1992 Suzuki Swift GTi 1.3 Twin Cam 16v

Summary:

Wolf in sheep's clothing

Faults:

Drivers Side CV Boot went at 75,000!

Hole in the manifold at 77,000!

Gearbox went at 79,000!

Gearbox again at 81,000!

Drivers side window broken, will not open!

General Comments:

When I first bought this car it seemed like the best thing on 4 wheels!

It was rapid going from 0-60 in 7.2secs and getting all the way up to 138mph!

I couldn't have asked for anything more!

The interior is good and long journeys are not a problem!

The handling is also brilliant, fly into a corner and it will glue itself to the road and even if it did start sliding it made it more fun because it was so controllable!

Not the best car to have people in the back, but you can squeeze them in!

No problems with the front leg room as I'm 6"5 and could sit in easy!

When you get behind the wheel of this car it just asks to be floored, 8,000rpm redline and it will go all the way there very quickly!

It's a shame that the car was so unreliable because this car is a wolf in sheeps clothing!

I didn't want to get rid of the car, but the way I drive means it just couldn't handle it!

If the car was driven properly I seriously doubt you would get any problems with it!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th September, 2004

16th Aug 2005, 08:18

Yes it may be a similar power to weight ratio, but what really matters in a cars speed/acceleration is the gearing, not power. Case closed now.

28th Sep 2005, 14:05

Oh dear it seems we have a Saxo fan!!! Have you heard of modifications other than dodgy lookin neon's??? I doubt it!! The swift is a serious piece of equipment!! Near on same performance as a Saxo VTS!!! You should know that I've seen one of them hit 140mph!!!

8th Mar 2006, 19:00

Having owned a well-modified Mk1 GTi (50-70kg lighter than your version) with 100hp at the front wheels used for motorsport purposes, I can happily tell you that 138mph is well out of reach. The stock Suzuki speedo is so inaccurate at high speeds it is ridiculous. Test that constant speed with a GPS and you would be lucky to be within 15mph of it. The gearbox is an issue in later cars as compared to the Mk1 - as an aside if you were doing 8000rpm changes then your car was chipped - as it had a fuel cut at 7450rpm. To make it last, you need to make substantial gearbox changes too numerous to list here.

22nd Mar 2008, 18:42

0-60 7.2 flat out 138.

More like 0-60 10, flat out 115, just like all the other small cars with around 100 bhp, like the Saxo VTR, Fiesta Zetec S etc.

10th Jul 2008, 02:46

An unmodified GTi Mk1 will hit 0-60mph in 8 sec, tried and tested. But I can't get more than 120 mph top speed out of it.

And I don't want to either. These little beauties will last forever, as long as you take care of them.

22nd Jul 2009, 12:55

No wonder you burned it so fast, you beat it up, poor thing... They're long runners these little beasts if you take care of them. Please do, they are getting harder to find everyday!!

1992 Suzuki Swift GTi 1.3i DOHC

Summary:

Pocket Rocket with lots of potential

Faults:

Down pipe and manifold needed replaced after 1 month.

Clutch needed replaced after 2 months.

Very bad rust on the wings.

General Comments:

This is a great wee pocket rocket. A few problems with the car, but that has been due to its age as it is 11 years old.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th May, 2003

1992 Suzuki Swift GTi 1.3i 16v twin cam petrol

Faults:

Possible ECU fault. 'CHECK ENGINE' warning light comes on when car is going 70 mph or more. Think it's overcharge from the alternator.

Other than that, very reliable.

General Comments:

Superb performance in relation to engine size and insurance costs.

Bit stodgy at low revs, but above 4500rpm it comes alive.

Forgiving and predictable handling give it a great throwability factor into corners.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th January, 1999

18th Aug 2001, 12:07

I have to agree generally with all the comments/reviews I have read; this car is HIGHLY underrated - what a little gem!

I recently bought mine (Jun 2001) and actually came across it accidently, as a friend recommended it as a nippy runabout. My old car (I won't say what it was for fear of embarrassment) blew its head gasket and I was getting bored of it as it wasn't a sports car. But anyway, didn't fancy paying to have the head done only for it to go again a few months down the line.

