1999 Suzuki Swift 1.0 GLS 1.0

Summary:

A total waste of money

Faults:

Squeaks on the dashboard.

Both the power windows broken.

Driver's seat distorted.

Rumours from the brakes during the drive (not during the braking action!)

Clutch broken at 8000 km, with a quiet drive.

The exhaust system rattles.

Very thin paint (easy to scratch).

The most recent defect: grave loss of oil from the hydroamplifier.

Loss of screws in the interior.

All this on a NEW car.

General Comments:

Nothing to say, except for a very bad dealer.

If you want a reliable car and you want to take easily the spare parts, don't buy a Suzuki.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 16th April, 2002

1998 Suzuki Swift GLS 1.0 three cylinder

Summary:

A partial delusion, for the service and the reliability

Faults:

Dashboard squeaks on the conjunctions of the road. Not resolved under the warranty, resolved by me with a rubber element and with an expander.

Head cushion unstitched after two months of life. Resolved by me to not lose time.

Exhaust system shakes also on the little holes of the road, especially with one person in the back seat and with the heat. Not resolved under the warranty, resolved by me with a modification of the support.

Front brakes noisy (without braking), changed at 5000 km. After 1000 km, the defect is back. Not resolved under the warranty, resolved by another non-Suzuki repair shop, with a simple regulation. The defect, sometimes, is back again, but now it's not important.

Clutch squeaks at 15000 km. The defect was not comprised under the warranty, although the defect appeared when the car was 8 months old.

Resolved by the dealer, but with an expense of 400.000 lire (200 dollars) by me.

Front seat distorted without making particular manouvres... OK, I'm 110 kg heavy... but this is not good for the distortion of the seat after only one year (I owned an Opel Kadett 1982 for TEN years without problems of this sort...)! Resolved under the warranty by the Suzuki dealer.

Strong rumour from the metal car body, left side. Resolved by me with a polyuretanic foam.

Rear door shakes: this is because the rear door lock needs to be tightened every three months.

Cover of the passenger air-bag deformed with the heat.

Screws of the back seat loosened.

Tires aged after only one year and 20.000 km at low speeds. Naturally, not comprised in the warranty.

General Comments:

This car is a good project: the steering is soft and precise enough, the gearshift is very rapid, the engine economic and quick at the low regimes.

But the assembling is very, very bad for a Japanese car (although assembled in Hungary). Also a Fiat Uno has a better level of construction.

The defect of the clutch was not recognized under the warranty by the importer, although the defect was appeared when the car was 8 months old.

Only the front seat was recognised totally under the warranty. The defect shows itself at irregular intervals, making difficult the recognition.

Now the car goes well enough, but the money for the original defect of the clutch, was spent nearly totally by me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th July, 2001

17th Apr 2005, 00:30

Without trying to offend anyone a small swift hatch is not designed to fit someone with a weight of over 110Kgs. I recently had a friend who must have weighed over 125kgs hop in the passenger seat and the whole car lurched to one side. During a 5 minute run I can say that he will never hop in my car again, the car is simply not designed for that amount of weight. I find it impossible that anyone of that size would be able to safely drive a swift the interior is too small to accommodate. I would say that many of the problems listed here are a result of this.

It's a Japanese car designed for people with half that weight.

7th Nov 2005, 15:42

A car, any car should take 110kg easy, it's a car not a kids toy. My Suzuki swift take my 120kg+ fine no problems.

2nd Jul 2009, 19:10

I love my little 1.3 Swift! the performance and handling is great for a 1.3 and it is very smooth through the gears and is not bad looking. They do have a shockingly cheap feel and things do quickly start falling off as well as having your back broken over any bumps. Fun first car, especially for the £500 I paid for it!