Last Sunday’s Fifth Gear (not Top Gear mind you) track tested the Suzuki Swift Sport and a (very) base MINI Cooper. We won’t give away the finish but we will say that Tiff Needell had no trouble extolling the virtues of the new Cooper.
I had the opportunity to drive a fully loaded 2007 Cooper with the auto tranny for a couple of days a month ago, while my 2003 MCS was in for some service work – and was frankly quite impressed, especially since I’m a manual transmission guy through and through!
Press the Sport button, and the automatic transmission is transformed – quick, responsive gear changes, I found it very well matched to the Cooper, and my ‘butt dyno’ gave me the impression that Cooper wasn’t that much slower or responsive than my MCS.
Never before would I have considered the Cooper, since I always like having a little more ooomph – but so impressed am I with the ’07 model that I will have to consider BOTH the Cooper and Cooper S when the time comes to get one of the newer models (not in the immediate future though).
This Fifth Gear test shows once again that the key feature about MINI (and BMW) cars is not about overall horsepower, but overall balance and driving dynamics. Yes, a Golf GTI has more horsepower than a Cooper S, and ditto for an Infiniti G35 over a BMW 335 – on a drag strip that extra horsepower will mean that the Cooper S and BMW 335 will be pipped at the finish line, but put them on a race track, and the roles are reversed. To me, motoring is all about the twisties, not the straights!
Wow, Kudos to the Swift. I don’t know how well optioned you can get a Swift Sport but it certainly is a good value performance wise assuming you live outside the USA. The rest leaves much to be desired.
Running something other than 175/65s on the MC vs the 195/50s might had helped a bit.
The Suzuki was very impressive! The result was essentially a dead heat against a more expensive car with reputation for “go-cart handling”. A good value but can’t say that it offers much appeal though.
That’s fun. I spent my high school years driving an earlier (much earlier) version of the Suzuki Swift – the Chevy Sprint here in the US back then. It was that car’s tossability and fun size that originally got me into Minis. It was my first experience taking a mild car to it’s limits (not hard to do) which built my appreciation not for high horsepower and straight line prowess, but for a car that was fun to throw into a corner and wring out the revs.
<blockquote>I wonder what the margin would have been if the Mini had optioned up to the 16″ tires.</blockquote>That would have put the MINI into heavier wheels, and into runflats (15″ are non-runflats). Depends on how grippy the tires are. Also would have made the price difference even greater. However for proper comparison the Suzuki should be given a wheel upgrade as well.
For all those cheering the Swift, here’s something it sorely lacks. It’s called “character”. The Swift doesn’t have it. Never will. The MINI oozes it in spades. If you just want a cheap, anonymous, little pocket rocket, by all means, get the Swift. If you want an already legendary world car that still turns heads after 6 years, comes with extras Suzuki would never think of, and always puts a smile on your face, get the MINI.
And for MillietheMini. Yes, my auto 2007 MC is a hoot. Quick off a red light – I’m usually ahead of everyone straight away and with great handling. I don’t miss my just-sold 2003 Saab 9-3 turbo in any way.
I thought that Suzuki had character, and it’s probably the first car Suzuki has ever made that I wouldn’t be embarrased to drive, and would possibly consider buying, (or at least taking it for a test drive).
Obviously, the MINI has character; many claim it has too much character, to the point of being ecentric.
I used to drive my Uncle’s 4-door “Chevrolet” Sprint with its 3 cylinder engine, automatic transmission and 12″ tires like a bat out of Hell! It was great fun to push that little car. Keep in mind that I had owned a Porsche 914 2.0, a Volkswagen Scirocco 16V and a GTI 16V, and was accustomed to go-fast, pocket rocket style cars. Honestly, I had more fun in the Sprint. I am sure that it would have paled in comparison on the track, but on the street it was a blast! It might have been the fact that the car was not mine, and I really abused it, that made it so much fun. I drove the Hell out of my cars too, but without abuse. The Sprint would also go in any weather. It would start in sub-zero temps after sitting outside and take on snow and ice like there were spikes in the tires. Oh, I forgot to mention that near the end (nearly 200,000 miles on odometer, it was running on two cylinders and still taking names. I really miss that car… I have an ’05 Cooper S now and while I love the handling, the engines performance is very lackluster (at least compared to what I was expecting). The car chokes and gags and stalls upon startup, in every kind of climate, and none of the MINI service techs who have inspected it can find anything wrong. If I could resolve this, I would be a happy camper, once again.
