Steering a Victory Red edition of the two-door Swift GL hatchback, we actually zipped up California's Pacific Coast Highway through that elite Mecca of Malibu -- home to movie moguls and the super-rich who drive some of the most expensive cars on the planet. While our economy car may have seemed incongruent among so many fancy fenders along PCH, in a quick-cut lane-changing maneuver it was able to dart ahead of a conservatively driven Porsche.

Our GL, with snappy five-speed manual shifter, popped off the line at each of the Pacific Coast Highway's infinite series of traffic signals. In second and third gears, it behaved aggressively when racking revs to higher rpms. By the time we shifted into fourth, that crisp response diminished somewhat, but by then -- and subsequently into fifth overdrive gear -- we were bumping the speed limit anyway.

An optional three-speed automatic transmission dims this liveliness only slightly but takes a bite out of Swift's fuel economy figures.

Navigating sharp canyon sweepers in the Santa Monica Mountains just east of the coast highway showed off the Swift's agility over a twisty road. Never mind that a Ferrari tailed us with its driver anxious to pass; we were able to power through the curves, hitting each apex as if we too drove an exotic.

Swift's good road manners stem from good mechanical hardware, such as a crisp rack-and-pinion steering system and four-wheel independent suspension with MacPherson struts over coil springs plus front and rear stabilizer bars in place to check excessive body sway. The strut design does a reasonable job of smoothing out pavement irregularities, although the short span between front and rear wheels imparts more harshness to the ride quality than would a larger car with longer wheelbase.

A side benefit from the abbreviated wheelbase on Swift shows up when maneuvering in tight confines like a crowded parking lot. Its relatively brief turning radius allows Swift to steer circles around larger cars and easily work itself into the narrowest parking space. This trait makes it ideally suited for inter-city transit. Meanwhile, the thrifty fuel economy numbers point toward service as a commuter car.

Despite a meager 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine producing only 79 horsepower and equally tepid torque numbers, the featherweight scale of Swift actually counterbalances its puny power figures and results in rather lively throttle responses. While it won't win any speed contests, Swift does manage to run quickly through lower gears and has fortitude at highway speed to ensure confidence when passing other vehicles.

Through independent testing by the federal government, Swift comes up with fuel-economy numbers of 36 miles per gallon for city driving and as much as 42 mpg on the highway. For anyone who must commute some distance each day to work or school, high fuel economy figures like these could have a dramatic impact in deflating an annual fuel tab.

Driving a small car can invite feelings of insecurity due to the diminutive scale when stacked against larger vehicles in traffic, although for Swift a number of covert passive and active safety features help bolster driver confidence. For instance, the structure of this subcompact contains front and rear crumple zones as buffers to a steel safety cage which surrounds the passenger compartment, plus steel beams in side doors to check side intrusions. Each A pillar is made of a single strong, rigid piece of steel, while each B pillar has been strengthened for extra rigidity. Standard safety assets include dual airbags, an energy-absorbing steering column, front seat head restraints and firm anchors in the rear to secure a child's safety seat, with daytime running lights aboard so the small car can be seen better in traffic.

The Swift in present design has been around through six model years, yet it continues to look fresh and measure well against more recent competition. Attributes and limitations counteract one another in yin-yang fashion: It's tiny in overall dimensions, but easy to maneuver in the crunch of urban traffic; affordable for a tight car budget, but nicely equipped and quite comfortable; the small engine may lack power, but that accounts for the frugal fuel consumption.

In short, Swift still deserves keen consideration in the midget economy class.