The car has done very well in Ireland since, selling some 2,400 units. And now there's a new generation, which is all new except for one thing, the basic shape.
From the outside, although the essential shape is familiar, there are key changes in detail. The headlamps are a bit snazzier, as are the rear lights. There's extra width and height that gives it a bit more presence. The slightly more flared rear quarters provide some more elbow room inside. There's a longer wheelbase that stretches the look of the car in side view.
The business end of the interior has been subtly improved but the company has stuck to its original and kept it simple. Clear main dials and an uncluttered instruments binnacle impress. As also does the radio/CD combo, which gets my vote as the best I've used this year. Absolutely intuitive, classy and large buttons, and an info screen that is an exemplar of clarity.
There's a gently upgraded sense of perceived quality that sets this supermini at the upper levels of its segment in this regard. It was always good, and I think that there will be a significant takeup by current Swift owners because they feel comfortable about that quality already.
The new car is one of the cleanest petrol engine superminis on the market with emissions of just 116g/km and €104 road tax, compared to the previous model's 140g/km. The 1.2-litre 94hp unit offers improved sportiness, performance and handling.
The Swift comes here without start-stop, because it would cost €500 or so more for no real benefit to the owner. A diesel is upcoming next year, but I don't believe many will bother unless there are some substantial tweaks to the CO2 bands in the upcoming Budget.
At idle, this engine is uncannily quiet, to the point that until you get used to it you wonder if it has switched off. On the run it purrs happily, gives adequate performance for the class, and isn't fazed when there's a fuller load of three or four people. Compared to the previous engine it has marginally more power but a lot better fuel consumption.
The bit of extra width, combined with the car's low centre of gravity, makes it a real solid handler on most types of roads. In this guise it doesn't pretend to be a sporty car (there will be a sports variant down the road) so there's never the level of oomph to extend things even close to the car's limits.
People bought the older car for its style, the fact that it was roomy enough to take even tall passengers in the rear and in comfort, and it represented good overall value with strong residuals. All of the foregoing apply to the new one, each a little bit better.
It is also one of the safest cars in its class with ESP and seven airbags as standard in each model, resulting in a 5-Star Euro NCAP rating.
The car is priced from €14,650 for the 3-door GL to €17,550 for the 5-door GLX model with automatic transmission.
