There were a lot of these cars in Australia in either the Suzuki Swift or Holden Barina format. They were pretty much considered shopping trolleys and perhaps were under appreciated at the time.
I used to see loads around where I live but they’ve all just been scrapped and disposed of instead of being sold on, so they’re closer to going extinct over here.
I still use a 1993 Swift 1.0 GLS. Love it to bits! Goes around corners like on rails and can be driven all day with throttle pedal flat on the floor! Quite comfy even on long distances.
We still have our 2003 swift gls and it gets daily driven and also a 1998 swift gls, we bought the first one as a tempory car and nine years later still have it. They really are fun to drive.
As a somewhat interesting aside... this model of Suzuki Swift was approved and set up in legislation as the 'typical' hatchback for crash testing -- specifically for testing frangible roadside furniture like lampposts and those light-up pedestrian crossing signs visibile in your video. They're still purchased and used by crash test facilities even now, despite being out of date, to ensure that new tests are comparable with older data. For that reason, they're probably a lot rarer on UK roads now than they otherwise would be! (Source: ex-Crash Test Engineer for a few years at a top secret automotive test house just off the A5 near Hinckley. If you get to Atherstone, you've gone too far.)
I can say with confidence as a swift owner that you can still fit quite a lot in them perhaps even a washing machine of you get the angle right, i got around 15 tires in there once, a medium size bbq or my bike, and if you have the 1.3 8V or 16V you can also tow more than you think
I bought a 2002 model in 2012 with only 40K on the clock. I loved that brilliant little car, which I called Suzy. That 3-pot engine had a sound unlike any other I had owned before. The high boot line was ideal for shopping at Lidl as I did not need bags. My shopping went straight out of the trolley and into the boot. I bought it from a garage in the Peak district and it was a lot of fun driving her home through the twisty Peak roads. Sadly in 2016 some Muppet in a BMW M6 failed to stop at a junction and smashed in to the side of me and wrote her off. Due to the low mileage the insurance company gave me £1200 and the car back which I sold to a local farmer for £300. Despite the passenger door no longer opening and the steering being affected by the crash I believe it is still being used to transport chickens and feed around his farm.
We indeed had a Geo-branded convertible version of this car in the US. I still see them occasionally, and am always thoroughly charmed when I do. Man, I miss the days when there was a convertible available for every budget.
They didn't use cam belts running in motor oil (at least not intentionally :D ), unlike Ford and Renault. 3 cylinder is not the problem, silly design decisions are.
@@BernardSamson-hf6fc there have been a a lot of great 3 cylinder engines, the problem is when removing a cylinder is done as part of a cost cutting exercise and other mistakes are made.
My wife had a 53 plate gls for about 4 years and really loved it. Traded it in for a mk 3 Swift 1500 which she kept for 5 years. Apart from changing the brakes, tyres and exhausts they were both ultra reliable.
I did 123,000 miles on mine as a delivery vehicle. The immobiliser gave me some trouble a couple of times towards the end, and the paint on the bonnet faded a bit. I would have one again if one became available. Loved it.
I had the Gti version in the '90s. 108bhp (pessimistic for insurance rating) from 1.3l. twin cam reving to over 7500rpm and 0-60 in well under 8 secs (only 1 gear change!). Absolute hoot to drive and great for embarrassing XR2i owners. Absolutely ruled in small class Group N racing along with the mk1. Look on Davide Cironi's RUclips channel where he restores one. Great memories!
I'm a big Suzuki fan. I love how your channel shows vehicles that others might not even consider. My son in Australia has a 2013 Suzuki Alto which has been his daily driver from then until now. It has over 300,000 km on the clock. I owned two Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4s, a 1998 five door, and a 2016 three door, as well as a 2015 S-Cross. All excellent cars. Thanks again for your video!
You could buy these for 6k brand new in the day, my friend bought a new one in 99, that didn't have a logo on the steering wheel or wheel trims either.
From North Carolina. Sold as suzukis here but the vast, vast majority were geo metros which were sold at Chevrolet dealers. This era geo all came with 3 cyl, 3 or 5 door hatchback, 5 speed manual or 3 speed auto and you could get a convertible. The later generation starting in 95 and which I think was north america only? was available as a sedan or hatchback and with the 1300 4 cy but no convertible
As l mentioned before we owned the Mark 2 Suzuki Cino as was known in Australia and it came with a caburatored 1300cc 4 cylinder engine unfortunately the Cino was written off and was sadly missed my wife loved driving it and it was our first Suzuki car as l had owned several Suzuki motorcycles before and l real enjoyed driving it and it handled so well
They (Susuki) left Canada in 2012, but an old friend, a mechanic used a Swift to commute 100 miles a day to his employer & Home for over 7 years, wore out one three cylinder engine, and put another one in and kept going...one strong little motor, Cheers
In The Netherlands, the second generation pre facelift Swift is known for the car used to attack the Dutch royal family on Queen's Day (April 30) 2009. The Swift was used as weapon but only killed innocent bystanders and subsequently the driver when he crashed it into a monument.
@@daniel-ino well, the royals was being driven around in an open bus so it left the world puzzled how the hell a small car could make any lethal damage to that. He killed seven people though because he drove his car at high speed through the onlooking crowd and subsequently killed himself, as the crashworthiness of a 1993 Suzuki Swift isn't quite high. There were no explosives or other preparations done.
As a youth I was always keen for my mum to get the 4x4 version of this, we lived on top of a hill in wales so it seemed sensible. As it turned out, a rear drive Sierra and a front drive Vauxhall Nova were more than capable of handling the snowy winters. No Swift 4x4 for us 😢
My mum had a 2001 Swift 1,0 GLS. We had dual airbags, heated seats and headlight washers in her car. I think these were standard here in Finland. It was a extremly reliable car and mum had to sold it to get a higher seating position (Suzuki Ignis was her choice). Fuel consumption was 4,2l/100km on the country roads and 6,0 in town. I really liked the car and drove it occasionally. Sometimes ou see these on the roads, I have a soft spot in m heart for these things. Always liked the 3cyl version more than the 1,3 engine.
