2012 Suzuki Swift

2012 Suzuki Swift

2012 Suzuki Swift

A Chevrolet Aveo–like, Daewoo-built vehicle called the Swift+ has been available in Canada for some time, but the actual Swift, now in its fifth generation, has primarily been exclusive to the European and Japanese markets. The car hasn't been available in the U.S. since the '90s, but that looks to change with the next-generation of the micro-hatch, caught here tooling around the Nürburgring.

We’ve previously reported that Suzuki’s top engineer, Takashi Nakayama, had confirmed that the next Swift was being developed to meet U.S crash standards. While that isn’t an official confirmation, it does mean that Suzuki is strongly considering launching it here. We hope it’s already a done deal, as the Swift is consistently cited as one of the world’s least sucky small cars to drive.

While it’s tough to make out many specifics on this heavily disguised mule, there are a few details peeking through. The rear end is none too flattering, reminding us of the Nissan Versa hatchback. The front looks like it adopts an aggressive grille like that of Suzuki’s mid-size Kizashi, but adds its own twist, with large bug-like headlights. Padding under the camo effectively hides sheetmetal details, but the Swift does appear to sport a bodyline that bisects the door handles as it connects the trailing point of the headlight to the taillight. A glimpse of the interior reveals even less information but if it follows the Kizashi’s lead in material quality and design, it should be a decent place to spend time.

As the American micro-car segment floods with new entrants such as the Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Chevrolet Spark, and Fiat 500, we’d be quite surprised if Suzuki left the Swift on the sideline. If this next-gen car is anywhere near as fun to drive as the current SX4, which uses a stretched version of the current Swift platform, we’d welcome it with open arms.

2012 Suzuki Swift

2012 Suzuki Swift

2012 Suzuki Swift

2012 Suzuki Swift