This is the second car I owned. Bought my 1989 GTI in Virginia Beach when I was in Navy C school in 1995. Drove it cross country to San Diego in 1997. I really loved this car. Some of the best seats I have ever had in a car and the handling was really great when you put summer tires on it. Sold it in 1998 and wish I still had it! For those laughing about the "100 horsepower", that was very good for the time, especially for a light 1.3 liter engine. It produced around 113 pound feet of torque in it's mid range and mine only weighed about 1850 pounds, so the power was more than adequate for an econo box of that period. Great little car to take out for a beating.
People seem to forget most early 90s econoboxes had less than 80hp from 1.6 liter engines lol. We're too accustomed to hellcats and amgs being the norm nowadays.
@@kanchingyghighly agreed my 1996 ek civic with the d16 has 125hp and its certainly not fast but defiantly very respectable.. and also still relevent. My 2010 l13z1 jazz only has 100 hp/128nm and that is a 20+ year later design with ivtec although may only be a single cam.. dk tbh not quite as responsive and fast as my ek but still great for a 1.3 but most people just don't appreciate or understand they just proceed to shit talk, that swift would definitely be a fun little ride.
I had an 88 4 door with the single cam carb’d G13B. Thing would do 2750rpm @110kmh and it would keep up with a EP3 typeR to 50km/h. Fill the tank for $60 NZD in 2017 and was good for 10 days of daily driver duties including bored roadtrips. Miss that lil car
This was my first new car purchase. Drove the hell out of it. It was a hopped up Geo Metro. My best road trip was in this car. Drove from Indiana to Michigan, into Canada, and then to NY and back to Indiana. 1991 was a good year.
best car i ever owned, 400k befor engine went out maintenance was not very good on my part. how I miss that car. this cars were indeed trouble free. also had a 4x4 tracker and same thing trouble free sold it after 200k. Wish still had either of those cars
Suzuki currently has a very good reputation for reliability and durability in Europe. In japanese domestic market ,suzuki was no 2 this year. Doug demuro said the current swift was better than any budget car offered in usa .
I owned a 1991 Suzuki Swift. Its one of the BEST car designs in recent decades period! Both myself & everyone I've spoken to have NEVER heard of a broken down Suzuki Swift. This car was extremely easy to service yourself as everything was conveniently within reach. The 89-91 Swift was a well refined/designed entry-level affordable car. Certainly NOT an "econo-box" as mentioned in this cheap deceptive video.
@@pcnepal still pretty good horsepower per liter, especially considering only two years earlier you would've needed a turbo on a larger engine to get that (Chevy Spectrum Turbo)
That 100 horsepower WAS amazing! Still is. The car weighed slightly more than 1,000 pounds. That is an amazing horsepower to weight ratio that when combined with the sport suspension spelled fun to drive.
Put 100hp motor on a golf cart, it’ll be faster than most so-called sports cars. Might handle like crap but I bet it would be quick. The Swift GTi wasn’t slow for its day at all.
@@Thenosferatu1900 Can only dream of such great little cars today..now we have nanny overkill and computers... I'd love to buy a brand new 1989 Swift GTi today!
Back in the day anything with 16 valves or with GTI in the name sounded impresive. I remember wanting one of these for my first car back when I was a boy racer. LOL.
I had a '91 Metro convertible and an '89 Swift GTi. Both were great little cars but no doubt the Swift was a lot more fun with nearly twice the horsepower. That 1.3L engine was pretty potent for such a tiny little vehicle. The thing drove circles around everything else on the road in the winter with snow tires. I miss the crap out of that car. Only problem is that both of them were automatics. They would have been much better with manual transmissions.
The manual transmission makes a huge difference. All of my Swifts were manual shifting. My first car was a Chevy Sprint (AKA Suzuki Forsa) that had an automatic. It was underpowered deathtrap with how slow it accelerated. Years later, I picked a manual version of the same car. Suddenly you could drive with authority in the fast lane. It was astonishing how much faster the car was without the automatic.
I rented a metro once in January and then we had a big snowstorm. That car handled so well in deep snow I was shocked. I think because of the thin tires that cut right through it also the ground clearance of a little bit high and the thing having power also being very lightweight. I'm super confident those couple of days.
From the VDO, I think this car has a great handling. The car follow command from steering without delay, oversteer or understeer. If it has got wider and lower rim tyres, it can move faster in the corner.
It is still on sale, just not in the US, you can import one from Mexico, it currently uses either a 1.0 3 cylinder turbo or a 1.4 I4 turbo for the sport model.
The guy with driving gloves is in a hurry to touch every single part of the car inside and out lol ;-) Well maybe in 1989 it was cool ;-) I like how this show has been around forever and is still basically the same (minus the gloves), awesome!
I almost bought one of these but was short of cash being a college student at the time and my parents wouldn't help. I'm glad as two years later I ended up buying a CRX Si. Funny thing is that today I drive a fast $50K car with more power and tech than I'll ever use but find myself yearning for those old hot hatch days...most fun I've ever had in nearly 30 years of driving.
Shame suzuki don't do america anymore , the 2012-2017 swift sport has amazing reviews and is cheap enough for someone like yourself to have as a second car.
