New Suzuki Swift locked in for Australia

The Suzuki Swift will arrive at some point in the new year, with the Japanese brand promising pricing, features, specifications and an official release date will be announced at a later date.

For now it has confirmed the Swift will offer a new engine, "evolved driving performance and ride", and the latest in the brand's safety technology.

Suzuki Japan recently released details of its new light hatch, which is essentially identical to the "concept" shown at this year's Tokyo motor show.

The company has only confirmed one powertrain thus far: a 1.2-litre three-cylinder, mated with either a five-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission, and available with a mild-hybrid system.

The new engine produces 60kW of power and 108Nm of torque, down 6kW and 12Nm on the 1.2-litre four in the current Australian-market Swift.

Both front- and all-wheel drive configurations will be available in Japan, but as with a great many AWD Japanese cars we don't expect to see an all-paw Swift here.

The current Swift is offered here with a 1.2-litre four, a 1.0-litre turbo three-pot, plus a 1.4-litre turbo four in the flagship Sport. It's unclear if the latter two engines will still be available in the new generation.

The Swift measures 3860mm long, 1695mm wide, and 1500mm tall on a 2450mm wheelbase.

These measurements make it 15mm longer, 40mm narrower and 5mm taller on an identical wheelbase to the outgoing model.

Inside, there's a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In Japan, the Swift will also be offered with Suzuki Connect, a connected vehicle subscription service that allows you to, among other things, remotely check the status of your vehicle.

The front seats have more bolstering, and the Swift is available with unusual textured white appliques across the dash and doors.

The manual handbrake has been dropped in favour of an electric parking brake, and there's also an auto hold function.

The new Swift is expected to use a modified version of the current 'Heartect' platform to help conform to more stringent safety standards.

There's a wider range of active safety and driver assist features, powered by a combination of ultrasonic sensors, a millimetre wave radar and a monocular camera.

These include:

In addition to the usual black, white and grey shades, Suzuki will offer a selection of more distinctive finishes, at least in Japan. These include Cool Yellow, Frontier Blue Pearl, Caravan Ivory Pearl, Flame Orange Pearl and Burning Red Pearl.

Some colours are offered with a contrasting black roof.

Suzuki's designers have been conservative with the new Swift, with the latest model representing another careful evolution of the original 2004 reboot.

There is one key visual change, however: the rear door handles are no longer located in the C-pillar. Instead, the handle sits on the door, just below a new, more prominent side crease.

Otherwise, the vehicle is stylistically very similar to the outgoing model, if with slightly sharper detailing.

The Swift has even greater importance to the Australian market following Suzuki Australia's axing of the Baleno, which didn't meet ADR 85/00 side impact standards in its updated guise.

That leaves Suzuki with just one light hatch to do battle with the top-selling MG 3, as well as the likes of the Mazda 2 and Volkswagen Polo. The Swift is currently the brand's best seller, with 6486 examples sold to the end of November, but is a distant second to the MG 3 (14,702 sales).

MORE: Suzuki Swift review MORE: Everything Suzuki Swift

Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au