Part of that plan includes putting the Swift's US arrival on hold until at least 2011 so that pricing and strategy could be evaluated. Some of the reasoning behind the delay has to do with the rising Japanese yen, which has also dented the company's US marketing division.
Scheduled to go on sale throughout Europe this autumn, Suzuki's lighter, longer and roomier new Swift will be offered at launch with a new 94-horsepower 1.2-liter petrol and an upgraded 75-horsepower 1.3-liter turbo diesel.
Starting with cabin, the pictures reveal that the dashboard design and layout is clearly inspired by the larger Suzuki Kizashi sedan with restrained metallic accents and a similar styling for the center console that houses new switchgear and LCD displays for the audio system and A/C.
As we noted in our previous post, despite the fact that the 2011 Swift is based on a new and longer platform, the car's exterior styling is a subtle evolution of the outgoing model's design.
Evidently there's not much to say about the 2010 Swift's exterior styling. We can understand Suzuki's "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality to a certain extent - the current Swift is one of best-looking cars in the segment in our opinion- but a fresher approach would have been welcome.
There are no official photos of the interior, but some leaked cell phone pics on the net suggest that the dashboard and center console design of the car are heavily inspired by the Suzuki Kizashi sedan.
Riding on a new platform, the 2011 Swift will be slightly bigger than today's model but it will maintain its MINI-like design feel and shape. The most notable styling changes (or at least those that can be seen on the camouflaged cars) concern the more prominent and significantly larger headlamps and tail lights.
Even though the Japanese automaker's people did a pretty good job of bagging the prototype, it's not hard to see that the new Swift will keep its MINI-like design feel. However, the pictures suggest that it will boast larger and more prominent head- and tail lamps.
We don't have any details about the powertrain options, but buyers should expect a range of mainstream four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, as well as a more potent unit for the flagship Sport model.
The special edition Swift Sport gets "Rock am Ring" branded logos inside and out along with a new entertainment system that comprises of a Clarion navigation system (TMC) with a 6.9-inch color display, 30GB of storage for music, an iPod adapter and more powerful speakers.
The company said that it will offer the Kizashi with all-wheel drive as standard while power will be provided by the same 2.4-liter gasoline engine used on the N.A.-spec model.
The four-cylinder unit churns out 185 HP when linked to a six-speed manual gearbox and 178HP when mated to a CVT.
The Japanese maker is also planning to expand the Kizashi's range in the very near future with a more powerful V6 petrol engine as well as a hybrid version, though it is not clear if these variants will make it to Europe.
We don't know yet if it's technically feasible (and economically viable), but Suzuki's recent tie up with Volkswagen could see the Kizashi sedan being offered with a much-needed in Europe, diesel engine sourced from the German Group.
Together with the Kizashi, Suzuki will also display in Geneva the Swift Plug-in Hybrid that was first introduced at last fall's Tokyo Motor Show as well as new variants of the three-and five-door Grand Vitara with a redesigned rear hatch that does away with the spare tire box.
At the Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki exhibited its latest 'green' concept studies for the future including a Swift with Plug-in Hybrid and an SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV). The hybrid version of the Swift is a supermini aimed at city dwellers that travel around 20 km (about 13 miles) a day and has been designed to be driven primarily on electric power.It is equipped with 600cc engine that is used to charge a lithium-ion battery that powers an electric motor if capacity level drops. The batter can also be charged through any domestic plug socket.
Suzuki did not release any performance or fuel economy figures nor did it say if it intends to produce the Swift Plug-in Hybrid in the future.
The other 'green' study on display at Suzuki's Tokyo Motor Show booth is the is the SX4 FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) which combines a General Motors-sourced high performance fuel cell with a Suzuki developed high pressure hydrogen tank and a compact capacitor that is used to recover energy during braking and using it to reduce fuel cell loading under acceleration.
The SX4 FCV is currently under test on public roads in Japan as Suzuki plans to to commercialize the car in the near future.
Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid
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Suzuki SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle
Suzuki is enhancing its UK line-up with the introduction of a special edition model to the Swift range called the SZ-L. Based on the five-door model with the 1.3-liter petrol engine, the SZ-L gets a higher level of standard equipment that includes air conditioning, pearlescent or metallic paint, 15-inch alloy wheels, electrically retractable exterior mirrors, side protection mouldings, specific floor mats and chrome finish for the exterior door handles, front grille and rear tailgate trim.Furthermore, chrome bezels are added to the instrument gauges while the door trims and audio surround have aluminum effect detailing.
Suzuki offers the special edition Swift in four colors, Cool White Pearl, Cosmic Black Pearl, Supreme Red Pearl and Silky Silver metallic. The Swift SZ-L will be produced in a limited run of 500 units with prices set at £10,250.
