We seem to live in an age of doom andgloom. So what’s wrong with some whizand fizz… and quite frankly a bit of fun?Like champagne corks popping on adreary day, it’s great to have something toput some sparkle back into an otherwisedull moment. Like a little firecracker,enter stage right the new Suzuki SwiftSport.Let me say first off I absolutely loved

this hot hatch; it weighs about the sameas a bag of crisps and goes like theclappers.The old school model was in itself

keenly priced and a fairly honed hothatch when it was launched in 2006.Suzuki has used the same formula againbut with some twists and turns to makethe new Swift something quite specialwithout losing the intrinsic values thatmade it so much fun in the first place.The new car is slightly larger and

heavier than the old one, but manages tokeep the Nautilus-style wraparoundwindscreen and Giugiaro-inspiredwindow shape. The previous Swift Sportwas great fun to drive, but you’ll find thenew one easier to get on with. It’s likeand old mate who’s grown up a bit buthasn’t lost his sense of humour. The

cheeky, almost squat silhouette is there inspades which bodes well for bothhandling and looks. The laid-back lifecontinues inside, because Suzuki hasloaded the new Swift Sport with enoughtreats to keep most drivers including thejunior hot hatch mob happy. You getcruise and climate controls, keyless start,privacy glass, Bluetooth and a USBsocket for your MP3 player. As I roaredaway from John Wilkins Cars (the localSuzuki dealership in Cheltenham) I wassmiling before I hit the first corner. Thecabin itself looks much like a regularSwift which means it’s solid and chunky.There is however a few neat changessuch as the red stitching on the steeringwheel and gear knob. The figure-huggingbucket seats grip you tightly deliveringthat ‘rally driver’ moment.The Swift’s rev-ravenous 1.6-litre

petrol engine pushes out only 134bhp,but as I said the Suzuki is light; weighinga third of a tonne less than a VW GolfGTI, so performance is very vigorous. Ifyou keep the revs high and rip quicklythrough the close-ratio six-speed gearboxthe Swift will hit 62mph in 8.7 seconds.It’s on the twisty Cotswold roads wherethe Swift really glows. I pushed the Swift

into every corner with my usual ‘no lift’policy and there was very little body lean.This is a cracking little car that’s heaps offun to drive. Any understeer is easilycountered by feathering off the powerand you’ll be returned to the straight andnarrow without the need for a prayer.The brakes are strong and responsivewhich means you can flit across thepedals shoving the Swift around like theroadrunner on steroids. Stability controlis standard which helps you point in theright direction and it’s got seven airbagsin case you get the wrong side of ahedge. The extra gear has made theengine much more benign on themotorway helping to cut fuelconsumption to 44.1mpg and CO2emissions to 147g/km.So if you want to put some fizz and

zap into your life without the need forsome over-priced bubbles from France,then the new Suzuki Swift Sport isguaranteed to brighten up an otherwisedull day.Prices start from £13,499.

For more information please call 01242224477 or visit the website atwww.johnwilkinscars.co.uk.

MARCH 2012 COTSWOLD STYLE � 2

motoring

hot fizz…Eric Barton rips the road in the new Suzuki Swift Sport.

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