2017 Suzuki Swift 1.2 Hybrid Top 4WD AllGrip Drive & Interior – Video

The 4×4’s 62.8mpg plays the standard car’s 65.7mpg, while the ALLGRIP model emits just 3g/km more CO2 – meaning just £20 extra to pay for the first-year road tax. That’ll be a boon for many buyers, and comes as a result of Suzuki’s pathological quest for lightness; the base models weighs just 890kg, while even our fully-loaded four-wheel-drive test car tips the scales at 980kg. Most superminis tip the scales at more than 1,000kg in their lightest form.

You can really feel the lack of bulk on the road, as even with our 1.2’s modest power and torque figures the Swift delivers better pace than the figures suggest. However, you need to work it far harder than you do the Boosterjet – and while that’s no hardship thanks to the slick gearshift, it‘s less relaxing than you’d find the same task in a Volkswagen Polo, for example. Refinement suffers, too, with a vocal four-pot drone penetrating the cabin at higher revs. The 1.0-litre is both quieter and far more characterful to the ear.