Say hello to Australia’s cheapest new hybrid vehicle you can buy – the 2024 Suzuki Swift Hybrid . Oh yes, while the MG 3 has gone from $20,000 budget-friendly econobox to Yaris Hybrid -rivalling premi-ish positioning, the fourth-generation Swift is launching as a hybrid-only proposition and the first step in Suzuki’s electrified resurgence in Australia. I will preface this by saying the little Suzuki isn’t quite a ‘full’ hybrid like its Chinese and Japanese rivals, though its 12V mild-hybrid system still manages to offer competitive efficiency for a much cheaper price.
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. Further, unlike more common 12V systems in many modern cars, the Swift’s integrated starter generator acts as an electric motor to assist the petrol engine on takeoff and under load, and also extends the idle stop/start function to engage as the vehicle slows to a halt, switching off the engine from around 10-12km/h. We can get into the specifics of the drivetrain later, but the headline is that Suzuki claims a very thrifty 3.
9L/100km for the Swift Hybrid manual, and 4.0L/100km with the CVT. CO2 emissions are under 100g/km, too.
Even better, those figures are entirely achievable – at least I managed to match the auto’s claim on our launch drive. Again, more on that later. The other headline is the pricing.
Starting from $24,490 drive-away, the Swift Hybrid is Australia’s cheapest new electrified vehicle. By.