I had a white Suzuki Swift hatchback that I love very much. When my dad crashed his old Cadillac car I end up giving it to him for his daily drive. For a little car it drives fast and gas saver. ❤❤😊
as someone who learned to drive on a low power econobox 5 speed. I disagree. Nothing is more tedious and unfun as an underpowered econobox with a stick shift. thing was a total pain to drive around it, and absolutely no fun. things changed the second I got myself into a 1990 eclipse turbo, second I got some hp and torque behind that 5 speed things got fun , aside from stop and go traffic....which still was a total pain with the 5 speed. I don't care what anyone says, a low HP/torque low displacement econobox with a manual was just another layer of frustration on an already slow. cramped, and boring car to drive.
bob loblaw Maybe if you hate driving. I had a 1992 Mazda protégé in high school, and that little buzz bomb's 5 speed gear box made the little car feel far sportier than it was. Heel and toeing at perfectly legal speeds and getting to rev out all 100 horsepower without going to jail. It might have been slow but the combo of good handling and a slick gearbox made it fun to drive.
nah ive had more than one slugs with a 5 speed. ive had some decently fast cars with a 5 speed. I wouldn't even bother with a slow econobox with a manual, its just tedious to play around with. not that it really matters, they are starting to charge more for manuals these days if its even an option.
The Swift was the first car that Suzuki ever imported to the United States under their own name. They had already been selling a version of their Cultus/Forsa here through Chevy dealers since 1984 under the Sprint name.
we still have suzukis in europe, i drive a 2002 swift 1.3 16v single cam. its the gti engine but with single cams instead of twin cams. 0-60 still under 10seconds, which is pretty good for such a small car.
Had a 94... They hadn't refined it much at all by then but it was still a blast to drive and ridiculously cheap to do so. Spanked a friends 90 prelude with it, too.
FantomLightning - Their is a fella that lives in the same area as myself that has 5 of these, 2 are convertible. the rest are hard tips. but they are very well maintained, look as they did in the 90's.
I test drove one in 1989 along with a Civic Si and an Isuzu Imark RS (DOHC). I ended up buying the Isuzu but always had a soft spot for the Suzuki. I recently found a car that reminds me of the Suzuki but with more power and features. A 2013 Fiat Abarth, such a fun car to drive and been reliable with no issues at all in the 18 months I've owned it.
They were always overshadowed by their motorcycles & quads in the US. Importing unreliable Daewoo garbage with questionable parts availability even when new in the 2000s/early 2010s didn't help their reputation, and nor did the reputation of the similar Geo Metro as a throwaway penalty box or the rollover history of the Samurai/SJ410.
Dang that runs alright for an almost 30 year old subcompact! We took my brothers 1991 Geo metro(1.0L 3cyl-55HP) 2 door/hatch with a 5 speed and that thing ran 22 seconds in the quarter. 0-60... The same, lol. It could hit 90mph on a very long grade 5-10% downhill... eventually. But it was capable of beating it's 50mph highway rating slightly!
The current Suzuki Swift Sport (successor to this one), keep a very similar recipe, low weight 950kg (light by modern standards), small engine 1.4, although direct injected and turbocharged, 138hp and 170lb-ft of torque, it is a seriously fun and fast car, it can be a sub 7s 0-60mph car.
A guy in my neigbourhood has one of these sitting in his driveway with 4 flat tires. It hasn't moved for years but the body only has a tiny bit of bubbling on one rear fender. For all appearances it looks like it was driven hard for most of its life, but it does have a stick shift and the rare A/C option. looks identical to the one in the video, only 30 years older.
The current European version of the Swift (first introduced in 2004) is one of the small cars we don't have in the US that I really would have loved to have here. It, and the Ford Fiesta, are my favorites of their size class.
Matthew Ford Fiesta is shit, but i like the Swift. There's also a Sport version with a 130hp n/a engine, sport exhaust, suspension, brakes and wheels which is I think the cheapest hot hatch you can buy, and it's pretty cool
Seems like Susuki was really trying to steer people away from that automatic and probably for good reason. I wouldn’t imagine they sold that many at that price. 1000 big ones was a chunk of change!
1994 was the last model year for the twincam in North America. Rather than make an OBD-II version to comply with new regulations, they just took the car off the market.
I'd love to have one of these, always had a soft spot for the Metro, speaking of which how many more metro/swift videos do you guys have that you haven't uploaded?
***** The Geo Metro Convertible only comes in the top-of-the-range LSi model and it's sold in 1990-1993. It only got the same slow, underpowered 1.0L 3-cylinder engine in that's found all of the Metros.
+SonOfTamriel I Live In MINE Quite Comfortably, Thank You Very Much. You Couldn't GIVE ME A Damn PICKUP TRUCK Or SUV Even For Free! That's Some Shit Y'ALL CAN KEEP!! GEO METRO AND SUZUKI SWIFT AND CHEVY SPRINT FOR THE WIN!!!
Very prescient wrap up for this video at the time. Suzuki was always ready, but the time came too late, or maybe never really did come, sadly. Can you imagine if they had built something the size and power of a Focus ST (latest gen)? It's kind of like of the opposite of Honda, they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, for the US market, anyway, yet with brilliance. I'll always be a fan.
+vwestlife, I do remember (I worked at a Nissan dealer back then) they did sell this hatch as the GTi and it was AFTER hitting the streets that VW sued and had to change to GT for the 2nd model year ('90?), which is why MW labels it correctly as a GTi... The GT/GTi was a 100hp DOHC upgrade (only in 3-door hatchback) to the 70hp SOHC 1.3L I4 in other US-spec Swifts (the Metro had the 55hp 1.0L 3-pot that Suzuki wasn't using in US-spec anymore and the convertible was a GM exclusive with no Suzuki-brand equivalent).
