Swift from Suzuki: Fred Manby gets behind the wheel of the latest arrival in the Swift family

Motoring in Cyprus can be confusing. They drive on the left but distances and speed limits are in kilometres. Drive into northern Cyprus, annexed by the Turks 50 years ago, and you can be in trouble without relevant papers.

Remnants of deserted Turkish villages remain in Greek-speaking Cyprus. Vretsia has gaping windows and doors, sagging roofs, empty garden swings, a bee-eater darting through the shadows, the beautiful skin of a rat snake sloughed in a crevice. Nearby, the Vitara was parked in the shade of an tree, its yellow flowers popular with insects, hence those bee-eaters.

These early Vitaras are tough all-roaders, low-geared and coping with the unsurfaced hill trails and washboard tracks to sandy coves. The generic pick-up, working not shopping, is another familiar sight. The Vitara was a prelude to the car waiting when I got back, the latest Swift from Suzuki.

The five-door hatchback seats five and Swift owners are happy to move to the next model when the time is right, or the dealer makes one of those offers which seem too good to refuse. Are you reading this, Tracey?

The latest iteration of the Swift has less competition. Family runabouts — the Fiesta and Micra and others are not being directly replaced. Kia is launching a new PIcanto this summer and Citroën has a new C3 which will have an electric version.

Companies too committed to electric and plug-in hybrids can get wrong-footed as the canny buyer realises there is no need for the expense and inconvenience of an electric car. Trade-in values can be a shock, the market stuffed with new stock to sell: stories of sub 50 per cent trade-in valuations on EVs less than two years old.

Hello petrol-fed Swift, made in Japan, yours for £18,699 with a mild hybrid engine rated at 99g/km of CO2 and 64mpg, likely to go even further. There are just two trims, the Motion and the Ultra at £19,799. A 60mpg CVT automatic transmission is a £1,250 option and Suzuki’s AllGrip 4x4 is another £1,250 with manual gears on the Ultra.

The first Swift arrived in Britain in 1984. Since it went global in 2004 more than nine million have been bought. The 2024 Swift is a happy thing, nimble and light at under a ton, quick enough when lightly loaded with a mere 81bhp from a 1.2 litre, three cylinder engine which is cleaner and more frugal and faster to 60 than the previous four-cylinder engine. Long inclines do take some patience to gather speed for overtaking.

Body styling is altered to be in vogue, though we liked the last Swift. There is a clamshell type bonnet and black roof pillars, fresh face, frumpy rump, LED lights, more definition in the side panels — which are a bit fussy. There are new interior treatments, with a two-tone fascia, large upright screen and welcome, if small, manual switches for ventilation. The Motion, the one we drove, has lots in the price. Viz, air conditioning, a reversing camera, navigation with speed alerts, spoken warning of merging lanes, cornering assistance if you run wide, adaptive cruise control, electric windows and heated mirrors with a blind spot monitor. The supportive front seats have heaters. Most families should find it roomy. The rear doors have wide apertures and overhead room is generous front and back and there is a deep luggage boot compartment.

There are automatic headlamps and wipers, a rear cross-traffic alert, projector headlamps. Principal uplifts on the Ultra are polished alloy wheels instead of the drab grey finish on the Motion, climate control, folding mirrors, rear heater vents and height adjustment for the front seatbelts.

As mentioned, we were straight out of the 2006 Vitara into the 2024 Swift (with a cramped and delayed five-hour Jet2 night flight in between). The immediate impression was that the Swift had more tyre noise (Yokohama Blue Earth) on coarse surfaces than the older Vitara. A week later it no longer intruded as the other Swift attributes took precedence. It is good to drive, with the revised suspension making the most of the light handling. The ride is not perfect, not Citroën smooth. Petrol usage was usually in the mid-60s and peaked, without conscious effort, at 69.6mpg on a brisk Saturday 60-miler from village to city via towns and motorways.

The cabin has usb and power points in the front, none in the rear. There are cupholders and trays and big front door pockets. Once again, those in the back and not well-served, just bottle pockets in the doors.

The major let-down is the copious use of black, hardshell, scratchy-feel plastic. Textured panels in a lighter shade lift the mood but look cheap in pale grey.

Never mind the plastic. This Swift could fit into my life. The engine is smooth and flexible at low revs. A bonus on the motorway: it alerts you to merging traffic. Economy is exceptional.

Verdict: enough to retain the Swift family’s motoring.

Suzuki Swift Motion: Price: £18,699; Mild hybrid 1.2 petrol; 81bhp; Torque 83lb ft; Five manual transmission; top speed 103mph; 0-62mph 12.5 seconds; 64.2 mpg (matched in testing); Eight gallons tank; CO2 emissions 99g/km; Length 152 inches (3.86m); Braked towing limit 1000kg; suzuki.co.uk