SUZUKI

After brochure leak, Suzuki reveals facelifted 2020 Swift 

It seems that Suzuki swiftly responded to the brochure leaks from a few days ago. If you recall, photos of the facelifted Swift circulated online. Now, the automaker has officially revealed the updated small hatchback, and there's complete information now too.
From what we saw at that time, the changes seemed limited to cosmetics. As it turns out, the biggest updates and upgrades are found in the safety and technology front. For the 2020 model year, the Japan-spec Swift can be specified with what's called the Suzuki Safety Support. If equipped, it adds a whole host of active safety features to the car which is typically reserved in more expensive cars. Suzuki Safety Support includes automatic emergency braking for the front and rear, along with adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping assist. It even has traffic sign recognition and automatic headlights as part of the package. There's now a clearer look at the interior too. At first glance, it seems to be a carryover from the current model.



The dashboard, center stack, center console, and door panels are unchanged, but the seat patterns have been changed for this year. But if you look closer at the instrument cluster, Suzuki made major updates to it. It now has a multi-colored multi-information display, replacing the basic, digital type. On to the exterior and the grill now sports a different pattern, a diamond pattern, or a honeycomb design, depending on the variant selected. There's also a horizontal split that runs across its grill. Also new for 2020 are new wheel designs, along with more color choices. Orange and yellow have been added to the color selection. As for the rest of the exterior, it appears largely unchanged from headlight to taillight. Engines are carried over as well although it is worth pointing out that the Japan-spec Swift makes more power than the ones we get here. 



Over there, the 1.2-liter engine makes 91 PS and 118 Nm of torque whereas we get the 82 PS and 118 Nm of torque. Suzuki claims it can do 20 kilometers per liter with a CVT (continuously variable transmission) and 21.8 kilometers per liter with a five-speed manual. The hybrid, on the other hand, can get up to 28.6 kilometers per liter. Unlike the standard model, the hybrid uses a five-speed manumatic that Suzuki calls Auto Gear Shift.
Since the hatchback is sold here, we expect the updated model to make its way to the country. However, it's unlikely that we'll be getting the tech and safety upgrades. 



What we might get instead is some additional standard equipment. As for the local launch date, that's still a big question mark because of the current situation. We'll have a better indication of it once the car is launched in Thailand as it's where Philippine-spec Swifts are sourced. 

Anton Andres