My gran had one of these in green, a 1.3 GLS nicknamed the mean green granny machine. Still remember the number plate, S772 LRA. It was scrapped years ago due to rust but was a good car nonetheless
I remember in the 90s when a neighbour got a Swift GTI and that was like a spaceship had landed compared to the cars around it. I’ve had a few Suzuki cars and always found them to be great cars.
I think the Gti was quite rare but had a lot of go in it relative to it's small engine size. It's not really remembered nowadays but was an excellent hot hatch
@@mattylamb9194 I had one new, the engine was amazing 8k redline and revved like mad, car the weight of a handkerchief too. I took it to BBR for a remap that made it even better. One of the most fun cars that I've owned.
We never got such a high spec in the USA. Also, this body only ran from ‘89 a ‘94. Our Geo/Chevy Metro was a totally different body for ‘95 til the end of production
I had a W-reg Swift Sky 1.3 for six years (bought in 2001) - a bit jazzier than this (metallic blue paint, OZ alloy wheels and colourful upholstery that was matched on the door cards), and propelled by an extra cylinder. Sometimes I wondered if the 1-litre three-pot would have been more interesting, but I don't think I could have put up with the performance deficit. I might have kept the car longer, but it's the only car I've ever had which actually fell apart mechanically (and terminally). The things I liked: swoopy shape, interesting sporty seats, great body colour, light weight, powerful headlamps, decent stereo (Clarion radio-cassette) and an engine that was amazingly smooth and rev-happy. The things I didn't like were more plentiful: Those seats may have been interesting, but the very-low driving position caused CRIPPLING pain in my knees and ankles on long journeys. People like to rave about a low driving position, but this was like a go-kart and it was AWFUL - I cannot underscore how much I LOATHE a low-set driver's seat (and currently struggle with another too-low seat in my 2014 Fiesta - absolutely DREADFUL). The upholstery may have looked jazzy, but seat cushions were so thin that I got a sore bottom on long journeys and you could feel the metal structure beneath - again, problems duplicated in my 2014 Fiesta: really HORRIBLE. Suzuki - nil points. Ford - nil points. The gearbox literally started to disintegrate after about 85000 miles - fifth gear wouldn't stay engaged and then it started to have the same problem with fourth a few hundred miles later. Fifth started failing while I was hundreds of miles from home on the other side of the Channel - quite a tedious drive home flat-out in fourth gear for hundreds of miles.... Curiously (somewhat coincidentally?) I get the same feeling of cheap fragility in my 2014 Fiesta's gearbox and keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't fall apart. Servicing was staggeringly expensive - short service intervals (6k miles with cam belt at 54k) and some kind of dealer pay-off whereby the cars themselves may have been extremely cheap to buy, but they screwed you on the servicing afterwards. The disintegrating gearbox was the death knell for the car, but occurred not long after I'd shelled out £800 (!!!!!) on new drive shafts (because you couldn't get pattern parts - you had to get genuine Suzuki....). The lightweight construction had its pay-off as well - a hollow 'chung!' sound that echoed through the cabin when you shut the doors. The roof lining was just a sheet of PVC stretched over some cables to hold it off the roof skin The paint may have looked gorgeous and vivid, but it was prone to stone chips in the lacquer that resulted in rust springing through from the metal beneath on the A-pillars after a few years. That soup dish on the passenger side of the dashboard was where an airbag was (not) fitted - to go with the big steering-wheel boss that contained no airbag. It was a CHEAP car (built in Hungary, by the way) and you could really tell! Thicker seat cushions, a higher-set driver's seat and a robust gearbox would have made all the difference.
I nearly bought one of these as a first car, think it was a green 1.3 on a P Plate for about three grand. The dealer selling the car advised me not to as he said the insurance would be the killer. I tried a couple of quotes and the dealer was right the insurance was going to be the same price as the car! Was a lovely car through, instead I Went for a K11 Micra. An excellen review as always Matt.
The insurance was another weird aspect I'd forgotten about regarding my own (W-reg 1.3 Sky) Swift (now long dead). I remember being told that it was expensive (Group 6 vs Group 2 for a comparable European brand) because it was Japanese, but really.... it was built in Hungary for a start (just as the Micra was built in England) and this was a really global car because they sold in bucketloads over in the USA, badged as Geo Metro. If anything should have been cheap to insure, it was a Swift. I think you did the right thing getting the Micra, by the way - spoken from six years of Swift ownership. The Swift was so flimsy that Amazon probably used it as a starting point when designing their cardboard packaging - "we need something stronger than this so that our goods survive in the mail...".
@@MrFlazz99 Nissans were cheap to insure but a lot of other Japanese cars weren't. Nissans were built in Britain (although I had a Japanese built Almera that was still cheap) but they were also fairly basic and common and popular with older drivers. So I think it was a number of factors. These Swifts looked smart and modern when they first came out but they didn't age well. As you say they were quite flimsy and that last facelift was horrendous. The smooth look of the front end was ruined and orange indicators had gone out of fashion. Superminis moved on a lot in its lifetime and it ended up feeling cheap and nasty when it was once quite desirable.
Last 3 years in Australia they were called the Suzuki Cino. Vinyl back seats, wind up windows and no tacho. Air con of course. The barina didn't have a tacho either, just a speedo in the middle, the 3 cylinder wasn't sold in Australia. Geo was made in Canada.
My wife had a '99 metallic green one of these when we first met. Many happy memories of travelling the UK in it until it was written off by a Mazda. It was not fast, but was cheap, comfortable and practical enough, and never let us down. Would happily have another.
Mother in law in Hungary has a pre facelift one, mid-nineties, 1 litre 5 door. It's very basic (the base model for Hungary) but, like that you drove, feels well made and engineered. I have driven it all over Hungary and it could go anywhere, perfect FOTU material.
This is allready an facelift model! I had the first series mk2 1.3 GS 3door in Black metallic with red go fast striping ! I’d had lower and wider headlights and the indicators in the bumper I believe!? And it had the blocked brakelights ! Loved the driving experience, it felt very fast back then!😂😂😂 Didn’t had the painted bumpers, the face lift models had those I believe!? Thanks for taking us on this trip back in time Matt👍🏻👍🏻🆙 like always!
