2026 Suzuki e-Vitara assessment: Quick drive

Views: 117

There’s a technical tie-up happening between Japanese automakers Suzuki and Toyota proper now, though right here we’re not seeing the fruits of these labours.

Principally, that’s as a result of Toyota – by far the larger accomplice on this relationship – has traditionally taken the lead on this automotive dance and supplied its automobiles to Suzuki for rebadging: witness the RAV4 changing into the Across, and the Corolla morphing into the Swace.

However, we get neither of these two repurposed Toyotas from Suzuki Australia. But this automotive, Suzuki’s first-ever mass-produced electrical car (EV), is the brand new e-Vitara. And this time round, Toyota can be borrowing Suzuki’s work to create the Urban Cruiser from the identical primary constructing blocks.

Nothing can be easy for the Suzuki e-Vitara, although, as a result of there’s a heck of a whole lot of selection on this compact, inexpensive electrical SUV sector. Not solely from a complete raft of Chinese EVs from manufacturers you might or might not have heard of, but additionally from established legacy producers resembling Kia with the EV3, Volvo with its EX30, and Skoda’s good Elroq, amongst others.

We acquired our first style of the e-Vitara in European spec on the UK launch forward of its Australian launch within the first quarter of 2026, so how excited ought to we be for the brand new Suzuki EV’s arrival right here early subsequent 12 months?

How a lot does the Suzuki e-Vitara value?

Prices and specs for this market are but to be decided, though the Suzuki e-Vitara will should be keenly positioned to finish up as successful.

This is as a result of, if we take simply three of these rivals we’ve talked about above, then they’re all longer-range than the Suzuki, they provide a lot quicker DC charging charges, they usually all have bigger boots, they usually have a complete load extra energy and torque.

A Kia EV3, as an example, supplies something between 436 and 604km of vary, with a 150kW/283Nm powertrain, for $47,600-$63,900 earlier than on-roads. The Volvo EX30 runs from $53,990 to $71,290 and has 460-480 km of vary, with energy of 200kW and torque at 343Nm. The magnificent Skoda Elroq offers you a thumping nice 210kW/545Nm rear-mounted motor, far more cabin house and 530km of vary, all for something between $54,990-$64,990.

All three of those additionally rapid-charge at something between 100 and 175kW DC, placing the e-Vitara’s measly 70kW within the shade.

We’d due to this fact hope the Suzuki goes to not less than undercut the Kia, and by a substantial quantity, to make any sense alongside these superior rivals.

What is the Suzuki e-Vitara like on the within?

Fair play to Suzuki, which has performed its finest to glam up the inside of the e-Vitara. Everything feels solidly put-together and there are makes an attempt at bringing totally different textures to the fore, such because the patterned door playing cards and the ever-so-slightly soft-touch fascia that surrounds the air vents.

However, begin prodding and poking round, and among the plastics don’t really feel that strong. You gained’t have to search around exhausting for these, both, because the dash-top and higher sections of the doorways are prime culprits.

It’s additionally slightly dour inside, until you go for a inexperienced or silver automotive in high specification, wherein you get the tan inside to enliven issues.

This does raise the black-on-black-on-very-dark-grey atmosphere of the e-Vitara’s cabin, but it surely’s not full tan leather-based. Instead, it’s only a strip of the color that runs from door-to-door throughout the center of the sprint, and which is then repeated on the central armrest and outer sections of the seats.

The firm additionally doesn’t appear to have acquired the memo, which the remainder of the automotive business has, about piano-black trim. There’s acres of this faddish stuff contained in the Suzuki EV, which reveals up each fingerprint placed on it and which additionally ages badly.

In one AWD automotive we examined, which was nearly model spanking new, the transmission tunnel was already displaying unpleasant scratches and marks close to the switchgear, so what it’ll seem like after three years and 50,000km of exhausting utilization is anybody’s guess.

We don’t wish to sound like we’ve a downer on what’s a suitable inside, however there are extra gripes concerning the Suzuki e-Vitara’s cabin. Such because the expertise. This is introduced on two screens in a single housing, comprising a ten.1-inch central touchscreen and a ten.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

Neither of them is graphically poor, however they’re housed in a single wide-arching block of trim – and since they’re at totally different heights, there’s a thick band of unattractive black plastic above the cluster.

