The boss of Suzuki Australia has at least explained why Fast arrived Down Under with a subpar safety specification, resulting in a one-star ANCAP safety rating and subsequent upgrades to three stars.
“When we were given the opportunity to have the new Swift model in Australia, we chose the specification that was available for the Australian and New Zealand markets – we took that into account without realizing that there were some structural differences to the European market vehicle,” said Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota Daily Sparkz.
“(The) European car got a three-star (Euro) NCAP safety rating, our car got one star. We then passed that on to the manufacturer and they said, ‘Well, there’s a slight difference in the specifications of the vehicle itself,’ to which we then said, ‘Okay, that’s the car we need’ – so we phased out the one-star car and introduced the three-star car.”
Daily Sparkz You can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
Asked whether this sets a precedent for Suzuki Australia to require the safest and best performing NCAP versions of new models from now on, Mr Pachota said “absolutely”.
“It wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t ideal. And yes, we definitely expressed that opinion clearly (to Suzuki headquarters). But having said that, Suzuki Motor Corporation immediately worked with us to correct our position and our future product,” Suzuki’s local boss added.
Following its launch in June 2024, the fourth-generation Suzuki Swift initially achieved a disappointing one-star ANCAP safety rating, with physical crash tests revealing stark discrepancies in crash performance between the model delivered in Australia and New Zealand and the three-star rated car sold in Europe.
Significant problems were identified in the frontal offset and full-side crash tests, with the local safety authority finding “higher chest loads and a higher risk of leg injury (excessive pedal movement) to the driver in the frontal offset test, and in the full-side test, significantly higher chest compression of the rear passenger, which exceeded the permissible limits.”
“The protection of the chest – a critical body region – was therefore assessed as deficient and the score was limited, resulting in 0 points being awarded for this test,” ANCAP added in its media release.
Suzuki Australia subsequently updated the Swift’s specifications to match its European equivalent and subsequently had the vehicle re-tested and re-rated by ANCAP in August 2025 – resulting in an improvement to three stars.
“The updated ANCAP three-star rating reflects changes to the Australian-spec Swift, which now features the same safety reinforcements as the Euro-spec model,” a Suzuki Australia spokesperson said Daily Sparkz in September.
“The Euro-spec vehicle included additional front end reinforcements not present in the previous Australian version. These reinforcements have now been applied to Australian models.”
In the original 2024 ANCAP test, the Swift scored 47 percent in adult occupant protection, 54 percent in safety assist and 59 percent in child protection. However, the result in protecting vulnerable road users was a commendable 76 percent.
The 2025 update improved this value to 67 percent for adult occupant protection, 55 percent for safety assistant and 65 percent for child occupant protection – but the same value of 76 percent for protection of unprotected road users.
Mr Pachota stressed that “safety is number one for Suzuki Australia”, adding that the brand is “absolutely” committed to vehicle safety, although none of the brand’s models currently carry a five-star rating.
You can read more about this Here.
MORE: Safety upgrades for the Suzuki Swift result in better crash test ratings without changing prices
MORE: Explore the Suzuki Swift showroom