I loved my old Suzuki Swift GTi (before VW had them change the name) and except for a vaguely familiar shift “knob” it was an excellent car. With a miniscule 1.3 liter engine it put out an even 100hp and “not enough” torque, but man was it ever fun. The very definition of cheap and cheerful, something that the MINI is not (cheap) but is (cheerful), if you know what I mean.
My next MINI will be the MC as well, and just maybe the auto (it’s that good). If Suzuki ever gets around to bringing the Swift back to the US though…
The old Swift GT/GTI was a kick-ass twin-cam hoot – It weighed hardly nothin’, and had great seats and steering – it was the best evocation of a Mini Cooper attitude by another marque ever. Every so often I look around for one, but haven’t seen anything attractive enough.
Back in 1988 I test drove a brand new, black Suzuki Swift GTi. That little car was simply amazing! Regret not buying it but Suzuki did have the right idea. It was far cheaper than the Honda Civics of the time, including the now defunct CRX hatchback.
Suzuki is making a slow comeback in the US market but their cars of late have been mostly old platforms sourced from Korean Daewoo. The new AWD SX4 looks interesting but the car is a dud, heavy and slow.
Hopefully Suzuki will come back to their senses and bring back the fun Swift GTi once again.
According to <a href="http://www.leftlanenews.com/suzuki-swift-to-return-to-us.html" rel="nofollow">Leftlanenews</a>, the Suzuki Swift is slated to return to the US for 2010. Seems like it will be late to get into the “hot hatch” market that MINI and VW have stirred up, just like Chrysler will be late with its Hornet.
LOL..yeah MiniMe, i’m sure that’s all it was… you drove the crap out of the car you didn’t care about cause you didn’t have to worry about the money to fix it. No way could the Sprint be more fun to drive! More fun to trash more like 😉
So the Cooper outgunned a more powerful car because of it’s unique handling characteristics??? Sounds very Mini to me!!! A car w/ more power and less handling is all too common…I’ll pick the MINI any day. I expect the MINI supecedes the Swift in may other ways too, not the least being overall solidness which probably factors into the weight difference. I’ve been unimpressed w/ the Suzukis I’ve driven.
<blockquote>That would have put the MINI into heavier wheels, and into runflats (15″ are non-runflats). Depends on how grippy the tires are. Also would have made the price difference even greater. However for proper comparison the Suzuki should be given a wheel upgrade as well.</blockquote>
That’s exactly what I’d like to see. The 16″ runflats are an inch wider, and yes heavier, and yes runflats! But I’m wondering if the extra inch of rubber would have gained more speed than the weight and runflat tech took away.
Give the Suzuki an upgrade? It looked like it was already running on 17s or 18s. If it could not send the Mini packing on its hp advantage and rubber then its clearly got other issues to deal with first.
The thing about the Swift Sport is its fully loaded from the get go. How many people are going to buy a base Mini without options. Anyone gone to the Mini website lately and added a few options; you could end up with a car costing 15000 pounds up against a car you can get brand new online for 10500. Don’t get me wrong Mini’s are fine cars, just a bit too common now. If anything, the Swift sport brings to the table enjoyable driving at a bargain price.
Awesome! Hey, where are the “details” to win one?
Wow, first the R56 places 4th of 5, trouncing the Nissan Sentra, and now the mighty Suzuki Swift is bested! Next R56 challenge… the Camry!
yeah the details! what are they
Sweet!
I had the opportunity to drive a fully loaded 2007 Cooper with the auto tranny for a couple of days a month ago, while my 2003 MCS was in for some service work – and was frankly quite impressed, especially since I’m a manual transmission guy through and through!
Press the Sport button, and the automatic transmission is transformed – quick, responsive gear changes, I found it very well matched to the Cooper, and my ‘butt dyno’ gave me the impression that Cooper wasn’t that much slower or responsive than my MCS.
