A little background. The event was part of a series taking place around the country meant primarily for Suzuki dealers to show off the new SX4 Sport model. Coming along for the ride is the Kizashi 3 concept car, one of the Suzuki Equator pre-production concepts and the Swift Suzuki was kind enough to let us drive. Though sporting a bright orange metallic paint and wheels of questionable origin, this car was a fairly standard mid-level version, sporting the 1.5-liter fourbanger good for about 100 horsepower. Though they have a five-speed manual version back at HQ, this particular model unfortunately carried the four-speed automatic.

Until we start seeing new Fiestas or Mazda2s on the street, sporty and small Euro-style econoboxes are still a rare site. Though there are Mini Coopers and the occasional Smart ForTwo in urban areas, Americans aren't necessarily used to this quality of design from their smaller vehicles.

Given that the Swift name has been used on enough rebadgings to make your head swim, the car benefits from carrying little aesthetic baggage, allowing the designers the freedom to make a car that looks sharp without having to pay homage to any of the crap coming before it. With the exception of the nose of the car featuring grille and fender work inline with the new and sporty Suzuki design language, the car can stand on its own. The high belt line, which looks out-of-place on certain small cars (we're looking at you, Chevy HHR), manages to give the Swift a larger, more athletic presence. The blacked out A and B pillars also help, minimizing focus towards that part of the greenhouse in a way that carries your eyes away from noticing just how small that rear window is. Compare this to an Aveo, which looks small from any angle (hilariously, the Aveo in Canada is marketed as the Swift).

The interior is straightforward and simple, which is what you expect for a car this size. The three-spoke steering wheel isn't cartoonishly large and is even slightly sporty thanks to the ribbons of chrome-looking plastic which also support the thumb controls. The audio and climate control buttons are tiny, leaving the impression that the interior is actually larger than it is. For an economy car the materials aren't insulting and even a sensitive claustrophobic could survive a short trip (for comparison, the five-door Swift is approximately as wide and long as a first generation MINI but with a three-inch shorter wheelbase).

Like many small cars this one is more fun batting around corners than down the straightaway, especially with the automatic transmission. Nevertheless, the little 1.5-liter engine features Suzuki's version of variable valve timing, allowing for a slightly more aggressive power delivery when accelerating. Tossing the Swift around a 90-degree turn at speed was no problem with the little hatch able to main sufficient traction to keep us pointed in the right direction. There's a little lean when turning aggressively, but it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Over uneven roads the ride was a touch bumpy, but not enough to cause premature labor for any pregnant passengers. Braking? The Swift weighs approximately 2,400 pounds (a bit more with two souls on board), meaning the rear drums are more than able to slow us down before we go rolling off of an embankment or into another car during hard braking.

In the cab on the way back to the train station my driver retold a tale of his old Fiesta. As embarrassed as he was to drive it, he says he rarely had as much fun behind the wheel. The nice thing about the Swift is it's a small, quick and most importantly for the buying demographic — cheap car that you wouldn't be embarrassed to drive. Add to that gas-sipping on par or better than some of the more thirstier hybrids and you've got a car that'll embarrass cheaper-looking alternatives like the Toyota Yaris and the Kia Rio. Just because you're on a budget, it doesn't mean you should settle for crap. If this Swift is a good indicator of the Swift to come, budget buyers at least have a little something more to look forward to.

[ED Note: This car is a foreign-import version of the Suzuki Swift, meaning that there could be significant differences between the version tested and the eventual US Version. That being said, the car should give an indication of what we have to expect from a new Swift]

It's hard to get excited over the Mazda 323, even when it's in the form of a forgotten Mercury. But there's one very important exception to the 323=snoresville equation: the GTX! You want all-wheel-drive turbocharged hoonage without all the careful engineering of your Evos and your WRXs? Just a cheap tin can spraying gravel and chunks of burning rubber in all directions? Have you got twenty Benjamins handy? If you answered "Yes" to all three questions, take a look at this '88 GTX (go here if the ad disappears). This is clearly a seller who's ready to deal- why, it says "Price Lowered" right in the headline! The seller has "Invested too much, sold as is!" in his or her own words, and now it's your chance to cash in. Take a look at the long list of costly- and perhaps even correctly installed- aftermarket goodies: Reich ECU, thudding Migraine-o-Matic speakers, big intercooler, and- perhaps best of all- a fuel cell taking up the entire cargo area. You can count on one thing with this car, and that's that the gas pedal has only known two positions during the car's entire life: "Off" and "Full." We'd probably get all the trim off a grandma-issue 323 and make this thing into a truly soporific sleeper, but you could also go the full nutso-rally route. There's sure to be a plethora of fun surprises in store, either way!

The GTX would be lots of fun, and it belongs on any short list of Jalopnik-approved Hoonmobiles, fer sher. But true hoonage requires a car that's just plain wrong, a car that hurts one's brain to even contemplate. This turbocharged Geo Metro is such a car (go here if the ad disappears). The seller doesn't seem to think it's important to state the year of the car (the photos seem to indicate an early-90s car), nor the number of cylinders (sure looks like the 3-banger). But that stuff doesn't matter- what matters is that it has "a wrx turbo setup,custom transmission,roll cage,lots of custom work." Hmmm... a WRX turbo setup? That sounds, like, not-so-appropriate for a 1.0-liter Suzuki three-cylinder engine... and just what is meant by a "custom" transmission, anyway? Ah, the mysteries you'll be unraveling! The word "GEO" Rustoleumed across the intercooler is a nice touch, as is the casts-doubt-upon-paperwork statement "selling for a friend that will be here in a month or two." Just imagine what this thing would be like to drive if you could actually get it registered and working properly; Super Sleeper Potential!

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Here at tha Jalop, we greatly admire the mad skills of Russ Swift, a man who may well be the United Kingdom's premier workin'-it-for-a-living hoon. Here he swaps his customary Mini for a Landie and keeps the high-CG sucker delicately balanced on two wheels. Good show, Mister Swift. Good show.

Two wheeling in a Defender [YouTube]

Related:
Professional Hoon of the Day: Russ Swift [Internal]

According to Automotive News, Suzuki will bring its next-generation Swift minicar to the US at the dawn of next decade. It'll be a version of the higher-performance Swift hatch like the ones sold in Europe. That car's about the size of the Mini, and will hopefully be the relative bruiser as was the GTi was back in the 1990s. We seem to remember Car and Driver voting it the best car for bicyclists, or something like that, in a manner both completely complimentary and entirely without irony. – Mike Spinelli

Related:
Spy Photos: Suzuki Swift GTi [internal]

We posted the brilliant precision-driving-in-a-parking garage/death of an Austin clip from Clarkson's Heaven and Hell video a while back, but just fast forward to 5:24 if you've already seen it. According to Clarkson, the 2CV "Was built from used Algerians in an asbestos factory, and its weedy, useless little engine ran on um...rat poison and acid." And then, well, just you watch. We're still traumatized. – Davey G. Johnson

Related:
Professional Hoon of the Day: Russ Swift [Internal]

The Joie Chitwood of the UK, Russ Swift, knows a thing or forty about car control. So, naturally, Clarkson enlists him in an attempt to destroy an Austin Metro without actually killing it. Watch and all will become clear. – Davey G. Johnson

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Classic Top Gear: James May's Manly Triumph [Internal]

Teams show support for new look Atlantics [Crash.net UK]

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Worst Danica Patrick Indy 500 Headlines [Internal]

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