Calling Suzuki Swift Sport owners!

Calling Suzuki Swift Sport owners!

Author
Discussion

Helical

Original Poster:

189 posts

102 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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My current steer is a lightly modified S2000, which Ive had for about 5 years. I've no great desire to get shot of it, but, inevitably I will want another car and, inevitably I will want to be better. Which means saving...

So I'm considering selling the Honda now (at a time when I don't want to as such), buying something cheaper to run/tax/insure and running that for a few years whilst I attempt to save for the next rung up the performance ladder - whatever that may be.

I like the idea of a used Swift very much. Nimble, exploitable chassis, generally well regarded, and it seems an '07 can be bought for around 3k. LEts say I sell the honda for 8k, thats a start in the savings pot.

But I've never driven one or run one. Any owners care to comment?
I guess I'm mostly interested in how often you have the fill thing. I currently do ~250miles/week and roughly speaking am at the petrol station every week at a cost of £50-60 to fill up again. How much can I expect to save on fuel alone??

Ta

Edited by Helical on Monday 8th October 10:58

cj2013

1,409 posts

133 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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You'd probably be best to try for yourself - have a test drive, view a few.

Don't rule out a Panda 100HP, especially now they're getting cheaper. Cheap in every aspect, but also practical. Closest thing I've had in terms of getting that early-mid 90's hot hatch feeling back.

Also good looking imo, but that's highly subjective

Helical

Original Poster:

189 posts

102 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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How much does it cost to fill up/how many miles do you get out a tank?

anonymous-user

61 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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A car that I keep thinking about, but the MK1's are only 5 speed, what are the revs at 70 MPH?

cj2013

1,409 posts

133 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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Helical said:
How much does it cost to fill up/how many miles do you get out a tank?
It's been a while since I had mine, but I found it easy to get 40mpg, even with "hooning" in it. Was closer to 35 with more around town driving. Read plenty who didn't get that, but also seem to get the impression they valued "mods" over servicing, so.....

Cost to fill is only an indication of tank size and means nothing (unless you plan on commuting USA style), but I think the tank is around 35 litres.


This was mine. Was well specced from factory with the kit, wheels, tinted windows, 6 speed box, bluetooth, ac & climate, etc.




Would have one in my 10 car garage, and I've owned and driven a lot of different cars.

NorthernSky

1,005 posts

124 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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This is very, very coincidental. I was looking at Swift (sports) yesterday and this morning as a daily, as also have an S2000 and really shouldn't be putting any wet winter miles on it, so... I guess I'll be following your thread and taking on the advice as well!

From what I've read so far, the mk1 versions can have some interior rattle noise so check for that if you test one out - you won't want this on your commute. 35-40 mpg seems the norm. The mk2 cars from 2012 onwards have a few more HP but are still N/A engines, and apparently get even better fuel economy, more like 45-50 on longer journeys. Road noise is a complaint for the mk1, and as already mentioned the 5th gear isn't ideal, sitting at 70mph at 4,000 rpm means it'll be noisy.

Decent mk2 swift sports start at about 5k for 50-60k mile cars, but obviously this goes against your saving aims. Speaking of which, maybe wait until April/May next year to sell the s2000 and take advantage of the good weather we (might) get?

Edited by NorthernSky on Monday 8th October 12:09

rossub

4,845 posts

197 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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You'll get newer than 07 for £3k. I'd be letting my White 2011 70k miler go for that, but that'll only be when my Forester arrives from Japan (February probably).

I'm getting low 30s mpg, which is not as good as I'd hoped but not a disaster either.

Helical

Original Poster:

189 posts

102 months

Monday 8th October 2018
quotequote all
NorthernSky said:
This is very, very coincidental. I was looking at Swift (sports) yesterday and this morning as a daily, as also have an S2000 and really shouldn't be putting any wet winter miles on it, so... I guess I'll be following your thread and taking on the advice as well!

From what I've read so far, the mk1 versions can have some interior rattle noise so check for that if you test one out - you won't want this on your commute. 35-40 mpg seems the norm. The mk2 cars from 2012 onwards have a few more HP but are still N/A engines, and apparently get even better fuel economy, more like 45-50 on longer journeys. Road noise is a complaint for the mk1, and as already mentioned the 5th gear isn't ideal, sitting at 70mph at 4,000 rpm means it'll be noisy.

Decent mk2 swift sports start at about 5k for 50-60k mile cars, but obviously this goes against your saving aims. Speaking of which, maybe wait until April/May next year to sell the s2000 and take advantage of the good weather we (might) get?

Edited by NorthernSky on Monday 8th October 12:09
That really is a coincidence!!

Some good info there - cheers.

colin79666

1,975 posts

120 months

Monday 8th October 2018
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Mk1 wants 98/99 Ron so you have to factor that into running costs too. I had a mk2 for a couple of years, 6th gear makes for better cruising and the engine was slightly modified to take 95 Ron and a minor hp increase.

FIREBIRDC9

746 posts

144 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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Joey Deacon said:
A car that I keep thinking about, but the MK1's are only 5 speed, what are the revs at 70 MPH?
4k

I try and avoid Motorways in mine!

rossub

4,845 posts

197 months

Tuesday 9th October 2018
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Have to say that rattles, squeaks and high revs never bother me in cars. Music is always loud enough that I don’t notice smile

Mezzanine

9,667 posts

226 months

Wednesday 10th October 2018
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I am currently looking at a Mk2 SSS.