And regardless of the retention of some bodily switchgear, there’s nonetheless an excessive amount of reliance on the infotainment to do numerous easy duties. If you wish to flip off lane maintain help and the annoying bong that accompanies you drifting over velocity limits, it’s an annoying course of that can take you 12 display presses and about 25 seconds at its quickest.

Switching on the heated seats is much more of a faff, requiring 5 faucets of the show and ready for pointless animations of seats swivelling about on the display, when there are huge plains of featureless piano-black plastic on that central tunnel that would home two heated seat buttons which you’d press as soon as, with out ever taking your eyes off the highway forward.

Let’s bolster the e-Vitara’s case, then, by saying passenger house within the again is first rate. Neither headroom nor legroom are large, however they’re acceptable sufficient for average-height passengers, whereas the rear row of seats cut up/folds 40:20:40, whereas the bench may be slid forwards and backwards on a 60:40 foundation to extend passenger room or ramp up cargo capability as required.

That’s excellent news as a result of the boot of the Suzuki is nothing particular. With the rear row of chairs pushed absolutely again, you get simply 244 litres within the front-wheel-drive e-Vitara, and a meagre 238L within the AWD dual-motor variant.

Slide them ahead and issues enhance marginally, to 310 and 306L respectively – however most rivals go comfortably past 400L on this self-discipline nowadays. There’s additionally no entrance storage space beneath the e-Vitara’s bonnet in any respect.

What’s beneath the bonnet?

When it involves powertrains, assuming we observe different world markets, there are three primary flavours of the e-Vitara, primarily based on two battery packs and two driven-wheels choices.

The entry level can be a front-drive automotive with the smaller 49kWh (usable) battery pack. Power from this one is a modest 106kW, with an equally modest 193Nm of torque to again it up, permitting for a claimed 9.6-second 0-100km/h run and a theoretical max vary of 344km.

Sticking with two-wheel drive, the longest-legged e-Vitara is fitted with a 61kWh battery. The torque’s the identical as the bottom mannequin, however energy climbs to 128kW, which lowers the official 0-100km/h time to eight.7 seconds and ups the vary declare to 426km.

Finally, there’s the dual-motor Allgrip-e, which is all-wheel drive. It makes use of the identical battery and 128kW/193Nm entrance motor because the long-range e-Vitara, however provides one other rear-mounted 48kW propulsion unit.

Peak energy is pegged to 135kW, though the ensuing 307Nm general torque determine is most welcome.

The Suzuki e-Vitara Allgrip-e will do 0-100km/h in a claimed 7.4 seconds, however the payoff for the additional traction and velocity is that the vary falls again to 395km.

It’s the considerably low most DC fast-charging price of 70kW of the e-Vitara which bothers us right here. That’s manner off the tempo for the trendy EV period.

In its defence, Suzuki claims a 10-80 per cent cost of even the larger battery will take simply 45 minutes at its swiftest, whereas the e-Vitara can avail itself of 11kW AC charging on a three-phase connection.

How does the Suzuki e-Vitara drive?

The Suzuki e-Vitara is okay to drive, but it surely’s not notably good at anyone self-discipline – and there are two key issues which bug us, too.

As you’d anticipate from the torque figures of lower than 200Nm, in a car weighing not less than 1.7 tonnes the efficiency is leisurely by EV requirements. The e-Vitara is easy sufficient to choose up velocity, and its adjustable regenerative braking system is sweet, even when there’s no one-pedal driving functionality regardless of the way you tweak it.

But this isn’t a fast automotive. Stepping as much as the Allgrip-e does assist considerably with the punchiness, although.

In phrases of the journey, dealing with and rolling refinement, it’s a combined bag.

The Suzuki grips nicely and doesn’t show appreciably extreme pitch, roll or dive, however gentle and feel-free steering in an inert chassis serve to rob the driving force of any pleasure whereas hustling the e-Vitara alongside.

Off-road, the AWD mannequin performs admirably sufficient for one thing with out correct locking diffs and so forth, however we’d mood that evaluation by confessing the rough-terrain route we had been introduced with by Suzuki was hardly what you’d referred to as difficult – it was principally a number of ruts, sharp descents and a little bit of mud, so the e-Vitara isn’t the type of factor wherein you wish to be tackling the Canning Stock Route.

Of extra concern was how uncomfortable the journey could possibly be at occasions, together with extreme wind and tyre noise on poorer surfaces. On the latter rating, a relentless ruffling from the B-pillar was audible at any velocity past about 70km/h, whereas chatter from the rubber turns into vaguely bothersome at 100km/h.

