Suzuki reveals prices and specs of its hotter new Swift Sport

Suzuki has revealed the pricing and details of the new third-generation Swift Sport which is being launched in SA this week.

The new "warm hatch" version of the compact hatchback has ditched its normally aspirated 1.6-litre engine in favour of a 1.4 turbo Boosterjet engine packing outputs of 103kW and 230Nm.

The power is marginally up from the previous 100kW but the new engine gets a whopping torque boost, up from the former 160Nm.

The car is also 80kg lighter with a kerb weight of just 970kg. All this makes it capable of a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 205km/h.

The Swift Sport gains beefed-up suspension and a racy body kit, and inside it’s set apart by sports seats, red inlays, a flat-bottomed steering wheel as well as additional gauges for boost and oil temperature.

Power is transmitted to the front wheels via either a six-speed manual or six-speed auto gearbox.

Prices are R315,900 for the manual and R335,900 for the auto, which include a five-year/200,000km warranty and four-year/60,000km service plan.

We’re attending the Swift Sport launch this week, so stay tuned for driving impressions.