Mike Humble

“A thoroughly decent and well engineered car that besides its rather plain interior packs a hell of a lot of value and comfort inside it”

Suzuki have been working in partnership for a number of years now with a number of different manufacturers. This working alliance with bigger companies gets a larger portfolio of vehicles into the range brochures for a much smaller cost. The Suzuki Swace is another example of this being unashamedly nothing more than a Toyota Corolla with different badges. Benefiting from all of the latest Toyota updates, the Swace has nothing to be ashamed about when it comes to sharing the platform with the Corolla – the latter being a respected and well established car on the whole. Rather like the alliance between Toyota and Subaru with their GT / GR86 models and the BRZ, the architecture of the business deal states that Toyota has the whip hand, insofar as Suzuki are limited in the number of models available and the numbers in which they sell.

Built at the Derbyshire plant in Burnaston, the Swace comes only as an estate car and the last time I tried the Corolla on which it’s based, I had little cause for concern. First impressions are just as you would expect from a Japanese engineered / British assembled car – the styling is certainly of an Asian flavour but you’ll have little to complain about with the quality. Really nice paintwork and close consistent shut lines are all around the car to see and be appreciated. Swace is hardly styled to titivate or excite, a little bit bland some might say but the vista is inoffensive, smart and edging on the side of business-like. In fact, during my period with the car and living not far from Gatwick airport, I have noticed a good few of them plying their trade as mini-cabs – again, a good thing really.

Ask any business driver about the paramount factors being required of a vehicle and the top answers will be comfort and reliability. Any car that can happily run around the clock being double shifted or soaking up 20,000 miles or more annually will develop a solid friendship between man and machine very quickly. The Swace offers more than just a subconscious feeling of dogged reliability too. For me, its supremely comfortable, well equipped, cruises with a level of smoothness seen rarely this side of an old Citroen CX and represents really good value for money. The Suzuki dealer network may not be as big as Toyota but having personal and family-wide experience with them, Suzuki dealers tend to be smaller business enterprises that offer personal feeling customer care – again, a good thing.

Driving the Swace is a nice reminder of how cars used to be in terms of ride comfort. Almost everything you drive these days seems to set up for track days with their ultra low profile tyres and kart-like ride. What use this is with all of our roads broken and pot-hole ridden is I just don’t know. The Swace benefits with a more sensible choice of tyre and wheel profile along with a longer than average suspension travel. There may be noticeable body roll if you corner hard and the steering may lack the finite sensation of a Caterham, but this is a family sized estate car used for transporting passengers or commercial goods and chattels. Stick to what this kind of car is meant to do and you’ll be rewarded with good ride comfort, very little tyre roar to annoy the rear seat passengers and generally a very pleasant environment to be in, even for hours on end.

Continuing on the interior, Swace is blessed with sumptuous cushioning on the seats and the front pair are right up with the best in its class. You’ll also find heated front seats with plenty of adjustment so getting the ‘just so’ comfort level won’t be a problem. Rear seat space is pretty commendable although taller passengers may find headroom a bit of a pinch owing to the sloping shape of the roofline. Pop open the tailgate and Swace offers almost 600 litres of cargo capacity with the rear seat up topping out at a whisker over 1200 litres with the seat folded flat, a 60/40 split of course is there too along with a hidey-hole under floor from the redundant spare wheel well. 

So there you have it, the Suzuki Swace – A thoroughly decent and well engineered car that besides its rather plain looks packs a lot of value and comfort inside it. It’s lovely to drive, refined, well made and has all the technological know-how from Toyota at a price tag that undercuts the Corolla. The driveline is great too thanks to sympathetic regenerative braking that doesn’t jolt or lurch and the cutting in and out of the engine when cruising is almost unnoticeable. Not the most inspirational car by any means, but a very difficult one not to like or enjoy once you’ve spent an hour or two behind the wheel.

What do YOU think? Tell us by scrolling down and commenting.

THE HUMBLE OPINION:

“Being blessed with the minerals of a company with more hybrid knowledge than most, the Swace is a superb machine when it comes to general refinement and practicality. It even manages to undercut the car it is based on too. Shame there is only one engine option and two models (and it comes with a shorter warranty) but what you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabout as they say.

Good value, good comfort and impressive build quality not to mention decent fuel consumption too all adds to the package. Also, a network of really friendly and helpful dealers will keep you on the right tracks should you need them. All in all – a very pleasant car to drive” 

SPECS:

Engine: 1.8 16v with 102PS & 142Nm of torque

Driveline: CVT gearbox with 70kw  & 185Nm electric motor – Front wheel drive

Economy / Emissions: 62.7 mpg* (58 on test) 102g/km Euro 6D

Performance*: 0 – 62mph in 9.4 seconds with 112mph maximum

Luggage Space: 596 to 1232 litres

Warranty: 3 years + 100,000 mile service activated warranty – See manufacturer for information

Price as tested: £31,999 (price starts at £29,999)

WHATS GREAT?

• Lovely refinement when cruising
• Front seats are supportive and oh so comfortable
• Good economy
• Barely noticeable switch over between engine and electric drive
• Well equipped
• Impressive overall build quality
• Value for money

WHAT GRATES?

• Infotainment a little slow and old fashioned
• Lifeless steering
• Built for comfort not for speed when it comes to roadholding
• Looks a little plain and unexciting inside
• Very small model range
• A bit noisy when driven hard

OVERALL RATING: 7/10

Our thanks to Jess and Alun at Suzuki GB PLC

For further info on the Swace or other Suzuki models CLICK HERE