 1070kg.

In a game of Top Trumps, then, the Suzuki has the VW licked. But as is so often the case when it comes to cars of th nature, on-paper merits count for only so much. Of greater importance is the manner in which they go about fulfilling the brief.

Sliding down into the Suzuki’s sport seats, the driving position carries all the suggestions of a car that’s been set up with a more spirited style of motoring in mind. The seats provide just the right amount of bolstering, and the pedals are spaced in a manner that’s conducive to heel-and-toe gearshifts. By contrast, the Up doesn’t impress quite as much, feeling much more like the everyday city car variants upon which it’s obviously based. The sports seats – resplendent in their ‘Jacara’ cloth upholstery – are relatively flat and wide, and aren’t anywhere near as cosseting as those in the Swift. They’re by no means uncomfortable, but they don’t give off the impression that they’ll keep your torso stable when the time to throw the Up into a faster corner inevitably comes.

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The pedals are decently spaced but also positioned quite high, which means that there’s a fair deal of ankle articulation required to rev-match in a tidy fashion.

Swift pips Up once again, then, but things immediately start looking up for the, erm, Up as soon as you fire up the three-cylinder engine.

It’s not the sort of engine that’ll make the hairs on your neck stand on end with its sonorous soundtrack, but it’s characterful and rorty in the way many three-pots are, and the hearty thrum audible in the cabin lends the Up a personality not dissimilar from that of a feisty scrum half: it’s small, but there’s no way it’ll back down from a scrap with bigger lads.

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Despite its tiny displacement, it’s a muscular engine. Its 147lb ft arrives at a lowly 2000rpm courtesy of its turbocharger, so there’s plenty of low-down shove. From a standstill, it’ll get to 62mph in 8.8sec and hita claimed top speed of 122mph, so it’s certainly not the fastest car in the world, but it’s the manner in which the Up’s diminutive footprint helps provides the illusion of speed that is one of its most enjoyable traits.

Regardless of how fast you’re travelling, the Up never feels anything less than entertaining.

By contrast, the Suzuki has a far more sober demeanour, arguably the product of a powerplant that seemingly has more in common with a blender than an effervescent, hot-hatch four-pot. Still, despite itsuninspiring soundtrack, the Swift is faster than the Up by a noticeable margin, and because its peak torque is available higher up the rev band, at 2500rpm, it also encourages a greater level of interaction with its precise, if a little forgettable, six- speed manual gearbox.

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Through the bends, both cars feel as though they suffer slightly from their taller statures and relatively slab-sided shapes. Their inherent top-heaviness leads to a noticeable amount of lateral roll through faster corners, causing them to hunker down on their outside wheels. That said, neither feels particularly wayward or short on grip, and the adjustability and responsiveness of their respective chassis makes both of them plenty entertaining at speeds that won’t get you into trouble with local law enforcement.

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Despite the playful nature of the way each car goes about tackling a challenging section of road, though, neither has particularly memorable steering. The Swift’s rack feels artificially heavy yet lacks feel, and although the Up’s is weighted more naturally, it’s equally as tight-lipped about what the front wheels are doing as the Swift’s.

It’s also worth touching on practicality. The Swift is the larger of the two, so it understandably offers more space in the rear, as well as a larger boot. Don’t write off the Up as grossly claustrophobic, though. Two adults will fit in the back reasonably comfortably – over short distances, anyway – and its 251-litre boot is only 14 litres less capacious than the Swift’s. But which of the two is the one to go for? Well, a brief summary goes like this: the Swift is the quicker but it lacks the Volkswagen’s up-and-at- ’em zestiness.

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The Swift’s driving position is a touch more in tune with a hot hatch’s than the Up’s, but the VW counters with a much more appealing soundtrack from its three- cylinder engine. And while both have an enthusiastic and engaging demeanour through the corners, they’re both slightly compromised by steering racks that leave you wanting for a bit more in the way of feel.

A close call, then. Except we need to come back to the thing that made the original and second-gen Swift Sport the featherweight champions that they were: price. And boy, do things start unravelling fast forthe Suzuki when you factor the asking price into the affordable hot hatch equation. VW, by contrast, is asking for £13,750 for the Up GTI. And although you do get a proper infotainment system (the Up has a basic 5.0in screen and a smartphone connection) and adaptive cruise control with the Swift, a £4249 premium for a car that’s not quite as characterful or entertaining is ultimately a tough pill to swallow.