The same car as the Geo Metro, however where the Suzuki Swift had the 1.3 liter 4 cylinder, the Metro used the 1.0 liter 3 cylinder engine. There were quite a few of these cars around in the early to mid 90s, later on in the late 90s, Suzuki replaced the Swift with the Esteem.
I had no idea the Swift GTi was sold here :O I thought we only got that cheap and horrible 3 cylinder Geo Metro which is NOTHING like the Swift. I lived outside the US for a while in Central America and there seems to be a cult following the Swift GTi over there. These little Suzuki can be insanely fast because of their power/weight ratio. very unique cars. Super aggressive rear quarters, very cool looking wheels (although the one in this vid had hubcaps) and that very unique and odd-looking rear disc brake caliper position facing upwards
+TheHuskyGT One thing is that only the first model year was called Swift GTi in the US, after that it was Swift GT. Something about VW complaining about trademarks...
Suzuki is still in America, they just discontinued car sales here but they are still in America, now focusing on Motorcycle, ATV, and Marine engine sales. They have recently brought over several new models to the U.S. for testing on our roads such as the 2017 Baleno and the 2019 Jimny so it's possible they may start selling cars here again so it's definitely a good thing that Suzuki is still here. Suzuki Motor of America, -Brea California-
I had a 92 Geo Metro, 1 litre 3 cylinder 5 speed with air conditioning. I bought it for 700 bucks, and ended up putting over a hundred thousand miles on it in one year. combination of pizza delivery and some light package courier work. the interior was very cheap with lots of squeaks and rattles. but I never put a single penny into repair problems. Just brakes and tires and oil changes. and that thing that the shit beat out of it just about every day. around town it was reasonably quick the only time you noticed the lack of power was trying to merge onto the interstate. but once on the interstate it would do at 85 miles an hour without much trouble. I generally average mid thirties in the city and 45 to 50 miles per gallon on the highway. my job changed and no longer needed the car sold it for 300 bucks. pretty damn good deal I wish I could find another one in good shape and x-fi model in particular would be awesome.
You Should Have Hung Onto It Dude! I Still Regret Letting Go Of My '86 Sprint 5 Speed In The Same Way. I Also Used My (Still Current After 25 Years Car!) '90 Geo Metro Automatic In That Lowly Pathetic No Paying High Disrespectful To Employee Courier Messenger Work! I'M NEVER LETTING GO OF MY GEO METRO!! I'LL TAKE MY CAR OVER ANY PICKUP TRUCK SUV OR LUXURY CAR ANYDAY!! THEY ALL CAN KEEP THAT CRAP! HAHA!
+Richard Kaltenbach just didn't have a use for it, and didn't see that I ever would. got plenty of use out of it. $700 purchase. drive it 100,000 miles in one year, sold it for $250. ran great still but needed front end work. biggest issue with a metro.. is it's a tin can. you get hit.. your dead. drive semis for 10 years... actually saw one wrecked. no extracting the driver. they wrapped the whole car in plastic and took it away. I would still drive one for a city car., but I travel too much highway now days.
I kept my 1987 Chevrolet Sprint Turbo from 1993 to 2010. Great little car and I still talk to the guy that owns it. It had about 193k on it when sold. Heads got redone once, and a new turbo and clutch at 125k.. not bad at all.
Fairly good numbers for such a small car! I just recently bought a 04 Aerio with the 5 spd., and it definitely has some get up and go! It's kinda unstable when it's windy out, but on a perfect day, he's a little racing beast!
This car came with different names on different markets such; Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Cultus, Geo Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Chevrolet Sprint, Holden Barina, Subaru Justy.
@jbm0866 Do we have it "good" today? These new cars are heavy, complex, have worse tactile feel from the driver controls, get no better MPGs, and when they break are VERY expensive to repair. For ordinary folks with limited budgets 1989 was better.
Interesting...they added a simpler cluster on this...rev counter up to 8000 rpm, with redline starting at a little over 6500... in other markets, it would go up to 9000 rpm, redline starting at 8000 rpm, although the engine's limiter was actually at 7500 rpm.
I loved my 89 Swift GTi, but I had modded a few things, exhaust, suspension, audio, sound damping, clutch and an engine tune, wheels and tires..It would keep up with my buddy's 98 Z24.
Was there a new car in 1989 that didnt have a rear window defogger? John seems quite impressed this car has that feature. Pretty sure even base Yugos and Hyundais had rear window warmers, although perhaps they were options (?) The dual power mirrors would perhaps have been a bit more of a surprise, and this car has a rear hatch wiper too.
I owned a 90 Swift Gt. I loved that little car fast light & tiny for the "90s" Very good 4 wheel discs. I loved the frustration on the driver's face of a 92 Si hatch when I would pull ahead a length in a street drag. Too bad they all rotted away they were great cars!
+Hot80s Great car really for the 90s and kind of a sleeper. I drove a 1991 CRX Si with 106hp thinking of all the Honda hype alive in the mid/late 90s. It was a let down. My 118hp 85' Toyota pickup could keep up with that thing. Power to weight suggests why but my pickup wasn't advertising "bright yellow special edition sports car" Your 100 horsepower Swift would actually outrun any factory American CRX Si.
Dan Buker I hear ya! I will remind you my street race ( I had a 90 GT ) was with the 125hp vtec 1992 Si hatchback a.k.a. D16Z6. He wasn't too happy with his driving or his car.