I used to have one of these, they used to be everywhere but the scrappage scheme did for many of them, including mine. The one i had was a P-reg 1.3 GLS with such luxuries as electrically adjustable mirrors, and electric windows (of which the drivers side had a habit of falling out of alignment when lowered, meaning i had to guide it back in as it raised). I did get the ton out of it once, though! I saw one a few weeks ago in Morley Morrisons car park which appeared to have a bodyshell that was 50% gaffer tape! On the branding thing, there was no mention of Suzuki anywhere inside, not least because even here in the UK it was also sold as the Subaru Justy.
I had a 1995 pre facelift in the same colour M870 JJU. It has 3 separate tail light bulbs for each light cluster which looked great at night. I kept it for about five years and never had to do anything except for routine maintenance. In the end, I sold it to David Ladley a local darts player from Scunthorpe.
The automatic was still a 3 speed. And only an option on the 5 door. The 5 door was slightly longer than the 3 door. The tailgate was more vertical too. The last of the line models sold new in the UK in 2003 were a bargain, only £4,495 OTR. Subaru also had a version of this car, with all wheel drive as standard. Always been a fan of all versions of the Swift.
It's interesting to see all of the minor differences in styling between your British Swift and our Australian Holden Barina. Unexpected things like the shape of the headlights amd taillights for instance. So similar but different.
I remember my dad looked at Swifts in the mid-90s, but wasn't happy with the build quality. He eventually went with a K11 Micra! I quick like a Swift myself, but would never ditch my Beloved Fabia...
More convoluted offerings downunder adjacent in nz. We got the as both he swift and barina in 3/5dr hatch and 4dr sedan. The Holden version finished when rhe corsa became the barina in '94 but Suzuki carried on till '99 when the new swift came out which Holden then also release alongside the Corsa C as an Ignis. All the while we got Japanese imports of the cultus too lol.
Loved my 2000 Swift 1.0GLS - bought it six years old with 11k on the clock and owned it for the next 14 years until a combination of tinworm and family circumstances during lockdown meant I had to send it to the scrapper with a very heavy heart indeed. It got me through rain, snow and blow without complaint, never a major fault, not a new clutch in it's life and the silky silver metallic paint still looked fine until the very end. Amazing to think it was the cheapest available car in the UK when it was new. Thanks Matt for finally giving some props to an unsung motoring hero.
I daily drove one of these for a number of years almost doubling it's mileage before selling it for the same amount I bought it for. In hindsight objectively it wasn't a great car but I do miss two things about it; it's light weight feel and it's incredibly low running costs. Oh and the three cylinder thrum! In the end the high level of noise in the cabin didn't suit what I wanted any more so it went in favour of a much more mature fourth generation Volkswagen Polo. Just in the nick of time too as it scraped through it's next MOT then failed the subsequent one badly for rust. The front chassis legs a have loop in them that part of the front suspension/subframe mounts to that rusts from the inside out. If it fails you loose steering control of that wheel! I seem to recall that these were actually made in Pakistan as late as 2016! 9:23 The soup shelf was where the passenger airbag would be installed in some markets. 9:54 I don't think A/C was an option in the UK, mine was a top spec GLS SE and it was absent there. Some markets did have it, some even had heated seats. 13:47 Nope, no speakers in there! I guess they planned on putting some there but never did. There isn't even any wiring running to those spots.
One of these ran into the back of my Vauxhall Combo van in Hungary. It was my fault as I pulled out from a slip-road where there was zero visibility (for a right hand drive van). It was a very wide road but the Swift driver chose to ram me rather than steer round.
Lo Matt, i had the 5 door version of this . I found it bullet proof. It had 10k when i got it and 109k when i scrapped it 8 years later. Did all the maint. myself never let me down .I used it for everything. Funnily enough it was the same colour as that one. Good descriptions, thanks for the vid. Have you done the bug eyed Toyota Corolla of the same vintage?. Love to hear your comments on that one. Later.
I think these Swifts were the last cars to not have a driver's airbag before they went out of production. There was also a hitis of a couple of years until the new Swift was launch. It left the original Ignis to plug the supermini gap in the Suzuki range. A couple of years go on a couple of occasions I saw a blue Subaru Justy 4wd that was based on this design.
Mine was, I think a 1991 model. It was more like a Mk2, with the back end being the same. It had a 1.3 injected four cylinder engine, and I think the nicest five speed I've driven in any front wheel drive car. Unfortunately, I believe it came from a part of the country that got more rust than we do here, and that killed it. I do remember it fondly though.
A cracking review Matt. It's strange how we forget the different design trends as they happen. 80's cars with a low window line and sharp edges blurring into the total opposite in a couple of years. Newer trends of course to not always mean better more practical designs. A higher window line with a kicked up rear body panel may looks trendy but it does the opposite for visibility and no I don't look at rear cameras as a mitigation for this. OK I'm old and sometimes I might not be as grumpy but I notice these things. Anyway the Swift has always been a great car and this one in the evolution of the model is no exception. Right, it's a warm day so I need to go outside with a winter coat done up as it might be trendy even though I may need medical attention before the days end. Many thanks for sharing.
I noticed a few brands in the late '90s, early '00s didn't have badges or whatever on the wheels - Citroen didn't have logos on the Xsara wheels if I remember. The Baleno, if I remember didn't have a badge on the steering wheel or that. It was also sold as a Subaru Justy in the UK & Europe.
we did a garden clearance in a borrowed one of these as it had a tow bar, it didn't mind the abuse and went up the hills it had too. I remember not getting my head around 3 cylinders (that was for 1500 dolomites and yet another failed head gasket)
There is a blue metallic 1.3 GS in my street, hasn't moved in at least 10 years. Always like the design of this gen 2 Swift. Another great review Matt, enjoyed it!