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A strange role reversal has taken place with the Suzuki, then. David has become something of a Goliath. And because of this, the smaller, cheaper and more fun Up GTI sling shots past it into first place.

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1st - Volkswagen Up GTI - Dinky Up GTI proves outright speed isn’t everything. Fiesty, charming and huge fun for a comparatively tiny price

2nd - Suzuki Swift Sport - Highly capable Swift Sport is still a compelling driver’s car, but it’s hamstrung by a tall asking price

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Pocket money rockets: hot hatches for under £5K

Don’t need to buy new? Here are a few cracking used hot hatches available for a fraction of the price of our two new contenders

Renault Clio RS 182 Trophy: The ultimate iteration of the Renault Sport Clio. It feels a little dated inside, but offers a tactility and sweetness that few more modern hot hatches can match. Buy now, and watch it appreciate.

Suzuki Swift Sport:  The archetypal less-is-more hot hatch, the previous-gen Swift Sport now costs buttons to buy and run, yet will provide smiles by the bucketload in all environments. Equipment levels are high, too, and they don’t tend to go wrong.

Mini Cooper S:  The second-gen Cooper S is available surprisingly cheaply with a few years under its belt. It’s one of the best hot hatches of its age, with a stiff, delightfully throttle- adjustable chassis and a punchy engine.

Abarth 500:  The first hot 500 is rough and ready to drive, but immensely characterful – and quick, too. The smart interior contrasts with the dour grey plastics you to find in most modern cars. Few hot hatches have such an overt sense of fun.

Vauxhall Corsa VXR: The Corsa VXR still has a whiff of boy racer special about it, and it isn’t the most polished hot hatch you’ll find for this sort of cash. It is, however, fast and lairy, both to look at and to drive – and it’s also getting very cheap to buy.

Read more 

Suzuki Swift Sport review 

Volkswagen Up GTI review 

Volkswagen Polo GTI

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gavsmit 18 June 2018

Disappointing

I really wanted a new Suzuki Swift Sport, and waiting impatiently for months like a lot of other people, but that list price is way too high, even with the introductory discount gimic (which stinks of Suzuki realising they've been too greedy with the asking price).

True, there's more standard equipment with the Swift than the Up but I don't want most of that stuff, and it's just more to go wrong after the warranty finishes. I'd also rather be given the choice of not having all that stuff and have a lower purchase price instead.

I've no particular loyalty to the VW brand but with the online discounts from brokers offering a list price of just over £12k (although I'm not sure how they are doing that with such huge delivery waiting times from VW dealers), the Up GTi gets the nod from me - I still can't get over that clumsy rear door / handle design on the Swift either, and at least the Up can come with 3 doors that looks much better if you can live with less practicality.

But maybe the Kia Picanto GT-Line turbo will be better than both - when Kia finally get around to offering the 1.0 turbo engine for that car like they've been teasing for well over a year now.

xxxx 18 June 2018

Price like for like

Agreed you pay a bit more for the Suzuki even after discounts but you get alot more car, 40% bigger engine, 25% more cylinders, bigger car, more extras (Sat nav, adaptive cruise bigger screen, leather trim?) and it's faster.

Oh and if that's a Suzuki figure 0-60 time I can guarantee you'll better it

Andy_Cowe 17 June 2018

Less is more, but not in a good way

I have the outgoing Suzuki Swift Sport. The new one is worse looking, and I cannot believe it will be as much fun with a turbo, but it costs a lot more. I wouldn't consider the new one for a second if I was looking to replace mine.

abkq 18 June 2018

Andy_Cowe wrote:

Andy_Cowe wrote:

I have the outgoing Suzuki Swift Sport. The new one is worse looking, and I cannot believe it will be as much fun with a turbo, but it costs a lot more. I wouldn't consider the new one for a second if I was looking to replace mine.

Agreed, the outgoing model looks spot on, both exterior and interior. Every line makes sense. It is up there with the best small car design - Toyota iQ, first generation Panda & Uno, VW Lupo, Citroen 2CV etc. The new one is a non-entity.