Good news for the Suzuki Swift apparently. I just heard from a very good friend that the Suzuki Swift had increased sales in Ireland in the year that passed, around 26% more actually, so that’s very good! More then 4,000 Suzuki Swift were registered in 2006, compared to the 3,200 registered in 2005. While in 2005 Suzuki Swift had 1.86% of the irish market, that share increased to almost 2.3% in 2006. The best reason I can see for this spectacular increase is probably the launch of the new Suzuki Swift, which I bet helped a lot. The new Suzuki Swift was also named the 2006 Irish Car of the Year.

Some other reasons for the sales boost for the Suzuki Swift are the bigger dealer network which now covers the entire country and the continued effort to improve their image in the irish market. For 2007, the irish Suzuki Swift has plans to increase this number of sales by bringing new products to the table at very good prices compared with those of the competition, plus an aggressive strategy to bring new clients in.

I see two trends when it comes to cheap cars these days. One is the cheap car with minimum number of options, like the Dacia Logan, and the other trend is that of small cars with a larger number of options but also a bit expensive, but under $15.000, which is a low price anyway. The Suzuki Swift is in the second category. The basic price of the Suzuki Swift is $13,745 and you get a CD player and both frontal and side airbags. I’m always a bit unhappy when these options don’t include air conditioning, but it’s an optional so with some extra money you can have it on your Suzuki Swift. If you’re willing to go up to $16,000 you get the air conditioning and other nice things like two more speakers, a CD player that can play MP3, cruise-control, an alarm, and electric windows and doors. The price is quite ok for this Suzuki Swift but it’s a small car with less then four meters in length so it’s perfect for the young but not for a family. That’s not due to the interior of the Suzuki Swift, which is very good, even for someone of my size, but you don’t really have the space to put too many groceries and kids in it.

One thing is sure if you talk about the Suzuki Swift. It’s a car made for the young, and that’s so much more true when it comes to the Suzuki Swift Sport. It’s a cool, trendy, fast hatchback and even the price is set at the level that most young people would be able to spend. A few of the good things in the Suzuki Swift Sport are the trendy look, the easy handling, the full equipment, the quality of construction, the superb gearbox and the seats that just spell “Sport”. But, there are also a few minuses for the Suzuki Swift and those are, the ride that is a bit too firm and a bit uncomfortable, the fact that you have to visit the service a bit too often and when you do its not very easy to find a Suzuki Swift dealership.