Why isnt the Swift very popular here in the Philippines?

**Rev01veR** · June 18th, 2012 08:02 AM

I mean, it got good reviews from auto critics, like Top Gear, Carbuyer and Fifth Gear. It's a very popular car in Australia, India and UK. Won subcompact car of the year awards here and there. It has clubs all over the world, But here in the Philippines, its a bit on the limelight. Too overshadowed maybe by the popular Jazz and the great Fiesta, but still it keeps me wondering. Even here in the forums, nobody seems to talk about the Swift. Even Teamswift.tk isnt that active anymore. I may be biased coz I own one, but I loved the Swift even before I bought it. I did a lot of research online before buying it, and boy do critics love the Swift. Well, on the other hand, I like how unpopular it is, at least its a bit rare on the streets. Unlike Jazz which is all over the place. Anyway, just thinking out loud here.

**jaymd** · June 18th, 2012 08:15 AM

reviews are made by auto critics/enthusiasts. they put a premium on the cars performance handling etc. most buyers are not car enthusiasts. strong selling points for cars are Brand recognition, exterior/interior design(futuristic design), resale, parts/accessories availabililty, performance, luggage space. kaya mabenta jazz talaga. Pero swift pa din ako kahit wala luggage space, spartan interior, etc. At least may temp gauge ang swift hehe

**Walter** · June 18th, 2012 08:47 AM

Expensive parts, limited dealer network among others.

**mda** · June 18th, 2012 08:54 AM

I think that there's a certain stigma when you talk about Suzuki cars especially among the rich (who have the money to buy small compact cars to go alongside their large SUVs). I guess this is probably related or directly as a result of having a bad track record when it comes to service quality over the past few years. Plus having a broken line-up and odd pricing schemes for some cars (SX4) don't help.

**niky** · June 18th, 2012 09:39 AM

The Swift is a fantastic car. Stylish, inside and out, refined (about as refined as the Fiesta... with better plastics), smooth-riding, comfortable and yet still agile Us car reviewers don't only like it because it's fun to drive, but also because it's the complete package.

The big problem is the presence of Suzuki cars locally is small. They have limited dealerships and exposure. They have an odd line-up (as mentioned), so there's not much in the way of other family cars to draw people into the showroom. There's a (perhaps undeserved) reputation of poor dealership service. Not entirely their fault. Remember, Suzuki was used by GM previously to sell rebadged Chevrolet and Daewoo cars...

Then there's the space. Even though people who buy Jazzes, Fiestas and whatnot don't buy them for the back seat space, the perception of smallness haunts the Swift. The back seat is bigger, but still smaller than average, and the trunk is smaller than the Eon's. So while it's the nicest car in its class to both drive and be driven in, the lack of the extra passenger and cargo room that you might never use still hurts it. Also, only being available in 1.4 liters hurts. While that makes it more efficient, hatchbacks here are usually lifestyle cars, and people buying in that price range will want 1.5 and 1.6 liter engines.

Shame. Good car. Sells pretty damn well in India... but it will take a long while and some really strong marketing for it to take off here.

**vegetablejoe** · June 18th, 2012 11:39 AM

I've long wanted a Swift. But previous to the current year's model, the Swift's 1.5l engine required 98 octane gas. BIG TURN-OFF, as I was driving a '96 Corolla that couldn't use E10 either...

I see that the new 1.4L engine can use lower octane gas, so someday I will get myself a slightly-used Swift 1.4L... In the meantime, I'm loving my new Jimny.

**gabster_26** · September 11th, 2012 11:56 PM

This thread is really interesting to me as I have the same question regarding the sx4 crossover. I'm almost about to buy it because it seems like such a great car, I test drove it and the performance was good...the reviews are great as well. It's a nice car that has mild offloading ability, which fits my needs (90% city driving with the occasional need to go to quezon).

I keep wondering why more people aren't buying the sx4 crossover...I know the sedan was a total flop (for very obvious reasons) but the crossover seems like a great deal. Is it because of the same problems you guys talk about with the swift? Would greatly appreciate inputs before I take the plunge with the sx4...

**niky** · September 12th, 2012 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by gabster_26

This thread is really interesting to me as I have the same question regarding the sx4 crossover. I'm almost about to buy it because it seems like such a great car, I test drove it and the performance was good...the reviews are great as well. It's a nice car that has mild offloading ability, which fits my needs (90% city driving with the occasional need to go to quezon).

I keep wondering why more people aren't buying the sx4 crossover...I know the sedan was a total flop (for very obvious reasons) but the crossover seems like a great deal. Is it because of the same problems you guys talk about with the swift? Would greatly appreciate inputs before I take the plunge with the sx4...

The SX4 is nice, but it's up against more modern competition like the Kia Soul or the Accent and Rio. Hell... if people want something that's "not a car" in the range, the Soul, Avanza and Grand Livina box the SX4 in... the Soul is more stylish, the Avanza is taller, and the Grand Livina is both bigger and more powerful.

The SX4 is not a bad car, but it's not really suited for off-road. Lightweight car suspension. As opposed to cars like the Avanza or the APV, which have ladder frame construction and live axles.