Used Suzuki Swace 2020-present review

At a party, you might recognise a person’s face but struggle to remember their name. Similarly, you might feel the same way when you encounter the Suzuki Swace.

In fact, you wouldn’t be wrong to think you’ve seen the Swace before, because it’s a close relative of the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports, with the two cars being almost identical, other than a few tweaks to the design, engine line-up and trims.

While Toyota also offers a hatchback version of the Corolla, Suzuki only offers the Swace as an estate.

When new, the Swace was ever so slightly cheaper to buy than the Corolla. However, on the used market it’s slightly different because there are many more Corollas available to buy than the Swace (the Corolla was launched in 2018 as opposed to 2020). While you can buy a high-mileage Corolla for less than a Swace, a similar-age, low-mileage Swace can be had for slightly less.

In 2024, the Swace was given a mild update, with tweaked styling, more standard safety kit and a new infotainment system. These cars haven’t filtered out onto the used car market yet, though.

Engines: The Swace is only available with a 1.8-litre petrol hybrid engine that produces 138bhp and delivers 0-62mph in 9.4sec. It’s not offered with the 198bhp 2.0-litre version you get in the Corolla, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; the hybrid system provides more than enough performance for everyday driving, with plenty of punch for overtaking and merging onto the motorway.

Around town, it’s quite nippy when running in electric mode. If you do need a sudden burst of speed, the engine chimes in quickly and smoothly, and the pair push you forward with plenty of shove. Unfortunately, the CVT automatic gearbox causes the engine’s revs to flare, which spoils the general sense of refinement.

Ride and handling: The Swace strikes a great ride and handling balance that makes it comfortable in most environments, including in town or on the motorway. The suspension is supple enough to take the sting out of harsh bumps and potholes, yet there’s minimal body roll on a twisty road. It’s a great set-up, although it’s not as fun to drive as a Seat Leon Estate or as soft as a Skoda Octavia Estate.

Interior and practicality: Like with the exterior, the Swace’s interior is almost identical to the Corolla’s, other than a Suzuki badge on the steering wheel and a smaller 8.0in infotainment screen (Corollas and later top-spec Ultra models get a 10.5in screen).

The layout of the dashboard is very clear, with plenty of physical controls for the climate controls and driving modes. The central touchscreen is positioned high and within easy reach of the driver too, although the infotainment system within isn’t the slickest. It can be laggy at times and the graphics aren’t very sharp, but on the plus side, every Swace comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring as standard, so you can bypass the Suzuki software if you prefer.

The Swace’s interior feels solid and built to last, plus there are plenty of soft-touch materials on the dashboard and doors. This is great, but if we’re being picky, the materials in the Octavia Estate feel more pleasant.

The Swace is quite compact for an estate car, but that doesn’t mean it’s short on space inside. There’s plenty of room for the driver and passenger in the front, plus there’s a good amount of leg room in the back for a six-footer. Head room, on the other hand, is a bit tighter in the back; the Octavia Estate is more spacious in this area. Similarly, the Swace’s boot is a good size at 596 litres, but it’s not quite as capacious as the Octavia’s (640 litres). Indeed, we managed to fit in seven carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf in the Swace, but the Octavia managed nine.

Trims and equipment: There are two trim levels available in the Swace: SZ-T and SZ5. On later cars, these were renamed Motion and Ultra.

The entry-level trim, SZ-T, comes with plenty of standard kit, including dual-zone air conditioning, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and start, LED headlights and rear parking sensors.

Top-spec SZ5 adds a few more goodies, including brighter LED headlights, some additional leather inside, wireless phone charging and front parking sensors.

If you're interested in finding a used Suzuki Swace, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

Prices for a used Swace start from £12,000 for early 2020 cars, with prices moving up to £14,000 for a 2021 car with low mileage. A budget of £16,000 to £20,000 will get you a later 2022 or 2023 model, while 2024 cars command a higher price of £21,000 to £26,000.

To keep up-to-date with used Swace prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you are getting the best deal.

