Suzuki Swift Sport (2006) CAR review

Suzuki Swift Sport? Sounds like a horrible special edition to me...

The name may suggest graphic-laden dealer special, but this is a genuine junior hot hatch. The Swift Sport is a thoroughly sorted, stiffened, lowered, meaner looking and gruffer-sounding distant relative to the standard car. Above the 17-inch wheels and bodykit are stiffened Monroe dampers coupled with uprated springs, along with a specially developed 123bhp, 1.6-litre VVT petrol engine. It's good value – prices are set to start at £11,200; fast – 62mph is disposed of in only 8.9sec; and it's destined to form the basis for the new Suzuki WRC car. So it's cool as well.

Will my friends laugh at me if I buy one over, say, a Citroen C2 VTS or a Mini Cooper?

They shouldn't. This little car has credibility way beyond the WRC link. For the past year engineers have been lapping the Nurburging to finalise the damper and spring settings. And it's not just the engine that's bespoke: the uprated clutch, big bore tailpipes, the gearchange feel and steering are all new. Even the electronic throttle has been remapped to make the engine feel more responsive.