Can any current owners tell me if the Bluetooth interface is telephone only or can you stream music from your phone too?


colin79666

1,975 posts

120 months

Wednesday 10th October 2018
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Mezzanine said:
I am currently looking at a Mk2 SSS.

Can any current owners tell me if the Bluetooth interface is telephone only or can you stream music from your phone too?
Keep in mind the 2012-2013 cars has a more basic head unit, 2014 onwards got something more fancy with sat nav. If I recall correctly (I had a 2013) it could do either but I could never get it to pair for phone and music at the same time.

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

262 months

Thursday 11th October 2018
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FIREBIRDC9 said:
Joey Deacon said:
A car that I keep thinking about, but the MK1's are only 5 speed, what are the revs at 70 MPH?
4k

I try and avoid Motorways in mine!
One of the things that put me off the first generation Sport, even though I much prefer the styling to the 2011-> version. However you can get an aftermarket longer 5th gear for the box, and it doesn't look difficult to fit.

tomv1to

144 posts

174 months

Thursday 18th October 2018
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colin79666 said:
Keep in mind the 2012-2013 cars has a more basic head unit, 2014 onwards got something more fancy with sat nav. If I recall correctly (I had a 2013) it could do either but I could never get it to pair for phone and music at the same time.
I have a 2017 and the head unit displays the graphics from Spotify and will answer calls and if I'm using the sat nav it dims the music. I don't really use the sat nav itself very often though, it has a habit of crashing and it's nowhere near as useful as Waze. I would be tempted to change out the hi fi to a different unit.

dapper

189 posts

82 months

Thursday 15th November 2018
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Not been any replies for a while but thought I would just chip in.

Currently own a 2010 Swift Sport (ZC31S).

Can't really estimate a mileage I do per week but around 12k per year, fill up with Tesco Momentum only at about £20-£40 a week depending on if I travel to places other than just work and back. (37.5 MPG reported)

Overall the 4k revs whilst at 70 is a bit of a pain but you get used to it, music can easily drain it out.
The drive in the car is a lot of fun and can be taken around a few B-Roads to enjoy.

In mine I have a aftermarket head unit in place as imo the stock looks hideous.

Any further information I'm happy to provide.

PaulV

315 posts

233 months

Friday 16th November 2018
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We have a 2006, have had it for 18 months now. It is showing 124k miles now.

Using either Tesco 99 or Sainsbury's premium we can get up to 40mpg, however we normally get early/mid 30s as we use the car for various club motorsport events (12-Car tonight, Targa on Sunday).

There have been a few rattles, I have generally just packed out behind the offending part with something soft.

Reliability is good, I have not had to do much impromptu work other than CV boots.

The engine always ticks for a bit on cold start up - is normal.
The drivers seat bolster material gets worn through.

We run on 15" wheels now rather than the standard 17", is a bit low but is better overall.



Slushbox

1,484 posts

112 months

Friday 16th November 2018
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tomv1to said:
I have a 2017 and the head unit displays the graphics from Spotify and will answer calls and if I'm using the sat nav it dims the music. I don't really use the sat nav itself very often though, it has a habit of crashing and it's nowhere near as useful as Waze. I would be tempted to change out the hi fi to a different unit.
I've got the same SLDA head unit in my 2017 Baleno. There are a couple of European software updates for it on the interwebs, including one for Android Auto. Mine doesn't crash.

Agree that a smarphone is probably more use, I wouldn't have paid extra for the SLDA, but it was 'free' with the car. It pays stuff on shuffle from a USB stick and the sound quality seems OK. Phone integration for calls is OK.

Map updates are on Ebay at £40 or so. I haven't bothered with those, either. :-)





Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

262 months

Friday 16th November 2018
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PaulV said:
The engine always ticks for a bit on cold start up - is normal.
My 2013 Sport is a bit noisy from cold, but very quiet when warmed up. As you say it's to be expected from having solid lifters with shim adjustment rather than hydraulic. I typical get between 40-45mpg, though managed to average 48mpg for several weeks by just avoiding any hard acceleration and keeping RPM as low as possible.

I have only one major gripe with the car; the ECU mapping.

1) It's ridiculously sluggish when the engine is cold and ambient temperatures are low, and feels like it's running lean despite the coolant sensor reporting quite reasonable values via OBD2, and also a new MAF sensor (which did help a little). From what others have said on the now defunct Swift Sport forum this appears to be "normal" behaviour. I'm not trying to thrash it from cold BTW, just normal driving.

2) The ECU occasionally interferes with the use of engine braking by opening the throttle slightly. This is quite uncomfortable as changing down before entering a bend (the the engine at a fairly high rpm) results in almost no retardation. Likewise descending steep hills can require more use of brakes as changing down often does nothing except increase RPM. Does anyone know if this can be fixed by a remap without ruining the economy?

Low Pro

202 posts

168 months

Friday 23rd November 2018
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For commuting make sure you go for a Swift with a 6 speed gearbox the extra ratio will keep the noise down. Also the 5 speed boxes are weaker on the early mk1s.
A few months ago EVO mag did a buyers guide for the NA swift and concluded that its a great buy, cheap, reliable and fun. Plus it won't be as hard to break the traffic laws as your Honda!