Suzuki gives Red Devil treatment to Swift Sport

SUZUKI Australia has ushered in a limited-edition Red Devil version of its Swift Sport alongside permanent driveaway pricing for the full-time hot-hatch line-up.

When the third-generation Swift Sport was launched in January this year, it was priced from $25,490 before on-road costs with a six-speed manual gearbox, while a six-speed torque-convertor automatic transmission commanded a $2000 premium.

As of this month, these prices have increased by $2500 but are now driveaway. Optional metallic paintwork continues to carry a $500 premium for either variant.

The regular range will be joined by 100 examples of the Red Devil next month, which checks in from $29,156 in manual form and $31,156 in automatic guise, or the cost of their full-time siblings with metallic paintwork plus a $666 premium.

For the extra spend, the Red Devil is offered with exclusive Burning Red metallic paintwork and carbon-style black decals for the Swift Sport’s bonnet, front bumper and quarter panels, side doors and C-pillars.

As before, the Swift Sport is motivated by a 1.4-litre BoosterJet turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 103kW of power at 5500rpm and 230Nm of torque from 2500 to 3000rpm.

According to Suzuki Australia general manager of automobile Michael Pachota, the Red Devil is set to build upon the sales success of the latest Swift Sport.

“A true testament to an incredibly hot hatch, the all-new Swift Sport turbo has been a great success since its launch in January this year; owning motoring media reviews and comparisons alike as one of the best bang-for-buck sports hatches in Australia,” he said.

“The Red Devil offers a hot new colour accentuated with an awesome carbon-styled decal pack that really brings out the aggressive design cues of the Swift Sport.”

Sales of the overall Swift light-hatch range have increased significantly this year, with 3360 examples sold to the end of May, representing a 94.6 per cent increase over the 1727 deliveries made during the same period in 2017.

This effort places the Suzuki fourth in the sub-$25,000 light-car segment this year, trailing the Hyundai Accent (6841 units), Mazda2 (4615) and Toyota Yaris (3829) but ahead of the Honda Jazz (3313) and Kia Rio (2808), among others.

2018 Suzuki Swift Sport driveaway pricing