The seat material reminds me of Keith Haring, which was part of popular culture in the 90`s (although dates back to the 80`s, obviously!). Seeing this has reminded me of a 1984 Daihatsu turbo diesel I saw locally back in 2014 (A806KLU). Its been SORN`d since 2017, but hasnt changed hands.. That then reminded me of another local Mk1 Swift, E920OMD, which has been put on SORN as its within the extended London ULEZ (the elderly owner also has a Hillman Hunter estate, which is ULEZ exempt).. Anyway, I`m going off on tangents, sorry!
The Aussie swift/barina had a different front end design. It had a small slit for the grille, larger slits under the bumper and the slit grille went from light to light. It looks so much more angry than the Brit one. Hehe
We had a 2003 1.0 GLS, it was unquestionably the most fun car I ever owned. Skinny tyres, light weight, good gear ratios, three cylinder noise and no power steering, I grinned every time I drove it. It got scrapped because it was rusting away before our eyes 😢
I see this is a one litre three door, a variant we never got in Barbados, so at first I thought this was the 1.3 GS, the sporty looking 3-door, that the dealers told me I would have to settle with instead of a GTi owing to the fact I was 23 at the time and insurance premiums on the GTi were through the roof once you were under 25. I do know several people who had these as first cars and there are a surprising number of them still on the road today, particularly the entry level one litre model. I remember how "futuristic" it looked next to its predecessor in 1988 and I found it particularly interesting that Subaru rebadged it for the European market.
My dad bought a Suzuki Swift like this for £400 in 2012, a year later he traded it in for £200, to buy a £750 Peugeot 206 1.9 non turbo diesel 😅. He kept the pug until he bought a Lexus IS.
I preferred the first interior of the Mark 2 Swift, this rounder version is also nice but not as futuristic as the first dashboard. This dashboard flowed over into the doors with the side vents in the doors instead of the dashboard. In general I loved all mark 2 Swifts including the sedan which had a serious booth for the size while not becoming a big car. My parents almost bought one but in the end they went for a Jetta (worse car ever, probably made on a Monday). And there was also the zippy GTI version. To bad they don't make such cars anymore.
My brother had one the same but his was an 03 model incredible reliable but his had gone that lovely shade of sun bleached pink. My ex sister in law as the old Subaru 4WD version for bombing around the farm no longer road legal
No Gti on the mark 3. Think the one you are driving maybe imported?? Not sure. Gti mark 1 and two that i owned. Thinking about this though makes me think that's the mark 4???
Only new car I ever bought was a 1989 swift gti, 100bhp from a 16v 1.3 with a nearly 8000rpm red line was high tec for the time. It would be interesting to know what they're worth now if there's any left
I have a 91 GLS that has a better spec and interior than this model i think you are right about the lack of badges the last of the uk models were produced in Hungary and India mine also has the trailblazer between the rear lights the only problem is parts in the uk are very difficult to obtain i had to import two rear arms from the USA the postage was eye watering.
We also had the sedan here in Hungary as swifts were manufactured in the town of Esztergom. They were and are seen as more upmarket and posh than the hatchback.
I had multiple swifts, pretty frugal and lightweight so low in taxes but refinement was absent, they were noisy, they could rust pretty bad and they did understeer a lot when driven a bit more enthusiastically. They were fun little cars though.
This car was produced and sold for 18 years (last batch in 2017) in my country pakistan i just bought a used one today new parts in my country are very cheap for this.
Good gosh Matt , BORING today ? Never !!! You were boring 5 years ago but are much less boring now for sure 😂, kinda tolerable at least 😁. Many Car guys are fonts of information, some useless , some interesting 😁, I kinda err on the latter with you Matt 😂😂, very interesting video and love this car 🚗, am Ofc being sarcastic and Matt knows that 🫣, I hope 😂😂👌🏻.
For a right hand drive car, indicator stalk on the right is the better set-up - your left hand's busy enough with the gearstick and you're going to use your indicators more often than your wipers (even in the UK!) - it can usually be done with a flick of the fingers.
There were a lot of these cars in Australia in either the Suzuki Swift or Holden Barina format. They were pretty much considered shopping trolleys and perhaps were under appreciated at the time.
It's kind of funny that this car is so exotic in Britain. In Hungary it is dime a dozen since it was manufactured here and was very popular.
I used to see loads around where I live but they’ve all just been scrapped and disposed of instead of being sold on, so they’re closer to going extinct over here.
Wasn't exotic in the UK
Wasn't exotic at the time, but now they're as rare as unicorn poop!
You have an odd idea of what the British class as exotic..
Rare as hen's teeth?
I still use a 1993 Swift 1.0 GLS. Love it to bits! Goes around corners like on rails and can be driven all day with throttle pedal flat on the floor! Quite comfy even on long distances.
I've a 5 door MK2 Automatic from 1998, I absolutely love it 😊
We still have our 2003 swift gls and it gets daily driven and also a 1998 swift gls, we bought the first one as a tempory car and nine years later still have it. They really are fun to drive.
As a somewhat interesting aside... this model of Suzuki Swift was approved and set up in legislation as the 'typical' hatchback for crash testing -- specifically for testing frangible roadside furniture like lampposts and those light-up pedestrian crossing signs visibile in your video. They're still purchased and used by crash test facilities even now, despite being out of date, to ensure that new tests are comparable with older data. For that reason, they're probably a lot rarer on UK roads now than they otherwise would be!
(Source: ex-Crash Test Engineer for a few years at a top secret automotive test house just off the A5 near Hinckley. If you get to Atherstone, you've gone too far.)
I can say with confidence as a swift owner that you can still fit quite a lot in them perhaps even a washing machine of you get the angle right, i got around 15 tires in there once, a medium size bbq or my bike, and if you have the 1.3 8V or 16V you can also tow more than you think
I bought a 2002 model in 2012 with only 40K on the clock. I loved that brilliant little car, which I called Suzy. That 3-pot engine had a sound unlike any other I had owned before. The high boot line was ideal for shopping at Lidl as I did not need bags. My shopping went straight out of the trolley and into the boot. I bought it from a garage in the Peak district and it was a lot of fun driving her home through the twisty Peak roads. Sadly in 2016 some Muppet in a BMW M6 failed to stop at a junction and smashed in to the side of me and wrote her off. Due to the low mileage the insurance company gave me £1200 and the car back which I sold to a local farmer for £300. Despite the passenger door no longer opening and the steering being affected by the crash I believe it is still being used to transport chickens and feed around his farm.
