29th Sep 2008, 11:45

I totally agree with the Suzuki reliability comments! My wife had a new Swift 1.5 GLX, 5 wheel bearings, a new handbrake assembly (immediate failure), squealing fanbelt and incorrectly aligned rear axle to name but some faults in 13 months caused her to go back to a Honda Jazz.

Me? I'll stick with my 07 Sirion thanks. It's Japanese BUILT that counts in my estimation.

The Hungarian Swift is lousy.

30th Sep 2008, 04:40

Have you checked your warranty? I bought a new one instead of pre-reg as the five year warranty/breakdown cover was not transferable to the second registered keeper - only the first three years. It is an excellent car.

For a softer ride, adjust the tyre pressures to 30psi all round-makes a big difference. Blind spot mirrors could help to save you adjusting the manual mirrors.

Enjoy!! The one litre engine is indeed an absolute cracker and is stiff at first, so if you like it now, you'll adore it at 5,000 miles. The gearbox softens noticeably too.

A proper, usable, green car at under 7k - great choice!!

5th Oct 2008, 12:44

Hi - original reviewer back! I note all the good things people are saying but I'm still dubious over a couple of issues!

I don't know why people will accept the abysmal heating arrangements on a car because it's sub-£7k. A heater that doesn't work properly unless you open a window...? Geoff is right - it's because there are no outlet vents at the back of the car - my Allegro had these in the 70's!

Or the creaking/knocking steering/suspension on rough roads or when 3-point turning etc. At any price this is bad.

The sort of thing I could accept on a car which cost £2.5k less than my 1.3 auto would be - for example - the racket the 1.0L makes. You know what you're getting when you buy, so that's fine. But a design fault is a design fault at any price...

Agree the various good points, though - roomy, economical etc. Don't know what to replace it with. Had another look at the Splash but all the originally-noted problems are still too apparent; Materia too wacky for the missus, also high tax; Nissan Note auto is 1.6, low tax but owners say it's juicy. Waiting for Kia Soul, which on a diesel auto might be worth a look.

However, looks like I'm staying with the Sirion for a few months! Perhaps I'll mention the front end on the 1st service as it's fairly easy to replicate the problem...

6th Oct 2008, 07:25

Hi again, front end click still there on both of our Sirions, but only when turning full lock at very low speeds. I will get it sorted on the first service, as not a big problem.

Ventilation still not great - as we agreed, it needs rear outflow vents (my 2 Allegros had these too!!), but the situation has improved since thoroughly degreasing the glass. Every new car I have had has been affected by the oil vapour off the new plastics making the glass greasy and easy to steam up. I have now resorted to using the aircon with the heating to keep windows clear-not ideal. (No - I have not got it set on recirculated air).

I have found tyre pressures crucial - 30psi seems best for comfort, I tried 32psi but this shakes out your teeth!

Still very happy with our 1.0Ss - I honestly think the smaller engine with the manual box is the best choice for this car as it makes it very light (1.0 engine only 67kg) and you only get noise if you thrash it or charge uphill 4up-the lighter car and torquey engine mean you don't need to rev it, it just pulls at tickover. (See 2007 Perodua Myvi 1.3SXI review and comments - same body/engine as Sirion 1.3 and I drive both of these cars as the Myvi was mine and is now my Parents).

Not much to fault ours on - just the ventilation and the clicking steering - otherwise perfect, and much much better than the other new cars we bought - see my 2006 Suzuki Swift DDiS report!!

10th Oct 2008, 12:12

I see the price for the Sirions has been increased - list price for the base 1.0S is now £8495 with the 5 year warranty and breakdown, though I have seen deals of £6995 still advertised on line.

Much as I love my Sirion, I think £8495 is too much - especially now as the new I20 is due out, you can get a last of line Hyundai Getz 1.4GSi 5 door for £7350 with the 5 year warranty and breakdown cover at the moment.

The 1.1 Getz performance is painful compared to the sprightly Sirion 1.0, but the 1.4 would be a tempting competitor at that price.

Hmmmmm.

12th Dec 2008, 18:04

I have a Sirion 1.0SE and the windows steam up as soon as the weather gets cold or when it rains. The heater will not clear them and I have to dry them with a cloth. Can anybody tell me if their cars do this?

14th Dec 2008, 08:13

Ours is the same - make sure you have air set to "incoming" not "recirculate" first, then drive with one rear window open a little or put the air-con and heating on which clears it instantly.

It is annoying, but the rest of the car is ace.

21st Dec 2008, 14:07

In reply to the 12/12/08 post, yes, yes, and thrice yes! The heating/ventilation is abysmal except in the summer (?) when you don't want any heat.

The heater doesn't even get hot enough, which probably exacerbates the 'warm right foot / cold left foot' annoyance on which I have previously commented.

Trouble with opening a window (which still doesn't demist a 4-up car with a/c at full tilt) is that it's noisy. Geoff might be lucky, but I've found opening a back window sets up a buffeting noise on the motorway.

Opening the driver's window a bit is favourite if you're alone, but sets up a draft on the front seat passenger, so my wife tells me!

There is no satisfactory solution - it's just poor design. Still, it's taught me to look for this on my next car. For years I've never even thought to check the heater...!

Cheers - Peter.

22nd Jan 2009, 07:59

My Sirion was out in the snow earlier this week. I went up a 1 in 6 slope that virtually every other 2 wheel drive car was slipping on. I had to stop half way up for traffic, and still managed to pull away after some slipping and got to the top. The look on other drivers' faces was a picture.

Thank goodness for little skinny tyres and good ground clearance.

20th Mar 2009, 05:00

Original reviewer back for the last time. Yes - it's going - have ordered a Suzuki SX automatic, which I'll be reporting on as and when. From the look of the reviews on this site, I'll be the first UK resident to do so! Despite the experiences of other posters, this'll be my 4th Suzuki and the others never gave me any trouble.

Anyway, back to the Sirion. It's now done 9,000 miles and has loosened up nicely. For a 1.3 auto, it's nippy (albeit noisy on acceleration) and economical. Mostly urban, combined with some rural, consumption is never below 40mpg. On a run it approaches 50mpg.

It's a smooth engine, and the new autobox (fitted just after delivery) has proved OK.

Really, there's nothing major to report. Nothing more has gone wrong since the autobox and tyre issues of ages ago. The various other niceties of the car have been gone over a zillion times!

I suppose the paintwork isn't the best, but then this is a common problem with the modern water-based paint. It chips easily, and something which is quite odd is that the paint has been falling off the instrument surround! It looks as if a driver wearing rings has kept scuffing it, but this isn't the case - all I've ever done is dust it. This surround pulls off so presumably could be replaced, but it makes the dash look a bit scruffy.

The heating/ventilation continues to infuriate - but not for much longer (the Suzuki has a very nice system). The aircon can hold it's own, though (ie: cold enough) on hot days. But having to open a window to get rid of the stuffiness when using the heater on an averagely cold day is something I'll be glad to lose.

After a year, I can say that I've been pretty happy with the Sirion; the only major gripes for many months being the aforementioned heating/ventilation design anomaly, and the creaky steering.

Incidentally, I've accepted £6,500 for it in PX, only losing £3k in the year. As Geoff and others have said, the basic models probably make more economic sense, but I was well happy with this!

Cheers - Peter.