Is The New Suzuki Swift Sport Worth the Money?

Since its exit from the Malaysian market five years ago, Suzuki Motor Corporation has just appointed Naza as its sole distributor of the third-generation Suzuki Swift Sport. The vehicle was launched under the subsidiary company, Naza Eastern Motors. 

As a summary, the all-new Suzuki Swift Sport is offered in one variant which is powered by a 1.4-litre four-cylinder Boosterjet engine with six-speed automatic transmission that produces 140 hp at 5,500 rpm and 230 Nm from 2,500 to 3,500 rpm. The car is able to complete a century sprint in approximately eight seconds and a top speed of 205km/h. The Suzuki Swift Sport is priced at RM139,900 with a three years or 100,000 km whichever comes first factory warranty. 

Compared to the newest Suzuki Swift in Japan, it is definitely different in terms of the exterior. The Japan model rides on the same K12C 1.2-litre twin-injector Dualjet four-cylinder engine with five-speed manual or CVT transmission as its predecessor, producing 89 hp at 6,000 rpm and 118 Nm at 4,400 rpm. Pricing starts from 1,535,600 ¥ (RM62,000), which is half the price of the newest Malaysian model. 

Meanwhile, in contrast to its competitors in the Japanese and Korean market, the Honda City Hatchback (RM101,000) and the Hyundai Veloster N (RM133,000), it is far behind in terms of its safety features as well as performance. Priced similarly with the new Suzuki Swift Sport, these two models are equipped with features such as Hyundai SmartSense, different driving modes, and as well as Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) just to name a few. 

In our opinion, we definitely think that the pricing of the newest Malaysian model is slightly over the limit for a B-segment hatchback. Compared to vehicles with similar prices from different segments namely the Honda CR-V (RM139,912.53), Honda Civic (RM134,661.28) and the Mazda 3 (RM137,000), which offers a more comprehensive list of features and specifications that is not available to the Swift Sport, which does not come with any advanced driver system.

With the starting price of RM139,000, it might be hard for the third-generation model to make an impact in the market. With its average set of features and specifications, we can’t help to think on how it would go against competitors in the same segment, the Honda Jazz (RM84,955.45), Toyota Yaris (RM84,808.00) and Mazda 3 Liftback (RM137,000) which offers features such as ADAS features, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), and Traction Control. 

What are your thoughts of the new Suzuki Swift Sport? Will it stand up to its price point compared to its competitors? Are you anticipated with its upcoming release? Let us know down below. Till then, stay tuned for more news about the new Suzuki Swift Sport!

DISCLAIMER: All views expressed in this article are personal and belong solely to the author and do not represent any entity which the author is associated with in professional or personal capacity. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any entity.