Driving the Swift Sport Manual

For the past few years, the cars I usually drove were Porsche Panamera and Cayenne.

They were smooth, comfortable, and even with my amateur driving skills, I could drive so smoothly and comfortably that I fooled myself into thinking, “Wait, have I gotten better at driving?”

Then, last April, I made up my mind and decided to buy a car myself, and in October last year, a manual Suzuki Swift Sport came home to us.

With my daily driver changing from an automatic Porsche to a manual Swift Sport, I realized something anew.

That is,

My driving hadn’t actually improved.

That’s right, haha.

When I was driving the Porsche, I was under the illusion that I had gotten better, but that was because Porsche is an incredibly high-performance and well-engineered car.

Driving a car you have to control fully with your own hands made me painfully realize how rough and lacking in smoothness my driving really is.

If I drive roughly, I get shift shocks, and if I take corners on the Royu Driveway the same way I did in the Porsche, the car drifts wide…

Also, this might not apply universally, but I feel I get cut off much more often in the Swift Sport than in the Porsche.

I suppose it depends on the time of day, traffic volume, and following distance, but when I was driving the Porsche, I rarely got cut off and was often let ahead.

However, as soon as I started driving the Swift Sport, I found myself thinking, “People are cutting in aggressively” and “What?! They’re pulling out at this timing?” much more often.

Well, if I were in the opposite position, I wouldn’t dare cut in aggressively in front of a Rolls-Royce or Bentley either… (sweat)

“What If” Driving

On the other hand, I’ve become more mindful of “driving smoothly” than before.

Driving with repeated shift shocks isn’t fun, so I started thinking about how to drive more smoothly and comfortably.

I find myself thinking, “That clutch engagement was a bit rough just now” or “I need to operate the accelerator and brake more gently” even during short trips to the local supermarket, becoming more conscious of my driving.

And being mindful like this makes me realize it also leads to “safe driving.”

To shift smoothly in a manual car, you need to anticipate more than when driving an automatic and practice “what if” driving.

For example, “The traffic light two ahead just changed, so I’ll shift now” or “That car might cut in on me,” so I’ve started paying attention to many things around me.

Usually, I drive with my three kids in the back seat.

Sometimes, when I see their peaceful sleeping faces in the rear seats, I feel a strong sense of responsibility thinking, “The lives of these three adorable children depend on my driving. I must drive safely.”

That said, since I still get shift shocks if I’m not careful, I guess it’s just right to be overly conscious about safe and smooth driving.

The Destination of Smooth Driving

When I attended a Porsche driving school before, I learned the fact that “the better the driver, the smoother and at the same time faster their driving is.”

I had imagined fast drivers aggressively turning the wheel thinking, “I will tame this car and drive it hard!” but that’s not the case.

Experiencing a professional driver’s driving from the passenger seat, I realized they look ahead, take smooth and direct lines, and avoid unnecessary steering or pedal inputs, making the drive safe, comfortable for passengers, and at the same time fast and fun. I also heard this style of driving puts less strain on the tires, improving their longevity.

Smooth driving is safe, kind to passengers, gentle on the car, and fast.

Driving really is a deep art.

I’ve come to think about this again since driving the Swift Sport.

Although this Swift Sport gets quite dirty inside and out since I park it in an open-air lot and drive my kids every day… it’s a car that makes me want to keep driving it for a long, long time.

I want to keep practicing daily to drive it lively by revving it up moderately, yet smoothly.