{"id":2881,"date":"2017-03-15T03:07:55","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T03:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=2881"},"modified":"2017-03-15T07:50:59","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T07:50:59","slug":"review-pretty-sexy-in-suzukis-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/review-pretty-sexy-in-suzukis-swift\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW | Pretty sexy in Suzuki’s Swift"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pretty sexy may not (always) be associated with hatchbacks (HBs); but if HBs can be pretty sexy at all, Suzuki\u2019s Swift may well be one epitome of this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Consider the red (they \u201cofficially\u201d refer to this shade as \u201cBlazing Red Metallic\u201d) unit that arrived at my doorstep in Las Pi\u00f1as.<\/p>\n

On the outside, the color is a must-mention; it isn\u2019t at all tacky, instead, it\u2019s of a shade that may easily remind one of\u2026 that eye-catching outfit worn by THAT \u201cgirl in the red dress\u201d in \u201cThe Matrix\u201d. It is also not as boxy as, say, the Wigo \u2013 a plus in my books because it gave this car a smooth(er) silhouette (instead of the seeming abrupt cuts of the former), mimicking sportier cars. It has a low hood that emphasizes the headlights that, as a pamangkin<\/em> (nephew) noted, \u201clooked like Pokemon eyes\u201d. There\u2019s the (more) expansive windshield \u2013 perhaps not as expansive as the Jimny\u2019s, but definitely more than Celerio\u2019s. And then there\u2019re the 15-inch alloy wheels that give the car a somewhat \u201celevated\u201d look (not as elevated as Jimny\u2019s, but higher than Celerio\u2019s).<\/p>\n

The inside of Swift has touches that are also worth mentioning \u2013 e.g. comfy black seats that gave that sense of class (think of red trimmings on black, even on the door handles), GPS-ready touchscreen audio unit (though here, Ciaz\u2019s Android-running capability was definitely better), brilliantly-lit gauges, high headroom (for those in front and the back), dual SRS airbags, side impact beams, and ABS.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t to say that the Swift is, well, ALL THAT; it also has (numerous) limitations. There\u2019s the basag <\/em>sound system, particularly when music is played loudly (literally, \u201cbroken\u201d; though also referring to bad sound quality). The A\/C sucks (on a hot day, expect to still sweat even if the A\/C is already full blast). The leg room is a-okay in front; but at the back, it\u2019s a tight squeeze (three can supposedly fit there, but the designers may have been thinking of people with short legs or of kids). Kulang<\/em> (lacking) storage spaces \u2013 heck, there isn\u2019t even a cup holder by the gear stick (!). And the trunk space is quite limited (perhaps typical of HBs here). On a trip outside the city, I chucked my backpack, a sling bag (with my laptop and camera in it), a pair of shoes and around six kilos of singkamas<\/em> (yam bean from some vendor along the highway to La Union), and it was already full. Yes, the back seats can be folded (again, typical of HBs); but this isn\u2019t always possible, particularly if you\u2019ve (extra) passengers with you. And so making do with the tiny trunk is\u2026 tricky, to say the least.<\/p>\n

But as was pointed out to me, who are we to complain when Swift \u2013 which is also available in: Pearl Metallic Arctic White, Metallic Silky Silver, Glistening Grey Metallic and Metallic Midnight Black \u2013 sells for only P678,000?<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>With a 1.2 liter, 4-cylinder VVT engine, the Swift is by no means a mean machine. I noticed, for instance, that the car sorta struggles revving up again once you\u2019ve slowed down; it\u2019s almost like the climb from 0 to 20 to 40 to 60 and so on is too taxing for the car. The Swift is also not malikot<\/em> (doesn\u2019t move a lot) even when force to speed up; nor is it noisy (driving along TPLEX, it was almost like being enclosed in a bubble).<\/p>\n

Now, this car may be \u201csold\u201d as a city car (i.e. small and all that). But we all know that (even) city cars are stretched to their limits by the owners who (still) use these cars for out-of-the-city trips. Which was what I did with a trip up north in Pangasinan (i.e. La Union) an then Ilocos Sur (i.e. Vigan).<\/p>\n

Now\u2026<\/p>\n

If you think being in \u201ctight spots\u201d means driving in, say, Sta. Ana market during market day, or braving Divisoria\u2019s insides on a weekend, then an alternative may be driving to a place like Marilao in Bulacan, where if you just blindly follow Waze (which I did, LOL!), you\u2019d end up traversing cemented one-way roads right in the middle of rice paddies. Here, Swift\u2019s small size came in extremely handy, so that the thought of a possible incoming traffic should be worrisome (for most), but not necessarily so when on Swift.<\/p>\n

I found myself in the same tight spot (again) in a small barangay<\/em> in Bauang in La Union, where \u2013 after following a tourist guide to a vineyard \u2013 Swift had to traverse a somewhat tight rough road, where the car\u2019s size came in handy again (as much as the Hyundai Eon\u2019s and the Mitsubishi Mirage\u2019s also there then). Yes, the car felt out of place there (literally speaking, since I could \u201cfeel\u201d the pebbles\/rocks slip under the car); but that it fit the tight spot well was comforting, indeed.<\/p>\n

The Swift also moved smoothly in braving curves \u2013 e.g. passing through the tricky roads that lead to\/from Quirino Bridge in Ilocos Sur.<\/p>\n

Fuel consumption in the city averaged from 10.6km\/L to 11.6km\/L; while outside, it went up to 12.7km\/L to 13.0km\/L. On the expressway, this went to 14.0km\/L.<\/p>\n

It was before entering TPLEX again (on the way back to Manila) that I felt Swift as a city \u201cthing\u201d. There, it was the only small car, with SUVs, 4WDs, buses, et cetera<\/em> what appeared like \u201cnormal\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Twice, Swift was mistaken for Wigo (\u201cWHAT!?\u201d moments for me), so this obviously pigeonholes this car with the likes of, yes, Wigo, Hyundai Eon, Kia Picanto and Mitsubishi Mirage. Suffice to say, if you\u2019re considering a HB, then Swift definitely deserves to be given a spin.<\/p>\n

And for me, plus points for it being pretty sexy\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zest Magazine takes a closer look at Suzuki Swift 1.2 A\/T.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-showcase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2881"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2884,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881\/revisions\/2884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}