So I saw my little beauty in the Autotrader, rang up and haggled him down to 1300 for this 92 J, immaculate, FSH model. And I have to be honest, I was completely ignorant of this car before I bought it; my friend constantly commented on it, but I always just used to think 'how fast can a 1300 be?'. Boy, was I in for a surprise! I'm not a boy racer, or at least I didn't used to be. I've always taken good care of my cars, but this car just has to be driven! Again, as someone mentioned, it is a bit slow off the blocks until it hits about 3 1/2, but then it just doesn't stop!

Doing 70 in second, I've humbled all the GTi's, GSi's, XR's and V-tecs round my end. I've even managed to keep up with my mates mk1 Golf GTi (1.8) from a standing start, but more impressively I kept up with, wait for it, my friends BMW 323! I couldn't believe it, but I guess it must have been the power:weight ratio.

As you've guessed I love this car. I'll say it again, I love this car. Over the last couple of months its received more attention than the missus! and there's more to come; I'm planning on taking on the big boys - I'm saving now for a Superchip, K&N induction kit, and a booster valve. For die hard modders out there, you'll recognise these as basic mods anyone can do. For those that don't know and want more power, allow me to explain how they'll work.

The superchip is pretty much self-explanatory; It'll reprogramme your Swift's ECU and open up the rev range by releasing the rev limiter and also changing all the timing so your engine works that little bit harder. Although it can be self-installed, it's been recommended that you get your car professionally tuned (pref. rolling road) and then installed so that your timing is spot-on. You can get a chip for the swift from 'Superchips', the market leader, for £165.

The induction kit will allow the engine to breathe more, therefore providing better combustion, thus more power. that'll cost around £70. But remember, the filter element can be cleaned and re-used instead of having to be replaced like your standard filters.

And finally, a little device which is becoming popular, a booster valve. You might have seen the ads in the likes of 'Revs' and 'Max Power', it's by a company called Ecotek LTD. It fits onto the pipe leading into the carb, and basically all it does is allow air to be sucked into the carb, similar to your sports filters, but the trick here is that this little valve actually reduces emissions and IMPROVES FUEL ECONOMY whilst making your car faster! Great eh? I couldn't believe it either, but I've seen it in practice; on a mates Nova SR (which needed it) and it made it more responsive, and better across the rev range. On the Swift this is going to be a god-send, seeing as the Swift engines lag til 3-4k revs. Now, it'll fly from the go. This'll cost you £48.

So, when I've got all these put on, I don't know what the bhp is going to be exactly, but I do know it is going to be rapid!

Just to finish then, my only qualm with the Swift is the ride; the handling I don't mind, but the ride quality is just too rough and bumpy for my liking. So I'd appreciate any feedback on what I could do about that.

Also, I really struggled recently to get hold of some clear front indicators for mine. I eventually tracked down a company in Bristol called P.H.A, but if anyone out there knows of any other decent places out there for Swift bits, I'd appreciate your help.

If anyone is interested in the mods I mentioned, I intend to gather websites and phone numbers for the places I've chosen to buy from. So I'll stick them on here soon, so watch this space. Mail me at tnazir77@hotmail.com if your impatient or if you've got some info I could do with.

Cheers, Taz.

14th Nov 2005, 00:55

The Swift GT/GTi cars are amazing. I bought one in 1996, drove the bag off of it, and it never let me down. Well... I DID blow a timing belt once. I just replaced it without getting the head done, and it STILL performed fantastically. I'd deliberately take the long way to wherever I was going so that I could enjoy the car. I sold it in 2004 to buy a Mazda 3 GT... BIG MISTAKE. I was pining for my GTi. I sold the Mazda GT and bought a 2004 Corvette Z06. It's beautiful... but I wanted my Swift GT back. So...I've parked the Vette for the winter and am now driving my newly purchased '94 Swift GT. It's almost showroom condition. What a car! It fits a Marshall stack, head, rack two guitars, me, my chick, and still goes like all Hell. It behaves like a Jack Russell Terrier on Benzedrene. It accelerates fiercely, and happily... with no protestations whatsoever.. great gas mileage too. Smartest thing I ever did in my life was to buy that Swift GTi in '96. Dumbest thing I ever did was to sell it.