By Ian Strachan.
Suzuki has long been known as a manufacturer of well-specified small cars and competent off-roaders. Now the company has expanded its appeal with a presence in new sectors. The excellent Suzuki Swace is an example of the Japanese company’s ambitions.
The Suzuki Swace is Suzuki’s medium estate car offering. This British-built new entrant is based on the Toyota Corolla Hybrid following the Japanese giant’s collaborative business agreement with Suzuki.
The Swace differs from the Corolla with a re-designed front end and Suzuki signature badging inside and out. The collaboration works and the result is a welcome addition to Suzuki’s range.
The Swace comes as a hybrid powered by a 1.8 litre 102 PS petrol engine, coupled to a powerful 53kw electric motor which powers the car when the petrol engine isn’t required. The switch from petrol to electric and back is seamless. The engine is married to a stepless automatic gearbox.
With electric assistance you get impressive fuel economy. Published figures for combined driving are 64.2 mpg. CO2 emissions are low at 99 g/km.
I test drove the Swace in SZ5 trim level, which gives you 16-inch alloy wheels, all-round airbags, dual-zone air conditioning, a multimedia audio system with Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity via an eight-inch touchscreen, heated front seats and parking camera, park assist, front and rear distance sensors, blind spot monitor. This spec comes at £29,299 on the road.
Annoyingly – and this is my only criticism of this excellent estate – the Swace SZ5, despite its high specification and price, comes without a satnav. This is now indispensable accessory. Not everyone has a smartphone with a navigation app.
Apart from that grumble, the cabin of the Swace is a very pleasant place to be, thanks to a good use of trim materials and simple, well-placed instruments and dials. There’s lots of oddment space, and all controls fall easily to hand. Space for driver and front seat passenger is generous and rear head and legroom is good. There’s a large 596-litre luggage compartment, with underfloor space where the spare wheel would normally be. Folding the split rear seats gives you a cavernous 1,606 litres of luggage space.
Performance from the 1.8 unit is more than adequate, with no flat spots across the range. The engine never felt under strain, and handling is confident and controlled.
This stylish, versatile and sporty-looking estate is a welcome addition to Suzuki’s range. Suzuki says its plan is to sell 2000 units a year in the UK. It deserves to sell a lot more.