We indeed had a Geo-branded convertible version of this car in the US. I still see them occasionally, and am always thoroughly charmed when I do. Man, I miss the days when there was a convertible available for every budget.
I prefer the indicator set up like this. Left hand is free to change gear and right hand can signal. Lol
The Swift 3 Cylinder engine did not suffer the fate that current 3 cylinder engines like the Ford Eco-Boom. They actually lasted in the 90's.
They didn't use cam belts running in motor oil (at least not intentionally :D ), unlike Ford and Renault. 3 cylinder is not the problem, silly design decisions are.
@@BernardSamson-hf6fc there have been a a lot of great 3 cylinder engines, the problem is when removing a cylinder is done as part of a cost cutting exercise and other mistakes are made.
My wife had a 53 plate gls for about 4 years and really loved it. Traded it in for a mk 3 Swift 1500 which she kept for 5 years. Apart from changing the brakes, tyres and exhausts they were both ultra reliable.
I did 123,000 miles on mine as a delivery vehicle. The immobiliser gave me some trouble a couple of times towards the end, and the paint on the bonnet faded a bit. I would have one again if one became available. Loved it.
I had the Gti version in the '90s. 108bhp (pessimistic for insurance rating) from 1.3l. twin cam reving to over 7500rpm and 0-60 in well under 8 secs (only 1 gear change!). Absolute hoot to drive and great for embarrassing XR2i owners. Absolutely ruled in small class Group N racing along with the mk1. Look on Davide Cironi's RUclips channel where he restores one. Great memories!
I've got one of these. I drove it to Budapest (from Wigan) with my mate in June. It's a great motor and hasn't skipped a beat!
Hugely impressed that Suzuki UK have a heritage fleet, that’s really great! Top review again, Matt. Thank you.
I'm a big Suzuki fan. I love how your channel shows vehicles that others might not even consider. My son in Australia has a 2013 Suzuki Alto which has been his daily driver from then until now. It has over 300,000 km on the clock. I owned two Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4s, a 1998 five door, and a 2016 three door, as well as a 2015 S-Cross. All excellent cars. Thanks again for your video!
You could buy these for 6k brand new in the day, my friend bought a new one in 99, that didn't have a logo on the steering wheel or wheel trims either.
From North Carolina. Sold as suzukis here but the vast, vast majority were geo metros which were sold at Chevrolet dealers. This era geo all came with 3 cyl, 3 or 5 door hatchback, 5 speed manual or 3 speed auto and you could get a convertible. The later generation starting in 95 and which I think was north america only? was available as a sedan or hatchback and with the 1300 4 cy but no convertible
As l mentioned before we owned the Mark 2 Suzuki Cino as was known in Australia and it came with a caburatored 1300cc 4 cylinder engine unfortunately the Cino was written off and was sadly missed my wife loved driving it and it was our first Suzuki car as l had owned several Suzuki motorcycles before and l real enjoyed driving it and it handled so well
They (Susuki) left Canada in 2012, but an old friend, a mechanic used a Swift to commute 100 miles a day to his employer & Home for over 7 years, wore out one three cylinder engine, and put another one in and kept going...one strong little motor, Cheers
In The Netherlands, the second generation pre facelift Swift is known for the car used to attack the Dutch royal family on Queen's Day (April 30) 2009. The Swift was used as weapon but only killed innocent bystanders and subsequently the driver when he crashed it into a monument.
must have been a popular car afterwards. Any special edition? Very dark humor
@@daniel-ino well, the royals was being driven around in an open bus so it left the world puzzled how the hell a small car could make any lethal damage to that. He killed seven people though because he drove his car at high speed through the onlooking crowd and subsequently killed himself, as the crashworthiness of a 1993 Suzuki Swift isn't quite high. There were no explosives or other preparations done.
@@volvo480I'm sorry to hear about that awful story in your country's history.
i remember! and i own the same ride🙈
As a youth I was always keen for my mum to get the 4x4 version of this, we lived on top of a hill in wales so it seemed sensible. As it turned out, a rear drive Sierra and a front drive Vauxhall Nova were more than capable of handling the snowy winters. No Swift 4x4 for us 😢
My mum had a 2001 Swift 1,0 GLS. We had dual airbags, heated seats and headlight washers in her car. I think these were standard here in Finland. It was a extremly reliable car and mum had to sold it to get a higher seating position (Suzuki Ignis was her choice). Fuel consumption was 4,2l/100km on the country roads and 6,0 in town. I really liked the car and drove it occasionally. Sometimes ou see these on the roads, I have a soft spot in m heart for these things. Always liked the 3cyl version more than the 1,3 engine.
My dad have one. Black 1992 swift with air conditioning. It really cool you down on hot day. My dad one was Japanese import. Never let us now.
I loved this Swift. Wife had one as a teaching car, utterly unburstable and such fun to drive. Would love to get hold of a 4x4.
My gran had one of these in green, a 1.3 GLS nicknamed the mean green granny machine.
Still remember the number plate, S772 LRA. It was scrapped years ago due to rust but was a good car nonetheless
I remember in the 90s when a neighbour got a Swift GTI and that was like a spaceship had landed compared to the cars around it. I’ve had a few Suzuki cars and always found them to be great cars.
I mind my white mk2 gti
I think the Gti was quite rare but had a lot of go in it relative to it's small engine size. It's not really remembered nowadays but was an excellent hot hatch
@@mattylamb9194 I had one new, the engine was amazing 8k redline and revved like mad, car the weight of a handkerchief too. I took it to BBR for a remap that made it even better. One of the most fun cars that I've owned.
We never got such a high spec in the USA. Also, this body only ran from ‘89 a ‘94. Our Geo/Chevy Metro was a totally different body for ‘95 til the end of production
We got these as Swift’s as well. Not many sold under that name though.
I must admit, I find it a bit bizarre how they managed to get away with never fitting an airbag as standard in UK market Swifts, even in 2003!!