Never before would I have considered the Cooper, since I always like having a little more ooomph – but so impressed am I with the ’07 model that I will have to consider BOTH the Cooper and Cooper S when the time comes to get one of the newer models (not in the immediate future though).
This Fifth Gear test shows once again that the key feature about MINI (and BMW) cars is not about overall horsepower, but overall balance and driving dynamics. Yes, a Golf GTI has more horsepower than a Cooper S, and ditto for an Infiniti G35 over a BMW 335 – on a drag strip that extra horsepower will mean that the Cooper S and BMW 335 will be pipped at the finish line, but put them on a race track, and the roles are reversed. To me, motoring is all about the twisties, not the straights!
To enter to win, you’ll need to be watching the entire show and be able to call the UK. Though, I don’t think the contest is open to folks overseas.
As for the segment, I seem to remember a slogan (was it VW?): “It’s not how fast you go, it’s how you go fast.”
Wow, Kudos to the Swift. I don’t know how well optioned you can get a Swift Sport but it certainly is a good value performance wise assuming you live outside the USA. The rest leaves much to be desired.
Running something other than 175/65s on the MC vs the 195/50s might had helped a bit.
The Suzuki was very impressive! The result was essentially a dead heat against a more expensive car with reputation for “go-cart handling”. A good value but can’t say that it offers much appeal though.
That’s fun. I spent my high school years driving an earlier (much earlier) version of the Suzuki Swift – the Chevy Sprint here in the US back then. It was that car’s tossability and fun size that originally got me into Minis. It was my first experience taking a mild car to it’s limits (not hard to do) which built my appreciation not for high horsepower and straight line prowess, but for a car that was fun to throw into a corner and wring out the revs.
Of all the hot hatches available outside of the USA the SSS 😉 would be a serious competitor for my dollars if available.
I wonder what the margin would have been if the Mini had optioned up to the 16″ tires.
<blockquote>I wonder what the margin would have been if the Mini had optioned up to the 16″ tires.</blockquote>That would have put the MINI into heavier wheels, and into runflats (15″ are non-runflats). Depends on how grippy the tires are. Also would have made the price difference even greater. However for proper comparison the Suzuki should be given a wheel upgrade as well.
Head to head with a Suzuki Swift. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Considering the price difference, I’ll take the Suzuki.
For all those cheering the Swift, here’s something it sorely lacks. It’s called “character”. The Swift doesn’t have it. Never will. The MINI oozes it in spades. If you just want a cheap, anonymous, little pocket rocket, by all means, get the Swift. If you want an already legendary world car that still turns heads after 6 years, comes with extras Suzuki would never think of, and always puts a smile on your face, get the MINI.
And for MillietheMini. Yes, my auto 2007 MC is a hoot. Quick off a red light – I’m usually ahead of everyone straight away and with great handling. I don’t miss my just-sold 2003 Saab 9-3 turbo in any way.
Kurt… “character” is the very thing the R56 has lost with the redesign.
I’ve owned an R50 and now own an R56 and I can safely say the R56 has as much “character” as my old R50, it’s just the character has been enhanced..
The character debate is all very subjective.
I thought that Suzuki had character, and it’s probably the first car Suzuki has ever made that I wouldn’t be embarrased to drive, and would possibly consider buying, (or at least taking it for a test drive).
Obviously, the MINI has character; many claim it has too much character, to the point of being ecentric.
Anyone know which race track this was filmed at? Looks interesting…
why dont they sell those in the usa?
I used to drive my Uncle’s 4-door “Chevrolet” Sprint with its 3 cylinder engine, automatic transmission and 12″ tires like a bat out of Hell! It was great fun to push that little car. Keep in mind that I had owned a Porsche 914 2.0, a Volkswagen Scirocco 16V and a GTI 16V, and was accustomed to go-fast, pocket rocket style cars. Honestly, I had more fun in the Sprint. I am sure that it would have paled in comparison on the track, but on the street it was a blast! It might have been the fact that the car was not mine, and I really abused it, that made it so much fun. I drove the Hell out of my cars too, but without abuse. The Sprint would also go in any weather. It would start in sub-zero temps after sitting outside and take on snow and ice like there were spikes in the tires. Oh, I forgot to mention that near the end (nearly 200,000 miles on odometer, it was running on two cylinders and still taking names. I really miss that car… I have an ’05 Cooper S now and while I love the handling, the engines performance is very lackluster (at least compared to what I was expecting). The car chokes and gags and stalls upon startup, in every kind of climate, and none of the MINI service techs who have inspected it can find anything wrong. If I could resolve this, I would be a happy camper, once again.