I have a 92 VW GTI 16v, my fave all time hot hatch. I drove a 93 Swift GT rolling up in my 87 Sprint Turbo. I liked the handling better than my Sprint and the seats, but the blown Suzuki 3 cylinder in my car was more fun.
Mmmm that Civic Si at the end....damn I miss the days when Honda made fun cars everyone could afford with good looks! Time to move on and find other car companies to fill that Niche now!
Nope. "Ye olden times" they had locks to be used with car key, or secondary key. In the 80s premium cars got central locking which included those, like MB. So when one opened drivers door, with key, (no remote) it opened all.
This is the second car I owned. Bought my 1989 GTI in Virginia Beach when I was in Navy C school in 1995. Drove it cross country to San Diego in 1997. I really loved this car. Some of the best seats I have ever had in a car and the handling was really great when you put summer tires on it. Sold it in 1998 and wish I still had it!
For those laughing about the "100 horsepower", that was very good for the time, especially for a light 1.3 liter engine. It produced around 113 pound feet of torque in it's mid range and mine only weighed about 1850 pounds, so the power was more than adequate for an econo box of that period. Great little car to take out for a beating.
People seem to forget most early 90s econoboxes had less than 80hp from 1.6 liter engines lol. We're too accustomed to hellcats and amgs being the norm nowadays.
@@kanchingyghighly agreed my 1996 ek civic with the d16 has 125hp and its certainly not fast but defiantly very respectable.. and also still relevent. My 2010 l13z1 jazz only has 100 hp/128nm and that is a 20+ year later design with ivtec although may only be a single cam.. dk tbh not quite as responsive and fast as my ek but still great for a 1.3
but most people just don't appreciate or understand they just proceed to shit talk, that swift would definitely be a fun little ride.
I had an 88 4 door with the single cam carb’d G13B. Thing would do 2750rpm @110kmh and it would keep up with a EP3 typeR to 50km/h. Fill the tank for $60 NZD in 2017 and was good for 10 days of daily driver duties including bored roadtrips. Miss that lil car
Love old simple and light sport hatchbacks, too bad no one makes them anymore.
ford fiesta ST is the closest thing we got nowadays
I know, and a fine vehicle it is. its just too heavy with too many doors.
Underpantsniper true stuff weight is why my geo prizm is still fun to drive, it weighs nothing!
and my 1000 buck 91 Civic Si hatch with a built D16z6 will never leave my side. 2100 lbs with a 140hp and 35 mpgs. Best mini work van ever hahahaha
sounds like a lot of fun when the roads get twisty :)
Cool they had a pissed off hit-man as a test driver 2:02!
This was my first new car purchase. Drove the hell out of it. It was a hopped up Geo Metro. My best road trip was in this car. Drove from Indiana to Michigan, into Canada, and then to NY and back to Indiana. 1991 was a good year.
best car i ever owned, 400k befor engine went out maintenance was not very good on my part. how I miss that car. this cars were indeed trouble free. also had a 4x4 tracker and same thing trouble free sold it after 200k. Wish still had either of those cars
I owned one of these, too, in white. Loved that car. Seeing this brought back memories.
Suzuki currently has a very good reputation for reliability and durability in Europe. In japanese domestic market ,suzuki was no 2 this year. Doug demuro said the current swift was better than any budget car offered in usa .
I owned a 1991 Suzuki Swift. Its one of the BEST car designs in recent decades period! Both myself & everyone I've spoken to have NEVER heard of a broken down Suzuki Swift. This car was extremely easy to service yourself as everything was conveniently within reach. The 89-91 Swift was a well refined/designed entry-level affordable car. Certainly NOT an "econo-box" as mentioned in this cheap deceptive video.
I think the "amazing 100 hp" was referring to the hp per liter, which was 70% more than the highest output 350 in that year's Camaro.
Sorry no, that figure was 100 Hp out of a 1.3L engine.
@@pcnepal still pretty good horsepower per liter, especially considering only two years earlier you would've needed a turbo on a larger engine to get that (Chevy Spectrum Turbo)
Um, no, spoken like a true Millennial or GenZ. That was the output of the engine. Most four cylinder engines at the time would produce less than 80hp.
This little car was real "Pocket rocket",back in 1991. when I drove one in Europe.
why? did you drive it in your pocket?
it clearly wont fit in a standard pocket.
thats a dumb description.
The dude with the serial killer gloves, shades, and jacket is really killing my buzz.
" performance car that produces an amazing 100 horsepower "
Love the old school motor week videos!
Do you know what a sports/performance car is?
That 100 horsepower WAS amazing! Still is. The car weighed slightly more than 1,000 pounds. That is an amazing horsepower to weight ratio that when combined with the sport suspension spelled fun to drive.
Put 100hp motor on a golf cart, it’ll be faster than most so-called sports cars. Might handle like crap but I bet it would be quick. The Swift GTi wasn’t slow for its day at all.
But the weight of the car was only 1350 pounds.......
@@Thenosferatu1900 Can only dream of such great little cars today..now we have nanny overkill and computers...
I'd love to buy a brand new 1989 Swift GTi today!
For 1989 this looked like one of the nicest looking small cars (in the UK at least).
Back in the day anything with 16 valves or with GTI in the name sounded impresive. I remember wanting one of these for my first car back when I was a boy racer. LOL.
+Leeroy Jones izuzu I-mark
Leeroy Jones don't use the word boy racer, it's like remind me of boy George
Very true words!!