I had a W-reg Swift Sky 1.3 for six years (bought in 2001) - a bit jazzier than this (metallic blue paint, OZ alloy wheels and colourful upholstery that was matched on the door cards), and propelled by an extra cylinder. Sometimes I wondered if the 1-litre three-pot would have been more interesting, but I don't think I could have put up with the performance deficit. I might have kept the car longer, but it's the only car I've ever had which actually fell apart mechanically (and terminally).
The things I liked: swoopy shape, interesting sporty seats, great body colour, light weight, powerful headlamps, decent stereo (Clarion radio-cassette) and an engine that was amazingly smooth and rev-happy.
The things I didn't like were more plentiful:
Those seats may have been interesting, but the very-low driving position caused CRIPPLING pain in my knees and ankles on long journeys. People like to rave about a low driving position, but this was like a go-kart and it was AWFUL - I cannot underscore how much I LOATHE a low-set driver's seat (and currently struggle with another too-low seat in my 2014 Fiesta - absolutely DREADFUL). The upholstery may have looked jazzy, but seat cushions were so thin that I got a sore bottom on long journeys and you could feel the metal structure beneath - again, problems duplicated in my 2014 Fiesta: really HORRIBLE. Suzuki - nil points. Ford - nil points.
The gearbox literally started to disintegrate after about 85000 miles - fifth gear wouldn't stay engaged and then it started to have the same problem with fourth a few hundred miles later. Fifth started failing while I was hundreds of miles from home on the other side of the Channel - quite a tedious drive home flat-out in fourth gear for hundreds of miles.... Curiously (somewhat coincidentally?) I get the same feeling of cheap fragility in my 2014 Fiesta's gearbox and keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't fall apart.
Servicing was staggeringly expensive - short service intervals (6k miles with cam belt at 54k) and some kind of dealer pay-off whereby the cars themselves may have been extremely cheap to buy, but they screwed you on the servicing afterwards. The disintegrating gearbox was the death knell for the car, but occurred not long after I'd shelled out £800 (!!!!!) on new drive shafts (because you couldn't get pattern parts - you had to get genuine Suzuki....).
The lightweight construction had its pay-off as well - a hollow 'chung!' sound that echoed through the cabin when you shut the doors. The roof lining was just a sheet of PVC stretched over some cables to hold it off the roof skin
The paint may have looked gorgeous and vivid, but it was prone to stone chips in the lacquer that resulted in rust springing through from the metal beneath on the A-pillars after a few years.
That soup dish on the passenger side of the dashboard was where an airbag was (not) fitted - to go with the big steering-wheel boss that contained no airbag.
It was a CHEAP car (built in Hungary, by the way) and you could really tell! Thicker seat cushions, a higher-set driver's seat and a robust gearbox would have made all the difference.
I nearly bought one of these as a first car, think it was a green 1.3 on a P Plate for about three grand. The dealer selling the car advised me not to as he said the insurance would be the killer. I tried a couple of quotes and the dealer was right the insurance was going to be the same price as the car! Was a lovely car through, instead I Went for a K11 Micra.
An excellen review as always Matt.
The insurance was another weird aspect I'd forgotten about regarding my own (W-reg 1.3 Sky) Swift (now long dead). I remember being told that it was expensive (Group 6 vs Group 2 for a comparable European brand) because it was Japanese, but really.... it was built in Hungary for a start (just as the Micra was built in England) and this was a really global car because they sold in bucketloads over in the USA, badged as Geo Metro. If anything should have been cheap to insure, it was a Swift. I think you did the right thing getting the Micra, by the way - spoken from six years of Swift ownership. The Swift was so flimsy that Amazon probably used it as a starting point when designing their cardboard packaging - "we need something stronger than this so that our goods survive in the mail...".
@@MrFlazz99 Nissans were cheap to insure but a lot of other Japanese cars weren't. Nissans were built in Britain (although I had a Japanese built Almera that was still cheap) but they were also fairly basic and common and popular with older drivers. So I think it was a number of factors. These Swifts looked smart and modern when they first came out but they didn't age well. As you say they were quite flimsy and that last facelift was horrendous. The smooth look of the front end was ruined and orange indicators had gone out of fashion. Superminis moved on a lot in its lifetime and it ended up feeling cheap and nasty when it was once quite desirable.
My wife had one when we were dating. Lovely little car. It was very comfortable and had no Suzuki logos either.
I have this generation Swift and the ride is very hard. No comfort at all. Seats are also very uncomfortable for long journies.
Last 3 years in Australia they were called the Suzuki Cino. Vinyl back seats, wind up windows and no tacho. Air con of course. The barina didn't have a tacho either, just a speedo in the middle, the 3 cylinder wasn't sold in Australia. Geo was made in Canada.
My wife had a '99 metallic green one of these when we first met. Many happy memories of travelling the UK in it until it was written off by a Mazda.
It was not fast, but was cheap, comfortable and practical enough, and never let us down. Would happily have another.
Mother in law in Hungary has a pre facelift one, mid-nineties, 1 litre 5 door. It's very basic (the base model for Hungary) but, like that you drove, feels well made and engineered. I have driven it all over Hungary and it could go anywhere, perfect FOTU material.
This is allready an facelift model! I had the first series mk2 1.3 GS 3door in Black metallic with red go fast striping ! I’d had lower and wider headlights and the indicators in the bumper I believe!? And it had the blocked brakelights ! Loved the driving experience, it felt very fast back then!😂😂😂 Didn’t had the painted bumpers, the face lift models had those I believe!? Thanks for taking us on this trip back in time Matt👍🏻👍🏻🆙 like always!
I used to have one of these, they used to be everywhere but the scrappage scheme did for many of them, including mine. The one i had was a P-reg 1.3 GLS with such luxuries as electrically adjustable mirrors, and electric windows (of which the drivers side had a habit of falling out of alignment when lowered, meaning i had to guide it back in as it raised). I did get the ton out of it once, though!
I saw one a few weeks ago in Morley Morrisons car park which appeared to have a bodyshell that was 50% gaffer tape!
On the branding thing, there was no mention of Suzuki anywhere inside, not least because even here in the UK it was also sold as the Subaru Justy.
