Which Suzuki Swift trim depreciates the fastest?
South African car buyers have certainly welcomed the Suzuki Swift with open arms. Now into its third local generation, the sales momentum for this charming supermini just keeps building. How does this popularity translate to the Swift’s resale values? We investigate the current-generation model range to see which one depreciates the fastest.
A hit right out of the starting blocks
At the time of its arrival on local shores, the Suzuki Swift was available with only one engine, in two trim levels, with a choice of two gearboxes for the higher-trim variant. The range has ballooned somewhat since then, though, with a plusher derivative and perky Swift Sport eventually arriving, both of them with a choice of two gearboxes each.
The high-trim GLX and Swift Sport only arrived in the second half of 2019, and thus falls outside the scope of this comparison – neither has been available for even a year yet, so it’s still too early to cast definite verdicts about their value retention.
Related: There’s a DZire-able sedan that’s related to the Swift. Find out more in this review.
We scoured the listings here on AutoTrader for 2018-model Swifts, and found about twice as many entry-level GA examples for sale than up-spec GLs. To determine which variant depreciates the fastest, we calculated the average current prices of the various 2018 Swift derivatives on site, and compared that to what they cost when new. We also calculated the percentage of its value it retained over this period.
2018 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GA MT
New Price: R 159 900
Current Price: R 126 483
Value Retained: 79.1%
2018 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL MT
New Price: R 175 900
Current Price: R 152 798
Value Retained: 86.9%
2018 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL AT
New Price: R 189 900
Average Current Price: R 164 974
Value Retained: 86.9%
Analysis
The first thing to note here is that the GL derivatives retain a lot more of their value after two years than the GA does. This is quite expected, as the GL is vastly more desirable than the GA because it’s much better-appointed and nicer-looking. With that said, the fact that a Swift GL retains so much of its value is quite extraordinary and very impressive.
Related: As this video review shows, there’s a lot to admire in a Suzuki Swift GL.
The biggest surprise is the resale performance of the AT derivative: it has an automated manual gearbox that won’t be to everyone’s taste, yet the cars thus equipped retain almost exactly the same percentage of its value as their manual counterparts after two years.
Bargain hunters should however be pointed towards a used Swift GA, because these lost their value the quickest of the initial Swift range and now makes for high-value pre-owned shopping. Just fit your own radio and maybe a set of hubcaps when you drive it away from the dealership...
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Shop for new and used Suzuki Swift cars for sale here.