Suzuki launched the face-lifted version of their very popular Swift in Japan about a month ago and the freshened-up Swifts have now found their way to Australian Suzuki dealer forecourts in time to go on sale at the start of July.

Detail changes for both the Swift and Swift S include a new grille, front and rear bumper design as well as reworked tail-lights and a new style alloy wheel for the S. Two new paint colours are on offer being Ocean Blue and Nocturne Blue along with new seat fabrics and a re-designed folding rear seat with a portable luggage board that creates a flat cargo area.

The big news is the introduction of a Bosch developed ESP (Electronic Stability Control) system on the Swift Sport which adds steering angle and lateral acceleration sensors to the Swifts standard ABS sensors. It would be nice to see this feature become available on the lesser Swift and Swift S models over time.

Aside from the addition of ESP on the Sport and detail changes to the rest of the range, mechanically the Swift variants remain unchanged. The same 74kW/133Nm 1.5-litre 16-valve VVT four-cylinder powers the Swift and Swift S through a choice of a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. The Swift Sport continues to be a manual only option and uses the same 92Kw 1.6-litre as before.

The Suzuki Swift has quickly become Suzuki’s biggest seller in Australia with sales of the Swift overtaking those of Holden’s TK Barina, making it the third best selling model in its class, behind the Toyota Yaris and the Hyundai Getz.

Suzuki has not changed the pricing of the updated Swift which sees ESP added to the Sport with no effective price increase. Prices for the Swift range are as follows:

• Swift $15,990
• Swift (a) $17,990
• Swift S $17,990
• Swift S (a) $19,990
• Swift Sport $23,990

Source : GoAuto