I had a 1995 pre facelift in the same colour M870 JJU. It has 3 separate tail light bulbs for each light cluster which looked great at night. I kept it for about five years and never had to do anything except for routine maintenance. In the end, I sold it to David Ladley a local darts player from Scunthorpe.
The automatic was still a 3 speed. And only an option on the 5 door. The 5 door was slightly longer than the 3 door. The tailgate was more vertical too. The last of the line models sold new in the UK in 2003 were a bargain, only £4,495 OTR. Subaru also had a version of this car, with all wheel drive as standard. Always been a fan of all versions of the Swift.
I got the third gen sport its good fun to drive and use as a daily
It's interesting to see all of the minor differences in styling between your British Swift and our Australian Holden Barina. Unexpected things like the shape of the headlights amd taillights for instance. So similar but different.
I remember my dad looked at Swifts in the mid-90s, but wasn't happy with the build quality. He eventually went with a K11 Micra! I quick like a Swift myself, but would never ditch my Beloved Fabia...
More convoluted offerings downunder adjacent in nz. We got the as both he swift and barina in 3/5dr hatch and 4dr sedan. The Holden version finished when rhe corsa became the barina in '94 but Suzuki carried on till '99 when the new swift came out which Holden then also release alongside the Corsa C as an Ignis. All the while we got Japanese imports of the cultus too lol.
Loved my 2000 Swift 1.0GLS - bought it six years old with 11k on the clock and owned it for the next 14 years until a combination of tinworm and family circumstances during lockdown meant I had to send it to the scrapper with a very heavy heart indeed. It got me through rain, snow and blow without complaint, never a major fault, not a new clutch in it's life and the silky silver metallic paint still looked fine until the very end. Amazing to think it was the cheapest available car in the UK when it was new. Thanks Matt for finally giving some props to an unsung motoring hero.
I daily drove one of these for a number of years almost doubling it's mileage before selling it for the same amount I bought it for. In hindsight objectively it wasn't a great car but I do miss two things about it; it's light weight feel and it's incredibly low running costs. Oh and the three cylinder thrum! In the end the high level of noise in the cabin didn't suit what I wanted any more so it went in favour of a much more mature fourth generation Volkswagen Polo. Just in the nick of time too as it scraped through it's next MOT then failed the subsequent one badly for rust. The front chassis legs a have loop in them that part of the front suspension/subframe mounts to that rusts from the inside out. If it fails you loose steering control of that wheel!
I seem to recall that these were actually made in Pakistan as late as 2016!
9:23 The soup shelf was where the passenger airbag would be installed in some markets.
9:54 I don't think A/C was an option in the UK, mine was a top spec GLS SE and it was absent there. Some markets did have it, some even had heated seats.
13:47 Nope, no speakers in there! I guess they planned on putting some there but never did. There isn't even any wiring running to those spots.
One of these ran into the back of my Vauxhall Combo van in Hungary. It was my fault as I pulled out from a slip-road where there was zero visibility (for a right hand drive van). It was a very wide road but the Swift driver chose to ram me rather than steer round.
Lo Matt, i had the 5 door version of this . I found it bullet proof. It had 10k when i got it and 109k when i scrapped it 8 years later. Did all the maint. myself never let me down .I used it for everything. Funnily enough it was the same colour as that one. Good descriptions, thanks for the vid. Have you done the bug eyed Toyota Corolla of the same vintage?. Love to hear your comments on that one. Later.
I think these Swifts were the last cars to not have a driver's airbag before they went out of production. There was also a hitis of a couple of years until the new Swift was launch. It left the original Ignis to plug the supermini gap in the Suzuki range.
A couple of years go on a couple of occasions I saw a blue Subaru Justy 4wd that was based on this design.
Mine was, I think a 1991 model. It was more like a Mk2, with the back end being the same. It had a 1.3 injected four cylinder engine, and I think the nicest five speed I've driven in any front wheel drive car. Unfortunately, I believe it came from a part of the country that got more rust than we do here, and that killed it. I do remember it fondly though.
My 1st car was a red 5 door with black bumpers, haha brilliant video, took me back 👍🏻
A cracking review Matt. It's strange how we forget the different design trends as they happen. 80's cars with a low window line and sharp edges blurring into the total opposite in a couple of years. Newer trends of course to not always mean better more practical designs. A higher window line with a kicked up rear body panel may looks trendy but it does the opposite for visibility and no I don't look at rear cameras as a mitigation for this. OK I'm old and sometimes I might not be as grumpy but I notice these things. Anyway the Swift has always been a great car and this one in the evolution of the model is no exception. Right, it's a warm day so I need to go outside with a winter coat done up as it might be trendy even though I may need medical attention before the days end. Many thanks for sharing.
taller sides Is mostly because of impact regulations. manufacturers or trends arent to blame really.
I noticed a few brands in the late '90s, early '00s didn't have badges or whatever on the wheels - Citroen didn't have logos on the Xsara wheels if I remember. The Baleno, if I remember didn't have a badge on the steering wheel or that. It was also sold as a Subaru Justy in the UK & Europe.
we did a garden clearance in a borrowed one of these as it had a tow bar, it didn't mind the abuse and went up the hills it had too. I remember not getting my head around 3 cylinders (that was for 1500 dolomites and yet another failed head gasket)
There is a blue metallic 1.3 GS in my street, hasn't moved in at least 10 years. Always like the design of this gen 2 Swift. Another great review Matt, enjoyed it!
Leave a note on it and make them an offer!
I had one as my first car. P reg, 3 door, bright red. Your video brought back lots of fun memories! Loved that little car
It was also sold witb 4WD as the Mk2 Subaru Justy. Externally it was only the badges that were different.
The seat material reminds me of Keith Haring, which was part of popular culture in the 90`s (although dates back to the 80`s, obviously!). Seeing this has reminded me of a 1984 Daihatsu turbo diesel I saw locally back in 2014 (A806KLU). Its been SORN`d since 2017, but hasnt changed hands.. That then reminded me of another local Mk1 Swift, E920OMD, which has been put on SORN as its within the extended London ULEZ (the elderly owner also has a Hillman Hunter estate, which is ULEZ exempt).. Anyway, I`m going off on tangents, sorry!