I want this now :D
I had a '91 Metro convertible and an '89 Swift GTi. Both were great little cars but no doubt the Swift was a lot more fun with nearly twice the horsepower. That 1.3L engine was pretty potent for such a tiny little vehicle. The thing drove circles around everything else on the road in the winter with snow tires. I miss the crap out of that car.
Only problem is that both of them were automatics. They would have been much better with manual transmissions.
The manual transmission makes a huge difference. All of my Swifts were manual shifting. My first car was a Chevy Sprint (AKA Suzuki Forsa) that had an automatic. It was underpowered deathtrap with how slow it accelerated. Years later, I picked a manual version of the same car. Suddenly you could drive with authority in the fast lane. It was astonishing how much faster the car was without the automatic.
remembering when suzuki small cars were exciting makes me feel old!
Swift sport is still great fun.
4 disc brakes and all independent suspension, nice
Got a 95 model Swift GTi, 20 years old and still perfoms as a little sportscar, love that car!
I rented a metro once in January and then we had a big snowstorm. That car handled so well in deep snow I was shocked. I think because of the thin tires that cut right through it also the ground clearance of a little bit high and the thing having power also being very lightweight. I'm super confident those couple of days.
From the VDO, I think this car has a great handling. The car follow command from steering without delay, oversteer or understeer.
If it has got wider and lower rim tyres, it can move faster in the corner.
In kumho swift cup they raced it with 185/55 or 50/14 instread of 175/65/14.. Probably also with stiffer sidewall
Simply amazing cars, I love both of mine! Fun at 45 mpg and mine even has AC. They run forever and sip gas like tea, bring back the swift!
They sell it in other countries. Unfortunately, Americans have been brainwashed into buying SUVs and trucks.
It is still on sale, just not in the US, you can import one from Mexico, it currently uses either a 1.0 3 cylinder turbo or a 1.4 I4 turbo for the sport model.
The guy with driving gloves is in a hurry to touch every single part of the car inside and out lol ;-) Well maybe in 1989 it was cool ;-) I like how this show has been around forever and is still basically the same (minus the gloves), awesome!
I almost bought one of these but was short of cash being a college student at the time and my parents wouldn't help. I'm glad as two years later I ended up buying a CRX Si. Funny thing is that today I drive a fast $50K car with more power and tech than I'll ever use but find myself yearning for those old hot hatch days...most fun I've ever had in nearly 30 years of driving.
Shame suzuki don't do america anymore , the 2012-2017 swift sport has amazing reviews and is cheap enough for someone like yourself to have as a second car.
I daily a 2021 Subaru WRX because my 1990 CRX Si broke down back in October. I miss driving my CRX every day ;_;
I had a white Suzuki Swift hatchback that I love very much. When my dad crashed his old Cadillac car I end up giving it to him for his daily drive. For a little car it drives fast and gas saver. ❤❤😊
In low-powered cars such as this, if you pay the extra $1,000 for the automatic transmission, you should revoke your license.
as someone who learned to drive on a low power econobox 5 speed. I disagree. Nothing is more tedious and unfun as an underpowered econobox with a stick shift.
thing was a total pain to drive around it, and absolutely no fun. things changed the second I got myself into a 1990 eclipse turbo, second I got some hp and torque behind that 5 speed things got fun , aside from stop and go traffic....which still was a total pain with the 5 speed.
I don't care what anyone says, a low HP/torque low displacement econobox with a manual was just another layer of frustration on an already slow. cramped, and boring car to drive.
I daily a Hyundai Accent with a 6 speed manual. Everyone has their opinion. I'd hate myself if I drove an automatic.
bob loblaw
Maybe if you hate driving. I had a 1992 Mazda protégé in high school, and that little buzz bomb's 5 speed gear box made the little car feel far sportier than it was. Heel and toeing at perfectly legal speeds and getting to rev out all 100 horsepower without going to jail. It might have been slow but the combo of good handling and a slick gearbox made it fun to drive.
nah ive had more than one slugs with a 5 speed. ive had some decently fast cars with a 5 speed. I wouldn't even bother with a slow econobox with a manual, its just tedious to play around with. not that it really matters, they are starting to charge more for manuals these days if its even an option.
bob loblaw Then your not a real car enthusiast.
Nothing's more fun than driving a slow car fast.
The Swift was the first car that Suzuki ever imported to the United States under their own name. They had already been selling a version of their Cultus/Forsa here through Chevy dealers since 1984 under the Sprint name.
"an amazing 100 horsepower!" ... I miss seeing these cars on the streets.
we still have suzukis in europe, i drive a 2002 swift 1.3 16v single cam. its the gti engine but with single cams instead of twin cams. 0-60 still under 10seconds, which is pretty good for such a small car.
How do you have a 16 valves with a single cam?
@@goclunker its a G13BB found in the special edition/summun
@@goclunker yep 16 valves OHC. The gti is 16 valves dohc but i wouldnt call it the same engine.
@@Tom_pr pretty crazy
The gti engine has factory forged crank, rods and Pistons and balanced rotating assembly!! G13b and G13bb share block and that's it.
Had one the best car ever owned! 1991 model put 136,000 miles
Had a 94... They hadn't refined it much at all by then but it was still a blast to drive and ridiculously cheap to do so. Spanked a friends 90 prelude with it, too.
Good looking little car and that dohc sounded good.
This review in 1989 has better relevant infomationthan the new current reviews on cars
God I miss Suzuki in the US market...
***** Yeah... I've always liked the Equator/Frontier twins. However, I meant actual Suzukis like the GV, SX4 and Kizashi...
