Swift Sport warming up!

Plugging the gap between mundane light hatch and proper hot hatch is this second-generation Swift Sport, which looks almost identical to the Swift S Concept shown at the Geneva motor show in March. An aggressive front-bar with blacked-out nose, thick horizontal slats around the foglight surround and fifteen-spoke 17in alloys define the new circa-$23K warm hatch.

Suzuki is sticking with the 1.6-litre (M16A) four-cylinder engine, which now produces 100kW at 6900rpm and 160Nm at 4400rpm. Compared with the previous Swift Sport, which launched here in 2007, the new car’s extra 8kW is produced 100rpm higher, but the more substantial extra 12Nm is delivered 400rpm lower.

A new six-speed manual transmission also debuts, replacing the previous five-speed unit.

Wheelbase and track dimensions both mirror the regular Swift range, though the suspension will be firmed-up over the comfort-oriented GA, GL and GLX variants.

With the demise of the Colt Ralliart and Fiesta XR4, and the increased price of the Polo GTI, the new Suzi will virtually have the market to itself. However that doesn’t stop us wanting a truly hot-hatch version to give justice to a Gti nameplate revival…