Back in 2017, 21 years old and fresh out of university, I’d just landed my first proper adult job as a motoring journalist. To celebrate, as any car enthusiast would, I decided to spend my first big-boy money on a car that was fun, reasonably nice, and yet still not ruinous to insure.
A short search landed me behind the wheel of a 2010 Suzuki Swift Sport, intended to offer a few laughs while my insurance dropped to the point that I could justify something properly. Six (and a half) years on, though, I still hold the keys…
Why? Well, here are a few answers.
You can pin it (almost) everywhere without getting into trouble
The beauty of only having 123bhp on tap, and only once you’re up to 6,800rpm, is you really have to be on it to get the most out of the M16A.
Getting up there is a whole lot of fun, though – particularly once the VVT does its thing for a discount VTEC experience – and a surprisingly throaty soundtrack just adds to the experience.
It’s playful on the limit
Weighing just 1.1 tonnes and being as stubby as a French bulldog, pin the Swift through corners, and it’s addictively fun.
With a car like this, you soon learn that momentum is key to getting the most from it, and it’s rewarding to do so. Steering isn’t dead-sharp, but it’s responsive enough and has a nice weight to it – offering quite a bit of feedback in the process. I’m reliably told *loud throat-clearing noises* if you provoke it hard enough at roundabouts, it’s receptive to lift-off oversteer. Again, so I’m told.
It’s refreshingly analog compared with the new stuff
It’s hard to say this without coming across as pretentious, but with part of this job involving week after week of test cars (far from a complaint), it’s easy to become quite jaded by how well-sorted and faultless the new stuff is.
When I do hop back into the Swift, it’s refreshing how simple it is. There’s no driving mode trickery, no fake sounds, and not tonnes of equipment – just a fun, characterful, and delightfully imperfect driving experience that many modern hot hatches seem to be missing.
I’m addicted to the gear shift
Of every car I’ve driven, I can name the three best manual shifts easily. The first is a Porsche 911 GT3, and then there’s the ND Mazda MX-5, and following that, my Swift.
Call me nuts, but try it, and I reckon you’ll understand. It doesn’t have the shortest throw, but there’s a very satisfying notch to the five-speed ‘box. I’d argue (maybe wrongly to most) that it feels just a bit nicer than an FK8 Type R’s, and I love that thing.
This is the car I taught myself to heel and toe with, too. This isn’t a claim to me being anything more than adequate at the technique, but it’s easy and rewarding to do on the Swift – particularly with all of its power being made high in the revs.
Running costs aren’t dramatic
With the exception of desiring a 98 RON minimum (all but one tank in my ownership has been Shell V-Power), the Swift doesn’t cost me an absolute bomb to run, considering the performance it offers.
Road tax comes in at £240, which isn’t that horrible, and insurance (with the exception of my first year at 21) has remained cheaper compared with any other exciting car I can find at a similar value.
Hardly anything has gone wrong, either. In fact, after six years, the only things it’s needed are new coil springs all-round (thanks, potholes), a new rear brake line, a fresh set of tires, and – only recently – new discs and pads.
EP3 Civic Type Rs are getting too expensive
If I’m being completely honest, I would really, really like an EP3 Honda Civic Type R. That car lives rent-free in my head.
That said, tidy examples are getting ridiculously priced – most are nearing £10,000, and I recently saw an (albeit mint) example going for £16,000. Sure, prices will only go up, but the idea of driving a car as an investment doesn’t interest me – though at the same time, I know the values will loom on my mind when I just want to enjoy driving it.
With 45,000 miles(ish, and don’t look at the speedo – it had a replacement which never had the original 11-ish thousand miles added back…), my Swift should lean on the higher side for first-gen values around the £4-5k mark, but good luck getting a nice EP3 for anything close to that.
The cheesy, emotional stuff
When you’ve had something so integral to daily life as a car for over six years, naturally, it’s going to get under your skin and play a part in important moments. The Swift is no exception.
It’s the car I drove to my University graduation, the car that served as an escape from four bleak walls during Covid lockdowns, the car that took me to meet my nephews for the first time, and the car I had the most ‘alive’ drive of my life in the hour following a relationship break-up (which happened in it, too). I could go on. Each memory just makes it that little bit harder to think of parting with.
It’ll be there for some more big moments. I’ve got one penciled in – my first holiday abroad for a drive to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. If plans work out, a first visit to the Nürburgring in the next year or so, too. Here’s to the next six years, probably.