They are.....just in two wheel form!!!
fokuz02 Yes, true. I'm not much of a rider anymore though.
FantomLightning - Their is a fella that lives in the same area as myself that has 5 of these, 2 are convertible. the rest are hard tips. but they are very well maintained, look as they did in the 90's.
I wish they put the same effort into the U.S. market that hyundai did. Their line up was decent. The Kazashi was sweet.
I test drove one in 1989 along with a Civic Si and an Isuzu Imark RS (DOHC). I ended up buying the Isuzu but always had a soft spot for the Suzuki. I recently found a car that reminds me of the Suzuki but with more power and features. A 2013 Fiat Abarth, such a fun car to drive and been reliable with no issues at all in the 18 months I've owned it.
Those acceleration times are quite impressive for a Swift!
Suzuki just had really shit luck in the U.S., they always built good cars. The Swift GTi/GT was one of the coolest hot hatches that Japan sent over.
So good that even GM rebadged them : Geo Metro & Firefly + Asuna in Cdn . Much better than the korean Aveo that followed .
They were always overshadowed by their motorcycles & quads in the US. Importing unreliable Daewoo garbage with questionable parts availability even when new in the 2000s/early 2010s didn't help their reputation, and nor did the reputation of the similar Geo Metro as a throwaway penalty box or the rollover history of the Samurai/SJ410.
@@fourniergangrene524 do your homework.the roll over bullchit is all lies.
I think these swifts until 94ish are like the best little cars ever made - so fun to drive, unlike anything else
The trick with the heater is to set it to the middle then half a click to the left or right for slightly cool or slightly warm
Dang that runs alright for an almost 30 year old subcompact! We took my brothers 1991 Geo metro(1.0L 3cyl-55HP) 2 door/hatch with a 5 speed and that thing ran 22 seconds in the quarter. 0-60... The same, lol. It could hit 90mph on a very long grade 5-10% downhill... eventually. But it was capable of beating it's 50mph highway rating slightly!
That shifter. I can't even.
It will steal your girlfriend.
Hahahaha
do you mean it looks loose and not precise ?
@@doublewishbone_ No some people called it "the dildo"
My man knew how to work that thing right lmfao
Why would anyone want to have a shitty automatic gearbox with that brilliant engine, I will never ever know.
Maybe because most of us don't want a manual transmission. I certainly don't. Give me a Swift GTi with an automatic and air conditioning and I'm good.
"An amazing 100hp!"
Amazing indeed.
The current Suzuki Swift Sport (successor to this one), keep a very similar recipe, low weight 950kg (light by modern standards), small engine 1.4, although direct injected and turbocharged, 138hp and 170lb-ft of torque, it is a seriously fun and fast car, it can be a sub 7s 0-60mph car.
A guy in my neigbourhood has one of these sitting in his driveway with 4 flat tires. It hasn't moved for years but the body only has a tiny bit of bubbling on one rear fender. For all appearances it looks like it was driven hard for most of its life, but it does have a stick shift and the rare A/C option. looks identical to the one in the video, only 30 years older.
The current European version of the Swift (first introduced in 2004) is one of the small cars we don't have in the US that I really would have loved to have here. It, and the Ford Fiesta, are my favorites of their size class.
Matthew Ford Fiesta is shit, but i like the Swift. There's also a Sport version with a 130hp n/a engine, sport exhaust, suspension, brakes and wheels which is I think the cheapest hot hatch you can buy, and it's pretty cool
These cars were also sold in Canada as the Pontiac Firefly.
Seems like Susuki was really trying to steer people away from that automatic and probably for good reason. I wouldn’t imagine they sold that many at that price. 1000 big ones was a chunk of change!
In Canada, the GTi option was almost twice as much as a regular Swift IIRC.
A friend of mine had a black one. With a few mods, this thing was fast. At least it felt fast lol
This guy truly uses the glove compartment.
I just bought one and I love it! retro style is also very nice.
These were fantastic little cars. It's a shame they weren't more popular.
1994 was the last model year for the twincam in North America. Rather than make an OBD-II version to comply with new regulations, they just took the car off the market.
I'd love to have one of these, always had a soft spot for the Metro, speaking of which how many more metro/swift videos do you guys have that you haven't uploaded?
Metro convertible for sure
***** The Geo Metro Convertible only comes in the top-of-the-range LSi model and it's sold in 1990-1993. It only got the same slow, underpowered 1.0L 3-cylinder engine in that's found all of the Metros.
hanksranger frig off Rick! It's to small to live in.
lol
+SonOfTamriel I Live In MINE Quite Comfortably, Thank You Very Much. You Couldn't GIVE ME A Damn PICKUP TRUCK Or SUV Even For Free! That's Some Shit Y'ALL CAN KEEP!!
GEO METRO AND SUZUKI SWIFT AND CHEVY SPRINT FOR THE WIN!!!
I definitely remember this little tiny car when I was a kid and it was actually called the Suzuki Swift GT in Canada and not the GTi
Because of vw having trouble with it. But suzuki won this after they voluntered to put just gt on it.
@@Tom_pr I had absolutely no clue about this topic bud like I had no idea that was actually the case then
Good. Another episode with the Unabomber demonstrating the features.
Very prescient wrap up for this video at the time. Suzuki was always ready, but the time came too late, or maybe never really did come, sadly. Can you imagine if they had built something the size and power of a Focus ST (latest gen)? It's kind of like of the opposite of Honda, they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, for the US market, anyway, yet with brilliance. I'll always be a fan.