But it’s the first journey that wants severe rejigging earlier than the e-Vitara arrives in Australia, we really feel. On smoother surfaces, the Suzuki performs okay. The minute it encounters any important lumps and bumps within the tarmac, nevertheless, the management goes all to pot – leaving the automotive bouncing up and down within the wake of massive compressions to the suspension.

It’s not a agency and gritty ride-comfort drawback. It’s extra a sense of the automotive being over-sprung however under-damped. And it’s not notably nice, sadly.

On high of that’s markedly poor electrical effectivity. We drove the long-range mannequin on highway, in cool however not freezing temperatures, and in a reasonably sedate method for about 100km, and it returned an indicated vitality consumption of 21.4kWh/100km – which is tragic for a low-power, single-motor EV like this.

We wish to see a lot better from it once we check it on dwelling turf, that’s for positive.

What do you get?

One space the place the Suzuki e-Vitara should hit exhausting is with customary specs. We’re undecided what they’ll be referred to as right here in Australia as but (presumably they’ll observe the Pure and GLX construction of the Swift), however elsewhere there are two trims often called Motion and Ultra.

Australian trim tools ranges stay TBC, however we’d anticipate all of this stuff beneath to be standard-fit in even the bottom automotive examined right here.

2026 Suzuki e-Vitara tools highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Integrated show system (10.25-inch cluster and 10.1-inch infotainment)
• Rear privateness glass
• Reversing digicam
• Front and rear parking sensors
• LED headlights and daytime working lights
• Satellite navigation
• Keyless entry and begin
• Heated entrance seats and steering wheel (61kWh fashions solely)
• Rear-seat slide and recline performance

A top-spec e-Vitara ought so as to add 19-inch alloys, entrance fog lamps, a panoramic sunroof, wi-fi smartphone charging, dual-zone local weather management, half-synthetic leather-based upholstery, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and an Infinity premium audio system with subwoofer, plus extra security package.

Is the Suzuki e-Vitara protected?

ANCAP hasn’t acquired a maintain of the e-Vitara but, however Euro NCAP has and the Suzuki bagged a four-star general score, scoring 77, 85, 79 and 72 per cent for the grownup occupant, youngster occupant, weak highway customers, and security help parameters accordingly.

It’s a surprisingly low rating, given the common mannequin comes with Suzuki’s Dual Sensor Brake Support package, as
nicely as lane maintain help and lane departure warning, visitors signal recognition, blind spot monitor, and rear cross-traffic alert as customary.

A top-grade automotive ought to be fitted with adaptive high-beam headlights and a 360-degree digicam system, too.

How a lot does the Suzuki e-Vitara value to run?

As it’s Suzuki’s first EV, we wait to see what aftersales coverage the corporate will undertake right here for the e-Vitara. The conventional Australian degree of Suzuki cowl is a five-year, unlimited-distance guarantee with roadside help of the identical timeframe, supplied you service the automotive on schedule at a Suzuki vendor.

But whether or not the e-Vitara wants the identical annual, or 15,000km (whichever comes sooner), upkeep schedule as its combustion-powered relations stays to be seen, as does the price of any fixed-price servicing for the EV both.

Interestingly, in different territories, Suzuki will present as much as 10 years and 160,000km of full car and battery guarantee, on a service-activated foundation. Otherwise, the usual high-voltage battery guarantee is the same old eight years of canopy.

CarExpert’s Take on the Suzuki e-Vitara

It’s a strong first electrical effort, the Suzuki e-Vitara, however our fear is that it’s not precisely a brand new EV which correctly shakes up its specific market sector.

It has the benefit of being one of many few automobiles of this type of measurement, facility and value vary that gives an AWD possibility, which could give it the sting for adventurous varieties, or these dwelling in additional distant areas. And it should be bought at a aggressive value with a great deal of package on your cash, backed by a possible 10-year guarantee.

But when it comes to its driving expertise, its styling, its inside ending, its technological interface within the cabin, and the electrical vary, real-world effectivity and charging speeds it presents, it feels just like the e-Vitara has launched in concerning the center of the category from the off – as an alternative of pushing the boundaries of what’s doable.

If you’ve all the time cherished Suzukis and also you really need an electrical SUV with an ