Suzuki Swace overview
Thanks to a tie-up with Toyota, which sees the two brands share some platforms and engines, Suzuki has been able to make a couple of quick-fix additions to its model line-up. Recently it added the plug-in hybrid Across SUV (which is a Toyota RAV4 PHEV with Suzuki badges) and now it has the Swace, which is a Toyota Corolla Touring Sports with Suzuki badges. Suzuki's input into the car is pretty minimal, aside from those badges and a small tweak to the infotainment software to show Suzuki logos instead of Toyota ones. It's even built in the same factory in the UK as the Corolla.
It is interesting that Suzuki has chosen to launch the Swace only in estate form, and not as a five-door hatchback. That makes it a far more practical car and arguably it shows that Suzuki is aiming more at a business user-chooser market with the Swace than it is at private buyers.
Does the Swace offer anything that the Corolla doesn't?
The Suzuki Swace model range
Well, one thing the Swace does offer compared to the Corolla is simplicity. The Toyota is available in three model trims, with a choice of two engines. The Swace comes in a single, well-equipped, SZT trim and only with the 1.8-litre 122hp hybrid engine. That's your lot.
Standard equipment includes radar-guided cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights, autonomous emergency braking, lane-centring steering, part-digital instruments, rear parking camera, two-zone climate control, heated front seats, LED headlamps, an eight-inch infotainment screen, 16-inch alloy wheels and silver-finished roof rails.
Options? Just a choice of metallic paints, costing either €625 or €995 depending on the chosen shade. As we said, simplicity is everything here. Does the Swace offer any standard kit over and above the Corolla? Well, you do get an auto-dipping rear-view mirror as standard on the Suzuki, as well as rear privacy glass. That's about it. Enough to justify the extra €1,100 that Suzuki asks for a Swace compared to the €29,850 Corolla Touring Sports Luna model? Probably not, really. They even have an identical 103g/km CO2 emissions figure.
The Suzuki Swace interior
Obviously, much inside is the same as you'll find in the Corolla, but that's not a bad thing. Traditionally, Suzuki cabins have been well-assembled but not usually made of the nicest materials. In the Swace, that's not the case. You get the same palpably solid build quality as you'd find in the equivalent Toyota (aside from a boot lid that clangs just slightly when you slam it shut) and the high-grade plastics used, at least towards the top of the dash, are very nice indeed.
The style of the Corolla's cabin is carried over, so that means you get a dash that juts out a bit into the cabin. That doesn't actually rob an awful lot of space, but it does mean a large, convex dash panel just to the right of the steering wheel, ideally placed to catch your knee as you sit into the Swace.
The driving position, once you're in, is very good, although the front seats do feel a little over-stuffed and springy at times. Because the Swace estate is built on a longer wheelbase than the five-door hatchback Corolla, it means that there's decent legroom in the back, rather than the cramped confines of the hatchback. It also means you get a very decent boot - a volume of 596 litres isn't class leading, but it's very impressive all the same and you get the expected tie-down points, luggage hooks and a flat load floor. The rear seats also fold flat (albeit not 100 per cent flat) when you tug a handle inside the boot. It's a very practical car indeed, the Swace.
A shame then that it can't feel a bit more up to date on the infotainment front. Suzuki has inherited the Toyota Touch 2 infotainment software and it's not great with its clunky menus, old-fashioned layout and fuzzy graphics. At least you can connect your phone using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but the screen resolution doesn't improve and there's a lack of USB sockets; just one in the front and none at all in the back.
Storage space is quite good, though - there's a decent storage area under the front seat armrest, and large door bins too. You get two cupholders on the centre console and another useful open storage area in front of the gear lever. The part-digital instruments, although again lacking anything you might call cutting-edge in terms of styling or graphics, are clear and simple and easy to adjust according to your taste.
Ultimately, the Swace's interior is comfortable, practical and should be hard-wearing. While it might be lacking for style or innovation, you can't argue that it hasn't got the basics right.
The Suzuki Swace driving experience
The use of Toyota's hybrid engine and CVT gearbox means that the Swace, again unsurprisingly, feels familiar to drive. You do have to remind your brain of the small foibles of this system - no engine braking unless you've selected 'B' mode for the gearbox, the drone of the engine rising and falling entirely out of sync with how you're driving - but overall it's still a solidly impressive setup. Especially from the point of view of economy. While some car makers might still publish official fuel economy figures that are unrealistic in daily driving, Suzuki (and by extension Toyota) isn't one of them. For the Swace, Suzuki quotes 4.4 litres per 100km, and on a succession of very hot days, with the air conditioning often blasting at full velocity, we scored an average of 4.7 litres per 100km.
It's also rather nice to use the Swace for the sort of short urban hops that make up much daily driving for many of us - shopping, school run etc - and return home to see that you've apparently spent as much as 80 per cent of your journey running on electric power thanks to the hybrid system. Obviously all that electricity has been generated from the petrol in the fuel tank, but it does help to reduce local pollution.
On a motorway run, the Swace rides comfortably, but it can be a touch noisy. Long inclines will almost always trigger a protracted drone from the engine, as the hybrid system juggles petrol and electric power. It's par for the course for hybrids, though and it's not too intrusive. There is some tyre roar and wind noise, but it's not excessive, although when you slow down again you might find that your stereo is turned up rather higher than you realised... Motorway runs, thankfully, don't put a dent in the fuel economy.
On twisty roads, the Swace has the same smooth, assured feeling as the Corolla. It's not quite as entertaining nor a fluid as a Ford Focus (still the benchmark after all these years), but the well-weighted steering and well-judged suspension firmness means that the Swace manages to feel both agile and comfortable on demanding roads. You can actually have a little fun with it, but you do have to get used to brakes that can feel a bit sudden at times.
Our verdict on the Suzuki Swace
If you're going to copy a car, then copying one of the biggest sellers of all time, and a car that's well-respected, seems like a canny move, and that pretty much sums up the Suzuki Swace. It has two major stumbling blocks - price and the usual Irish car buyers' antipathy towards estates, but beyond that it's practical, pleasant to drive, impressively economical and should be endlessly reliable and solidly built.
What do the rest of the team think?
The arrival of the Suzuki Swace serves to remind us what a useful and polished car the existing Corolla estate is. It is identical to that, as Neil said. Why would you go out of your way to find a Suzuki dealer when there are more Toyota outlets? Well, maybe you have a Suzuki and you're being offered a better trade-in value and lower cost to change at a Suzuki showroom. We don't expect it to be a massive seller in Ireland in any case as estates are just not bought in large numbers here.
Shane O' Donoghue - Editor
