CIRCUMSTANCE is not on the side of the Suzuki Swift, with an ageing model line-up coinciding with a sizeable decline in light car sales overall.

Aggressive manoeuvring by predominantly the South Korean brands in the segment above has placed enormous pressure on the tiny tots of the new-car world in a segment split between about 15 competitors.

Given that context, the Swift, now five years old and with a new-generation model due next year, is holding up reasonably well.

Sales have dropped by a quarter so far this year (to October 2016) in a segment down 17.0 per cent over the same period, but the Suzuki is still in the top half of the field, solidly beating the Ford Fiesta and Holden Barina, and just ahead of the Kia Rio and Honda Jazz.

With improved specification and keen deals (free automatic is a regular nationwide offer) the Japanese brand is hoping to maintain interest in its second-cheapest model after the tiny Celerio.

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