Suzuki Swift 4th generation (ZCDDS/ZCEDS/ZDDDS/ZDEDS)

The previous model had a fixed image of sportiness, so first-time car buyers and their families often thought "this isn't it" and did not consider it. The safety equipment it had adopted early was overtaken in features by other makers' cars that were redesigned later. What Kobori aimed for with the new model was not an image change, but to widen its appeal.

Understanding that the Swift has fans who love its sportiness, Takahashi did not stop there but looked for a form that more people would accept. Without rejecting the sporty direction so far, he looked for an approach that would satisfy those fans as well. While keeping it within the 5-number size class, he placed the tires at the four corners, put the lamps toward the outside to strengthen the sense of width, and cut the bonnet in a way no Swift had before. The side was given a look that separates the cabin from the body, which he named the "floating roof."

For the fourth-generation Swift the seats were meant to be carried over, but they were changed at the design team's request. Ogawa followed the previous seats while changing their shape and volume to strengthen their sculpted feel, and used angled stitching so that hexagons appear, which made the seats feel more enveloping. The exterior was a design that makes you catch your breath at first sight, and the interior matched it by emphasizing a sense of being surrounded.