Suzuki’s updated estate impresses Ian Lamming so much he recommends it to friends
SITTING in the car with an old chum he tells me he’s thinking of changing his motor and asks what he should get.
“How about one of these?” is my reply, as we sit in the newly updated Suzuki Swace. But his last two cars have both been diesels and have each done 100,000+ miles. “You definitely need one of these then,” I say, and he asks why.
Firstly, it’s a Suzuki so the build will be last-forever-bombproof. Secondly, it’s a hybrid so your fuel economy will not only be good, it will be better than a diesel, be cheaper to fuel and emit fewer nasty particulates.
Bimble around town and along minor roads and the trip computer reads 99.9mpg, which is as good as you can get. Use the considerable combined performance of petrol and electric motors, on swift mixed motoring, and this wonder of modern technology still gets more than 60 miles per gallon.
In around two weeks I travel almost 2,500 miles in the Swace which means I spend more than £260 on fuel. If I had done the same mileage with the previous week’s test car, which only managed 30mpg, I would have spent more than £500 – ouch. Thanks Swace, you do a sterling job.
The newly updated Swace, which is a medium-sized estate car by the way, is so impressive. For 30K there can be no better car in every way.
Those people who know there cars will recognise it as a reskinned Toyota Corolla Estate; no bad starting point. But it gets a distinctively Suzuki nose, with signature lights, that makes it striking on the road. Its clean lines and quality sheen allow it to hold its head up high in any company.
It’s the same inside; smart, functional, well-equipped and very, very comfortable, just the ticket for the journeys I’m having to cover during this busy period of the year.
One day I travel 280 miles, the last 75 of which are seriously cross-country on some of the best driving roads you will come across. Swace simply excels because it is fast and surefooted, with accurate, well-weighted steering, a brilliant powerplant which is super-smooth and torquey and fantastic ride. It is engaging and a lot of fun yet relaxing andcosseting as well. When I arrive back home, still feeling fresh and exhilarated, the trip computer makes me smile with its 60mpg readout – brilliant.
Updated Swace gets enhanced safety and equipment specification and improved digital and multimedia features.
Standard specification is higher than the model it replaces and includes emergency driving stop system, LED rear lamps, seven airbags, dual zone automatic air conditioning, eight-inch LCD colour information screen, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, smart phone link for wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto device connectivity, rear parking camera, new digital instrument cluster with three display modes, type C USB port and dynamic radar cruise control.
The new Ultra spec adds updated Bi-LED projector headlights, safe exit assist, smart door locking, front and rear park distance sensors, blind spot monitor, rear cross traffic alert, interior ambient lighting, and centre console tray with wireless charger.
It doesn’t have sat nav so you have to plug your phone in and use Google maps, but that’s fine.
The load bay is impressive too and huge when you drop the back seats down making it a fabulous workhorse. There are a couple of cubbyholes to the side of the main load bay floor which prove ideal for my long lens and I don’t have to worry about it rolling around in the back.
The Suzuki Swace was the perfect partner for what was a tough couple of weeks on the road. To be honest I was sorry to see it go because I loved every aspect of this authentic estate car. I just hope my chum takes my advice and gets one.
Fact File
Suzuki Swace Ultra
Engine: 1.8 petrol plus electric motor
Power: 140HP
0-62mph: 9.4 secs
Top speed: 112mph
Combined MPG: 62.7
Transmission: E-CVT auto
CO2 g/km: 102
Price: £30,799.00
