Suzuki Swace – a likeable, comfortable and practical choice

WHEN it comes to cars not everyone is after a sleek, sporty or uber-luxurious model designed for the fashion-conscious motorist. Some people just want a nice car, decent amounts of standard equipment and the space to carry the family, and capable for runs to the garden centre and maybe a bit of work-related travel in there as well. With those thoughts in mind, I have been driving a perfect candidate for the role.

Suzuki’s relatively new Swace is a comfortable and very well-equipped estate that looks smart and comes with more than a degree of practicality. Based on Toyota’s Corolla Touring the Suzuki incarnation has some subtle styling tweaks and a straightforward range of two trim levels, one engine choice and few options.

Standard fare on the lead-in version includes climate, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, main beam assist, auto lights, keyless start, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, intelligent cruise control and rear parking camera. There’s no built-in navigation, but you can use the maps app on your iPhone or Android smartphone.

The 1.8-litre petrol engine is mated to a self-charging system for the on-board battery to provide a hybrid drive that ensures low Co2 emissions, great fuel economy and three drive modes. The Swace is no performance machine, it isn’t meant to be, but has no problem nipping past slower traffic. The CVT automatic transmission occasionally becomes rather audible, it’s a trait of these systems that on hard acceleration the revs rise while the forward motion takes a second or two to catch up, but otherwise it’s a very smooth and efficient system.

As one might expect from Suzuki the build quality is good and there’s a general premium feel throughout, along with particularly comfortable seats. It’s fair to say that the graphics on the touchscreen do look a little dated and some of the accompanying buttons are a tad fiddly. However, the good news is there are buttons, as opposed to a touchscreen for everything, and those on the touchscreen apart they are clear and well laid out.

Prices for the Swace start at €32,753/£27,499 and for the level of standard equipment and space represents particularly good value. It’s a very likeable, comfortable and practical choice that doesn’t stint on features and doesn’t bewilder with numerous options, largely because of the high levels of standard equipment. It makes a compelling case as a first-class family holdall.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Suzuki Swace SZ5

Engine: 1.8-litre self-charging petrol/electric hybrid

Gears: CVT Automatic

Performance: 0-100 km/h (62 mph) 11.1 seconds/Maximum Speed 180 km/h (112 mph)

Economy: 4.4l/100km (64.2 mpg) Combined driving (WLTP)

Emissions: 99 g/km (WLTP)

Price: €34,926/ £29,299

Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

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