1998 Suzuki Swift GLS review from Italy
"A partial delusion, for the service and the reliability"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
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.
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| Sporty car, that the girls like, and the boys make fun of |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.0 three cylinder Manual |
| Performance marks | 9 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 20000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Opel Kadett |
| Date of Entry | 5th July, 2001 |