I was at the equivalent of motoring journalist boot camp last week, when the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders held its annual ‘test drive’ extravaganza, writes William Scholes.
It’s the most eclectic car park of the year, with car manufacturers from Abarth to Volvo bringing a bunch of their latest models to allow writers to grab the keys and go for a drive so they can get acquainted - or reacquainted - with them.
This makes the SMMT test day a valuable and worthwhile event, even if the Noah-troubling deluge that dumped itself over the roads around the Yorkshire venue meant it wasn’t possible to draw comprehensive driving impressions. At least the effectiveness of the wipers could be assessed...
The format makes for some fascinating juxtapositions, with value-for-money Dacia sat alongside £200k luxury cars from Bentley and sensible family cars from Ford, Renault and Vauxhall sharing space with Porsche.
My favourite car of the seven or eight I drove on the day was the Veloce version of the fabulous Alfa Romeo Giulia sports saloon. It is responsive and entertaining in the way that all BMW 3 Series models used to be, is gorgeous to behold and as quick as a fast road car needs to be. The Alfa is a wonderful car.
The Toyota RAV4, of all things, was my ‘pleasant surprise of the day’. Far more accomplished than I expected, the family wagon has generous interior space and practicality, feels built to survive a direct hit from a bomb and delivers 50mpg-plus fuel economy - genuinely impressive for such a large, all-wheel-drive car. It would be a fine vehicle on which to spend your own money.
The RAV4’s stablemate, the Lexus UX, was probably the biggest disappointment, while Ford’s outrageously conspicuous Ranger Raptor pick-up was ‘glorious irrelevance of the day’, even if it did manage a convincing impression of a speedboat as I punted it along the flooded lanes around Wetherby.
The Bentley Continental GT, meanwhile, was more like a yacht, its W12 engine woofling away somewhere beneath the long bow as it serenely sailed through standing water and the torrent.
Prices for the Bentley start at £100 less than £160k, but after taking a gentle stroll through the extensive options list many owners are happy to be presented with bills of more than £200,000 - this is a car, after all, which you can specify with paint finishes that cost more than £20,000…
After all this automotive high living, it was good to get back to something a little more normal.
But normal doesn’t have to mean ordinary, as the Suzuki Swift demonstrates.
One of these fizzy little cars, in Attitude trim, was waiting for me at Belfast City Airport.
The car park there might charge Bentley-esque prices, but the Swift feels like something of a bargain. You could buy 10 for the price of an unoptioned Continental GT W12, while metallic paint costs a mere £485 - take that, Bentley.
Of course, I’m guilty here of comparing continent-crossing luxury apples with frugal supermini pears; the Bentley and Suzuki don’t really exist in the same automotive fruit bowl.
Yet both are entirely fit for their respective purposes. Just as the Continental GT effortlessly nails its brief, so too does the Swift bubble around the top of the highly competitive small car market.
The Swift Attitude is probably the best value car that Suzuki makes.
If you want a small car that's keen to play and entertain, then the Swift needs to be on your shortlist
Normally priced at £14,599 - though it can be yours right now for £12,617 thanks to a 'VAT free' offer Suzuki is running at the moment; there are also attractive PCP offers - the special edition Attitude offers a lot of equipment for the money, including a spoiler, side skirts and alloy wheels to give a convincing sporty vibe.
It’s based on the mid-range SZ-T trim but where that car comes with Suzuki’s excellent high-tech 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo ‘Boosterjet’ petrol engine, the Attitude comes only with a more conventional 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol unit, dubbed 'Dualjet'.
Unencumbered by a turbocharger, the 1.2-litre lacks the torquey thrust that helps makes the Boosterjet appealing; the Dualjet makes 88lb.ft at 4,400rpm versus the 125lb.ft that the turbo-engined car makes available between 2,000rpm and 3,500rpm. It's also less powerful, with 89bhp at 6,000rpm playing 110bhp at 5,500rpm.
But it would be wrong to read too much into those on-paper figures alone. Yes, the 1.2-litre found in the Attitude doesn't do the same numbers as the Boosterjet engine, but its outputs are still wholly appropriate to the car and its free-revving nature is a great fit for the Swift's perky character.
Thrashing a small, lightweight car like the Swift - and it really is light by today's standards, tipping the scales at just 890kg - is great fun, not least because it allows you to interact with and enjoy the car at modest speeds that shouldn't threaten your licence or the safety of other road users.
A supple chassis, strong brakes, quick and accurate steering and a pleasant gear change mean the Swift Attitude is the sort of car that eggs you on to take it by the scruff of the neck and throw into corners.
If you want a small car that's keen to play and entertain, then the Swift needs to be on your shortlist, along with the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Swift Attitude is just how economical it is. Despite much, erm, brisk motoring and many motorway miles, the Suzuki refused to give less than 54mpg - close to astonishing when the official fuel consumption figure is 51.4mpg
The Swift meets the rest of the small car job description with aplomb. The boot's volume is a healthy 265 litres, or 579 litres if you fold the back seats. That's less than you get in something like a Volkswagen Polo, though it's a physically larger car.
Back seat accommodation is typical for the class - children will have nothing to complain about, but tall adults won't be thrilled to be sat back there on a long journey - but the front manages to feel particularly spacious.
This impression is aided by the fact that the Swift is bright and airy, with large windows. It's a really pleasant place to sit.
Incidentally, the current Swift is actually marginally shorter than the previous cramped version, making its spaciousness rather remarkable.
As already hinted, the Swift Attitude is well equipped. It has the sporty exterior trim, including 16-inch alloys and a tailgate spoiler, and inside is the all-important USB connection, Bluetooth, air conditioning a touchscreen with smartphone mirroring and DAB radio.
There's also a rear-view camera, a well-sized leather-trimmed steering wheel with controls for the audio system, six airbags and front fog lamps.
It's a well judged package at this price - no wonder Suzuki says it is "an ideal model for younger buyers who may perhaps look to aspire to the 1.4-litre Boosterjet Sport model in the future".
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Swift Attitude is just how economical it is. Despite much, erm, brisk motoring and many motorway miles, the Suzuki refused to give less than 54mpg - close to astonishing when the official fuel consumption figure is 51.4mpg.
Being cheap to run, affordable to buy, fun to drive and easy to live with makes the Swift one of the most complete small cars on sale today. It's highly recommended.
The Suzuki mightn't be able to do 200mph like a Bentley Continental GT or have that car's exquisite interior, but in its own way it is just as accomplished - and you'll never get more than 50mpg from a 12-cylinder Bentley.
AT A GLANCE
Suzuki Swift Attitude
Price: £14,599 (£12,617 with 'VAT free' offer). As tested £15,484, with metallic paint £485
Engine and transmission: 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol, five-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel-drive; 89bhp, 88lb.ft
Performance: Top speed 111mpg, 0-62mph in 11.9 seconds
Fuel consumption and CO2: 51.4mpg (WLTP combined), 54.0mpg (real world), 108g/km
Car tax: £150 in first year, then £145 annually
Benefit in kind: 25 per cent
Euro Ncap safety rating: Three stars with standard equipment (83/75/69/25), 2017; Four stars with optional radar brake support (88/75/69/44), 2017