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MPG

Being a hybrid, buyers will appreciate the Swace’s fuel-sipping nature. During our scientific Real MPG tests it averaged an impressive 86.6mpg around town. While its overall combined figure of 50.3mpg wasn’t as good (Suzuki’s official combined figure is just over 60mpg), it's still not far off the Octavia Estate 2.0 TDI 150’s average of 51.5mpg.

Low CO2 emissions are also a Swace strong suit. It emits just 102g/km, which is helped by its ability to runon electric-only power at low speeds.

Road tax

The Swace costs £190 per year to tax. It also falls well below the £40,000 threshold for expensive vehicle tax, so it escapes the extra charge for this.

Servicing

Suzuki recommends a service every 12 months or 12,500 miles, whichever comes first. Maintenance costs should be reasonable for a car of this type.

Insurance

Entry-level Swaces sit in insurance group 17 and upper trims in group 18. That’s pretty good for a family estate car, sitting in a lower group than most versions of the VW Golf Estate. It is, however, similar to 1.8-litre versions of the Corolla Touring Sports.

Safety

The Swace comes with plenty of active standard safety kit, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning, traffic-sign recognition and automatic high beam assistance. If you go for range-topping SZ-5 or Ultra trims, you’ll get blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert on top.

The Swace hasn't been tested individually by the experts at Euro NCAP, but the Corolla can give you a guide. It scored a maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating in 2019, and it fared better than the Ford Focus in the adult occupant protection category.

Warranty

The Swace comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard, but you can extend this up to seven years or 100,000 miles if the car is serviced annually at an authorised Suzuki dealer (this warranty is transferable between owners). By comparison, the Corolla Touring Sports comes with up to 10 years or 100,000 miles if the car is regularly serviced at a Toyota dealer.

Reliability

The Swace hasn’t been included in the hybrid category of our latest reliability survey, but its sibling, the Corolla, finished in 12th place out of 18 cars in the league table. That doesn’t give it the strongest footing, but it still managed a respectable score of 96.4%, which is above the Kia Niro (13th), but below the Volvo XC40 (8th) and Hyundai Kona (3rd).

Suzuki fared much better in our most reliable car brand category, finishing in 3rd place out of 31 manufacturers. Toyota wasn’t far behind either, finishing in 5th place.

According to owners that took part in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, the Swace delivers reasonable reliability. Owners praised its general dependability but flagged recurring issues with warning lights and electrical systems, which often required repeated visits to dealerships.

Suzuki dealerships were generally friendly and accommodating, though some owners noted delays in sourcing parts and inconsistent responses to complex repairs. While repair costs were seen as affordable compared to rivals, there’s room for improvement in technical expertise and diagnosing persistent faults.

Explore more about the used Suzuki Swace’s reliability and what owners really think on our dedicated reliability page.

Engine

There’s only one engine available in the Swace, and it’s a 138bhp 1.8-litre hybrid. Thankfully, it’s very good, and it’s quicker than most engines in the Octavia Estate. Fuel economy is good too, thanks to its ability to run on electric-only power at low speeds.

Specification

Top-spec SZ5 is our recommended trim because on the used market prices for the SZ-T and SZ5 cars are similar. In terms of kit, it comes with full LED headlights, faux-leather interior trim, wireless phone charging and front and rear parking sensors. If you’re buying a newer car with the updated trim levels, we recommend going for the top-spec Ultra over the entry-level Motion trim; they come with the same kit as SZ trim cars.

Our favourite: 1.8h SZ-T CVT

If the Swace doesn’t fit the bill, there are several alternatives that are similar in size and price.

If you want as much space as possible in your estate car, the Octavia Estate we mentioned previously is a good option. It’s available with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid power, but not regular hybrid power like the Swace. It’s also comfortable and good to drive.

The Golf Estate is available with a similar line-up of engines to the Octavia, but it isn’t quite as spacious or practical. There are plenty available on the used market though, plus it’s comfortable to drive.

The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is one of the best estate cars you can buy. It offers many of the same benefits as the Swace, such as a spacious interior, solid build quality and tidy driving dynamics, yet there are more of them available on the used market. It also comes with the more powerful 198bhp 2.0-litre hybrid engine option if you want a bit more performance.

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