Volkswagen sued them for trademark infringement over the GTi name, so Suzuki changed it to the Swift GT for the U.S. market.
+vwestlife Fact.
+vwestlife, I do remember (I worked at a Nissan dealer back then) they did sell this hatch as the GTi and it was AFTER hitting the streets that VW sued and had to change to GT for the 2nd model year ('90?), which is why MW labels it correctly as a GTi...
The GT/GTi was a 100hp DOHC upgrade (only in 3-door hatchback) to the 70hp SOHC 1.3L I4 in other US-spec Swifts (the Metro had the 55hp 1.0L 3-pot that Suzuki wasn't using in US-spec anymore and the convertible was a GM exclusive with no Suzuki-brand equivalent).
VWestlife really? in which country did VW do that? Mitsubishi also used GTi (exactly same use of capital letter for G&T)
I thought it was an out of court settlement.
Andri Yuliarto so did Peugeot I think.
JOHN DAVIS IS A LEGEND
John Davis = way cooler than Jon Davis (of Garfield fame)
+doctor zaius Jon Arbuckle. Jim Davis is the creator of Garfield.
Jacksonkellyfreak Shit, well... let me try again:
John Davis = way cooler than Jon Davis (of KoRn fame)
doctor zaius
lol now that's definitely true
+DoubleD 613 i'm glad he's still around.
My friends mom had one in white when I was a kid, loved that thing haha
The same car as the Geo Metro, however where the Suzuki Swift had the 1.3 liter 4 cylinder, the Metro used the 1.0 liter 3 cylinder engine. There were quite a few of these cars around in the early to mid 90s, later on in the late 90s, Suzuki replaced the Swift with the Esteem.
MW is really proud of the fact that it's 1989!
As a teenager back in early 90s this was a cool car for European Twisty and narrow roads 👍🤟🤪😜🇸🇮 Hot hach 🔥🥵 for real boy racers
I had no idea the Swift GTi was sold here :O I thought we only got that cheap and horrible 3 cylinder Geo Metro which is NOTHING like the Swift. I lived outside the US for a while in Central America and there seems to be a cult following the Swift GTi over there. These little Suzuki can be insanely fast because of their power/weight ratio. very unique cars. Super aggressive rear quarters, very cool looking wheels (although the one in this vid had hubcaps) and that very unique and odd-looking rear disc brake caliper position facing upwards
+TheHuskyGT One thing is that only the first model year was called Swift GTi in the US, after that it was Swift GT. Something about VW complaining about trademarks...
I looked at a red one back in the day I wish I would have bought it look like a fun little car
R.I.P. Suzuki of America
Suzuki is still in America, they just discontinued car sales here but they are still in America, now focusing on Motorcycle, ATV, and Marine engine sales. They have recently brought over several new models to the U.S. for testing on our roads such as the 2017 Baleno and the 2019 Jimny so it's possible they may start selling cars here again so it's definitely a good thing that Suzuki is still here. Suzuki Motor of America, -Brea California-
I had a 92 Geo Metro, 1 litre 3 cylinder 5 speed with air conditioning. I bought it for 700 bucks, and ended up putting over a hundred thousand miles on it in one year. combination of pizza delivery and some light package courier work. the interior was very cheap with lots of squeaks and rattles. but I never put a single penny into repair problems. Just brakes and tires and oil changes. and that thing that the shit beat out of it just about every day. around town it was reasonably quick the only time you noticed the lack of power was trying to merge onto the interstate. but once on the interstate it would do at 85 miles an hour without much trouble. I generally average mid thirties in the city and 45 to 50 miles per gallon on the highway. my job changed and no longer needed the car sold it for 300 bucks. pretty damn good deal I wish I could find another one in good shape and x-fi model in particular would be awesome.
You Should Have Hung Onto It Dude! I Still Regret Letting Go Of My '86 Sprint 5 Speed In The Same Way. I Also Used My (Still Current After 25 Years Car!) '90 Geo Metro Automatic In That Lowly Pathetic No Paying High Disrespectful To Employee Courier Messenger Work!
I'M NEVER LETTING GO OF MY GEO METRO!! I'LL TAKE MY CAR OVER ANY PICKUP TRUCK SUV OR LUXURY CAR ANYDAY!! THEY ALL CAN KEEP THAT CRAP! HAHA!
+Richard Kaltenbach
just didn't have a use for it, and didn't see that I ever would. got plenty of use out of it. $700 purchase. drive it 100,000 miles in one year, sold it for $250. ran great still but needed front end work.
biggest issue with a metro.. is it's a tin can. you get hit.. your dead.
drive semis for 10 years... actually saw one wrecked. no extracting the driver. they wrapped the whole car in plastic and took it away.
I would still drive one for a city car., but I travel too much highway now days.
I kept my 1987 Chevrolet Sprint Turbo from 1993 to 2010. Great little car and I still talk to the guy that owns it. It had about 193k on it when sold. Heads got redone once, and a new turbo and clutch at 125k.. not bad at all.
in 1989 i remember when these came out i fell in love they were so good looking
Fairly good numbers for such a small car! I just recently bought a 04 Aerio with the 5 spd., and it definitely has some get up and go! It's kinda unstable when it's windy out, but on a perfect day, he's a little racing beast!
haircuts don't get much more goofy than 2:05
Can't decide if it's more "Dumb and Dumber" or Dylann Roof.
A good candidate for the Mullet Fest or coupe Longueuil .