I loved my old Suzuki Swift GTi (before VW had them change the name) and except for a vaguely familiar shift “knob” it was an excellent car. With a miniscule 1.3 liter engine it put out an even 100hp and “not enough” torque, but man was it ever fun. The very definition of cheap and cheerful, something that the MINI is not (cheap) but is (cheerful), if you know what I mean.
My next MINI will be the MC as well, and just maybe the auto (it’s that good). If Suzuki ever gets around to bringing the Swift back to the US though…
The old Swift GT/GTI was a kick-ass twin-cam hoot – It weighed hardly nothin’, and had great seats and steering – it was the best evocation of a Mini Cooper attitude by another marque ever. Every so often I look around for one, but haven’t seen anything attractive enough.
Back in 1988 I test drove a brand new, black Suzuki Swift GTi. That little car was simply amazing! Regret not buying it but Suzuki did have the right idea. It was far cheaper than the Honda Civics of the time, including the now defunct CRX hatchback.
Suzuki is making a slow comeback in the US market but their cars of late have been mostly old platforms sourced from Korean Daewoo. The new AWD SX4 looks interesting but the car is a dud, heavy and slow.
Hopefully Suzuki will come back to their senses and bring back the fun Swift GTi once again.
-Nigel
According to <a href="http://www.leftlanenews.com/suzuki-swift-to-return-to-us.html" rel="nofollow">Leftlanenews</a>, the Suzuki Swift is slated to return to the US for 2010. Seems like it will be late to get into the “hot hatch” market that MINI and VW have stirred up, just like Chrysler will be late with its Hornet.
LOL..yeah MiniMe, i’m sure that’s all it was… you drove the crap out of the car you didn’t care about cause you didn’t have to worry about the money to fix it. No way could the Sprint be more fun to drive! More fun to trash more like 😉
<blockquote>Anyone know which race track this was filmed at? Looks interesting…</blockquote>
Copy & paste this location into Google Maps:
+53° 18′ 30.67″, -0° 3′ 45.11″
Then switch to the satellite view and zoom in … It’s the wonderful Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire, U.K.
Suzuki’s cars have been very popular in JR WRC. A while back, there was a fella who entered in the Pikes Peak climb with a supercharged Suzuki Aero.
So the Cooper outgunned a more powerful car because of it’s unique handling characteristics??? Sounds very Mini to me!!! A car w/ more power and less handling is all too common…I’ll pick the MINI any day. I expect the MINI supecedes the Swift in may other ways too, not the least being overall solidness which probably factors into the weight difference. I’ve been unimpressed w/ the Suzukis I’ve driven.
<blockquote>That would have put the MINI into heavier wheels, and into runflats (15″ are non-runflats). Depends on how grippy the tires are. Also would have made the price difference even greater. However for proper comparison the Suzuki should be given a wheel upgrade as well.</blockquote>
That’s exactly what I’d like to see. The 16″ runflats are an inch wider, and yes heavier, and yes runflats! But I’m wondering if the extra inch of rubber would have gained more speed than the weight and runflat tech took away.
Give the Suzuki an upgrade? It looked like it was already running on 17s or 18s. If it could not send the Mini packing on its hp advantage and rubber then its clearly got other issues to deal with first.
The thing about the Swift Sport is its fully loaded from the get go. How many people are going to buy a base Mini without options. Anyone gone to the Mini website lately and added a few options; you could end up with a car costing 15000 pounds up against a car you can get brand new online for 10500. Don’t get me wrong Mini’s are fine cars, just a bit too common now. If anything, the Swift sport brings to the table enjoyable driving at a bargain price.