The Aussie swift/barina had a different front end design. It had a small slit for the grille, larger slits under the bumper and the slit grille went from light to light. It looks so much more angry than the Brit one. Hehe
Revised front shows this.
Grew up on the backseat of one of these, such fun little cars. Love the typical "boring" 90's Japanese interior.
We had a 2003 1.0 GLS, it was unquestionably the most fun car I ever owned. Skinny tyres, light weight, good gear ratios, three cylinder noise and no power steering, I grinned every time I drove it. It got scrapped because it was rusting away before our eyes 😢
I see this is a one litre three door, a variant we never got in Barbados, so at first I thought this was the 1.3 GS, the sporty looking 3-door, that the dealers told me I would have to settle with instead of a GTi owing to the fact I was 23 at the time and insurance premiums on the GTi were through the roof once you were under 25. I do know several people who had these as first cars and there are a surprising number of them still on the road today, particularly the entry level one litre model. I remember how "futuristic" it looked next to its predecessor in 1988 and I found it particularly interesting that Subaru rebadged it for the European market.
My dad bought a Suzuki Swift like this for £400 in 2012, a year later he traded it in for £200, to buy a £750 Peugeot 206 1.9 non turbo diesel 😅. He kept the pug until he bought a Lexus IS.
I preferred the first interior of the Mark 2 Swift, this rounder version is also nice but not as futuristic as the first dashboard. This dashboard flowed over into the doors with the side vents in the doors instead of the dashboard. In general I loved all mark 2 Swifts including the sedan which had a serious booth for the size while not becoming a big car. My parents almost bought one but in the end they went for a Jetta (worse car ever, probably made on a Monday). And there was also the zippy GTI version. To bad they don't make such cars anymore.
My brother had one the same but his was an 03 model incredible reliable but his had gone that lovely shade of sun bleached pink.
My ex sister in law as the old Subaru 4WD version for bombing around the farm no longer road legal
I had a 1.3 GTi from new back in 1990, that's what you need to try if you can find one that's not been messed with.
A good little car. The GTi was a real hoot to belt around. Looked cool too with the bodykit screwed on.
Lovely, the 1.3 GTi was underrated
I had one from the same year and it really surprised me that it had no air bags. Anyway, it was great fun to drive and so reliable.
I have one, a left-hand drive Japanese import from 1995.
No Gti on the mark 3. Think the one you are driving maybe imported?? Not sure. Gti mark 1 and two that i owned. Thinking about this though makes me think that's the mark 4???
This is a Mk2, GTi wasnt in every country. This was sold new in the UK and is owned by Suzuki now
Only new car I ever bought was a 1989 swift gti, 100bhp from a 16v 1.3 with a nearly 8000rpm red line was high tec for the time. It would be interesting to know what they're worth now if there's any left
I have a 91 GLS that has a better spec and interior than this model i think you are right about the lack of badges the last of the uk models were produced in Hungary and India mine also has the trailblazer between the rear lights the only problem is parts in the uk are very difficult to obtain i had to import two rear arms from the USA the postage was eye watering.
Lovely car! Introduced in 1989. In the Netherlands, we also got the sedan version. Not in UK?
Denmark also got the sedan version with 1,3 and 1,6 and 3 and 5 doors 1,0 - 1,6
no I dont think we did, I thought it was USA and far east only!
We also had the sedan here in Hungary as swifts were manufactured in the town of Esztergom. They were and are seen as more upmarket and posh than the hatchback.
I had multiple swifts, pretty frugal and lightweight so low in taxes but refinement was absent, they were noisy, they could rust pretty bad and they did understeer a lot when driven a bit more enthusiastically. They were fun little cars though.
They always reminded me of the Citroen AX which was also quite a tinny car.
I’ve had four of them, including one of the first to come into the country.
Great video and still see odd one, sure there a weird lime shade one kicking around near me
I owed one mine was a 1997 1.0 litre in green as my first car, I called her Suki. I loved it.
I really enjoy your review style.
I wish they would make cars like this again.
i had a '91 1.3 4cyl. automatic. This if i am correct is a later facelift
It was a 3-speed auto on the 1.2 and a 4-speed on the 1.6. The 1.0 didn't have an automatic option, at least not in Belgium.
@@AlexisTichko I've got a 1.0 automatic, it's a little slow... But fun to drive and extremely rare in the UK.
Great little sporty driving cars.
The front seats look amazing and total overkill for such a car.
AKA The Chevrolet Sprint / Pontiac Firefly in Canada, Geo Metro in the USA.
Really would have loved the mk1 review to be like this
In what way?
Just wanted a interior review of mk1
Because I have a mk1 and want to restore the interior to be stock
My parents had one of these in the exact colour, they did the job.
Passed my test in on of these wish I could have got one for my first car
Nice little car
Another great video has always matt 👍
This car was produced and sold for 18 years (last batch in 2017) in my country pakistan i just bought a used one today new parts in my country are very cheap for this.
My mate had a Black F plate GTi it was an extremely quick car for what it was
You may not be able to find one to drive, but if you can, a drive in the Swift GTi is highly recommended!
Good gosh Matt , BORING today ? Never !!! You were boring 5 years ago but are much less boring now for sure 😂, kinda tolerable at least 😁. Many Car guys are fonts of information, some useless , some interesting 😁, I kinda err on the latter with you Matt 😂😂, very interesting video and love this car 🚗, am Ofc being sarcastic and Matt knows that 🫣, I hope 😂😂👌🏻.
Hölgyeim és uraim a mi autónk! 🇭🇺
Also they made this as a 4 wheel drive Just in the uk.......
the wrong-way-round indicators remained on the Jimny until about 2008! I think the 1st gen Baleno also had them for its production
For a right hand drive car, indicator stalk on the right is the better set-up - your left hand's busy enough with the gearstick and you're going to use your indicators more often than your wipers (even in the UK!) - it can usually be done with a flick of the fingers.
This car sells for 1200-2200€ in Greece now.
Mark 3
No, facelift mk2
We have a ton of these in Finland! :)