The car that helped put Suzuki back on the small-car map -- the Swift hatch -- is being readied for an all-new model.
The next generation Swift has been sprung -- albeit cloaked in disguise -- on European roads, ahead of a public debut at the 2010 Paris motor show and local launch in early 2011.
The Swift is an important car for Suzuki in Australia -- it accounts for half the company's sales locally. But it has also helped the Japanese maker gain a stronger foothold in Europe.
The current Swift is a bit of a success story, so the new model under this disguise has big shoes to fill.
After a series of forgettable cars, Suzuki showed it can build a world class vehicle when it introduced the current model Swift at the start of 2005.
Key to that model's success was its new-found styling flair, improved quality and fun driving dynamics.
Importantly, much of the chassis tuning was done in Europe. And, as these photos from the spy photographers at Carparazzi show, Suzuki is sticking to this winning formula.
Although the test car is covered in black gym mats, it seems that the new model will look like an evolution of the current car rather than a completely new design direction.
According to our insiders, the new model will be slightly roomier and get an all-new EU5-compliant 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.
The current Swift has a four-star safety rating when it is equipped with curtain airbags, but the new model is expected to get a five-star safety rating -- and have curtain airbags standard across the range.
Local sales of the new model are due to start in early 2011, exactly six years after the current model went on sale.
Fans of the Swift Sport hot hatch will need to wait another 18 months for the all-new version, so make that October 2013.
The good news, at least, is that there is a sports model planned. What's not yet clear is whether Suzuki will continue to sell the Swift Sport in its current guise alongside the all-new model in that interim 18-month period.
In the meantime, stand by for more spy shots as the Swift pounds the roads of Europe under the noses of eagle-eyed spy photographers.
-- with Carparazzi
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