They should have sold this as a Metro gsi too, I wish we had more of these left in America
This car came with different names on different markets such; Suzuki Swift, Suzuki Cultus, Geo Metro, Pontiac Firefly, Chevrolet Sprint, Holden Barina, Subaru Justy.
Saw a Firefly in Abbotsford once, didn't know that''s what they were north of the border. Looked so strange with an arrowhead on it.
I owned two of them, one with a factory power sunroof. Fun and quick cars. 1750lbs
Man how happy I'd be if I had a Suzuki Swift gti
My dad bought one when new. I miss that car. Ugh.
I need to bring back my 94 Swift GT to life. Engine started knocking at has been parked for over 15 years "(
Please tell me where to buy
i have a 94 Swift gt....just a fantastic car!
I have a '91. It has collectors plates.
I had a teal green 1993 Geo Metro 1.0 3cyl when I was 14/15! No A/C, No radio, just a whole lot of fun.
Nice to see you around here again :P.
+kirbyswarp yeah my GF had a teal 94 brand new
kirbyswarp I driven one to practice shifting and that little metro was a blast to drive!
kirbyswarp so did my wife!! She gave it to her dad, who drove it until it fell apart at 250K miles
this little car shot out of the box with the shortest 1st gear ever but then bogged just a bit when you hit 2nd....it was fun to drive though.
4:00 that glove though...
I test drove one of these in '89 and a 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo the year before; now that was a screamer!
Had an 87 turbo sprint.. that 1.0 liter turbo had motorcycle lightweight tech.. wish they dropped a turbo intercooled 1.3..
My friend had one, new. I was sooooo jealous!!
I had a red one back in the day. My GF loved that shifter knob.
Quicker than an '89 Civic Si....and only 100hp. We need these throwbacks to remind us how good we have things today.
@jbm0866
Do we have it "good" today? These new cars are heavy, complex, have worse tactile feel from the driver controls,
get no better MPGs, and when they break are VERY expensive to repair. For ordinary folks with limited budgets 1989 was better.
Interesting...they added a simpler cluster on this...rev counter up to 8000 rpm, with redline starting at a little over 6500...
in other markets, it would go up to 9000 rpm, redline starting at 8000 rpm, although the engine's limiter was actually at 7500 rpm.
The speedometer gauge is still similar to those of JDM Suzuki Carry kei trucks
I loved my 89 Swift GTi, but I had modded a few things, exhaust, suspension, audio, sound damping, clutch and an engine tune, wheels and tires..It would keep up with my buddy's 98 Z24.
I remember mine, good times, sold that thing near mint, the only near mint one I've ever seen in my life lmao
My '89 Automatic Non A/C GT Got REPOSSESSED!!
Was there a new car in 1989 that didnt have a rear window defogger? John seems quite impressed this car has that feature. Pretty sure even base Yugos and Hyundais had rear window warmers, although perhaps they were options (?)
The dual power mirrors would perhaps have been a bit more of a surprise, and this car has a rear hatch wiper too.
Interesting thing about the rear wiper: it only had one speed. It was actually timed with the hazard light relay!
This car is actually really cool
I owned a 90 Swift Gt. I loved that little car fast light & tiny for the "90s" Very good 4 wheel discs. I loved the frustration on the driver's face of a 92 Si hatch when I would pull ahead a length in a street drag. Too bad they all rotted away they were great cars!
Mmm, Nah! I'd Stick With The Suzuki! Honda Is Way Too Overrated IMO!
+Hot80s Great car really for the 90s and kind of a sleeper. I drove a 1991 CRX Si with 106hp thinking of all the Honda hype alive in the mid/late 90s. It was a let down. My 118hp 85' Toyota pickup could keep up with that thing. Power to weight suggests why but my pickup wasn't advertising "bright yellow special edition sports car" Your 100 horsepower Swift would actually outrun any factory American CRX Si.
Dan Buker I hear ya! I will remind you my street race ( I had a 90 GT ) was with the 125hp vtec 1992 Si hatchback a.k.a. D16Z6. He wasn't too happy with his driving or his car.
I have a 92 VW GTI 16v, my fave all time hot hatch. I drove a 93 Swift GT rolling up in my 87 Sprint Turbo. I liked the handling better than my Sprint and the seats, but the blown Suzuki 3 cylinder in my car was more fun.
my friend had the red 89 sprint turbo brand new he roasted the first engine in 3 wks & got 2 more motors replaced on warranty until he sold it
1:09-1:25 it does in fact sound like simpler times. Much simpler than you can possibly imagine
The best looking thing on that car was the recaro styled seats. And what's with the shifter!?👋😆
this reminded me that automatic seatbelts were really cool back in the days.
The base price with the optional air conditioning would be $9615, that would be $22,417.61 in 2022 dollars.
I'd buy this brand new right now
The people in the car try to break every control possible.
In 90 it was called a Swift GT the "i" went away with a settlement to Volkswagen.
The european version was incredible
Those cars were pretty sweet! 😍
I used to own this exact model and color. It was a great car, had insane gas mileage. Got totaled in an accident, sadly, and I could not find another.
Mmmm that Civic Si at the end....damn I miss the days when Honda made fun cars everyone could afford with good looks! Time to move on and find other car companies to fill that Niche now!
2:44 "We also appreciated the standard remote releases for the trunk and gas door"
Did cars not have trunk and gas tank "poppers" before?
Nope. "Ye olden times" they had locks to be used with car key, or secondary key.
In the 80s premium cars got central locking which included those, like MB. So when one opened drivers door, with key, (no remote) it opened all.