A sobering crash test score hasn’t seemed to do Suzuki’s baby any harm, with registrations so far being much the same as those accrued this time last year.

STIGMA of a devastating crash test rating appears to have been so far shrugged off by the Suzuki Swift, but its distributor has nonetheless just sent out a media share reminding of its perceived virtues.

Announcement in December that the latest generation of the car - a historically high volume success - had achieved a very harsh crash test rating from the national auditor sent the brand into shock.

However, buyers seems less perturbed by the car being lambasted by the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) whose considerations have priority with the Government and safety agencies.

Sales for the past two months seem much the same as they were for the same period of 2023, in a similar market condition to now.

Suzuki New Zealand’s immediate response to the model being tarred with a one star safety rating - out of a possible five - was that the score raised potential of it being cold-shouldered by fleets, which often have a policy of only selecting five star cars. All Government agencies are in that camp.

Yet even if that has occurred, it has not seemed to so far degrade interest from private buyers, who have long been vital.

The 427 registrations for January and February is a similar sales progress to the commensurate period of 2024.

Rental operators are also continuing to take some of that action; accounting for 102 of those registrations.

Suzuki NZ for its part says the model continues to dominate small car sales.

“In year to date statistics from the Motor Industry Association the Swift is a clear leader in the light car segment. The Swift has a commanding 38 percent of this class while its nearest rival has a 23 percent share.”

The Wanganui-based distributor and head office in Japan had steeled for ANCAP to be hard-nosed about the latest generation of its evergreen sales ace.

ANCAP’s sister organisation in Europe, NCAP, had earlier last year decided the car wasn’t as crashworthy as it could have been.

As it transpired, the score from Melbourne-based ANCAP announced on December 13 was even more devastating.

On the common scale employed by both, a one star result out of a possible five is far worse than NCAP’s three star finding.

This relegated the current Swift to be the unenviable position of holding the lowest rating for the nameplate and the lowest of any ANCAP score meted any current Suzuki sold here that is still valid. Some have lapsed.

How well this is known could be a matter of conjecture. While many new car brands with products that receive strong ANCAP results do tend to highlight these on sales cards, this is not mandatory.

Swift sales cards seen by MotoringNZ.com do not have the ANCAP score, but instead highlight efficiency ratings in star counts.

At time of ANCAP’s decision, Suzuki New Zealand’s chief executive Gary Collins said all he could do is ask the maker if improvements can be delivered, in hope the car can in time be re-tested and do better — and hope the parent in Japan will react.

A release this week from Suzuki NZ intriguingly cited that “advances in equipment and features” have heightened attention to the Swift.

However this appears to be a small change, to the braking system.

Suzuki here continues to highlight that latest Swift has more safety ingredients than its predecessor, a four star car with ANCAP, but rated when the testing regime was less stringent than it is now.

Autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and prevention, weaving alert, headlamp high beam assist, adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert all now package into the model.

It also took pains to point out the car had received additional international and national accolades since the ANCAP result, citing recent awards in Australia, Britain and Japan - where it took a popular car of the year - and approvals from New Zealand publications.

The latter appeared to have avoided mentioning the crash worthiness shortcoming and instead focused on the car’s perceived value and efficiency.

Collins this week said the Swift had built a long history of providing Kiwi customers with low emission levels, fuel efficiency, performance, and affordability, and this was further reflected in the latest lineup.

“The Swift strikes the right balance between good value and reliability, offering refreshing simplicity and accessibility for a wide range of drivers.”