Next-gen 2022 Suzuki Swift with mild-hybrid arriving next year – Report [Update]

The fourth-gen Suzuki Swift that debuted in December 2016 will get replaced by the improved 2022 Suzuki Swift next July, says a report from Japan’s Best Car.

Complete restyling

The Japanese publication has created a speculative rendering of the next-gen Suzuki Swift, showing a lower bonnet, more prominent grille, compact LED headlamps, slim LED front fog lights, edgier character lines, and taller rear-side door handles. It has a cleaner yet sportier exterior with more sharpness and aggression. The headlamps are just a modified version of the current design with the top portion missing, which might not be the final design. This render is unofficial, but it’s the only available visual representation of the future car at this time.

Upgraded HEARTECT platform

Underpinning the 2022 Suzuki Swift could be the same HEARTECT platform, with minor improvements for safety, handling, and comfort. There is room for growth in length and width, but any significant increments and the dimensions would get close to the Suzuki Baleno. For reference, the current Swift Suzuki makes in Japan is 3,845/3,855 mm long, 1,695 mm wide, and 1,500 mm/1,525 mm tall. Its wheelbase spans 2,450 mm.

2022 Suzuki Swift – No full hybrid system?

2022 Suzuki Swift may not get a 'strong' Hybrid system like the current gen (pictured)
Best Car magazine reports that a full hybrid system will not be available on the incoming 2022 Suzuki Swift.

Big news on the powertrain front is Suzuki rolling back electrification, reports Best Car. While the company has offered a full-hybrid powertrain in Japan (where the car can operate for a short distance in the ‘EV’ mode) in the third-gen and fourth-gen Swift, it doesn’t plan to take this system forward into the new vehicle. A mild-hybrid powertrain will be available, though, with a 48-volt Lithium-ion battery pack instead of the current 12-volt, it is suggested.

New functions of the more advanced mild-hybrid system could include torque-fill control and electric motor idling. The base engine would be a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol unit. The Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) would develop around 13 PS of power, as per a more recent report from Best Car.

2023 Suzuki Swift Sport to continue as a mild-hybrid

The Suzuki Swift Sport will likely continue as a mild-hybrid in the next generation, suggests a report from response.jp. It should carry forward the K14D 1.4-litre Boosterjet engine with 48V mild-hybrid system which produces 95 kW (129 PS) of maximum power and 253 Nm of maximum torque, and it is assisted by the WA06B motor that generates 10 kW (14 PS) and 53 Nm. The motor gets its juice from a 48-volt Lithium-ion battery pack that stores electrical energy recovered from deceleration and braking.

The next-gen Suzuki Swift Sport may go on sale around a year after the release of the new Swift. The second Best Car report cited above states that its Japanese launch could take place around May 2023.

Suzuki’s electrification strategy

In February 2021, Suzuki provided an update on its long-term electrification plan. Suzuki said that the “next five years will be the period of concentrated development in order for Suzuki to survive beyond 2025.” It will develop and commercialize the next generation Suzuki hybrid system in the first half of the decade. Launches with the new hybrid system will begin in 2025.

The electrification plan includes introducing hybrid powertrains for mini, compact and commercial vehicles, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and expanding models equipped with its hybrid system. Its plan to reduce CO2 emissions in use entails the full application of electrification by 2030. Starting 2030, the aim is to increase the share of electric-powered vehicles.

Featured Image Source: Best Car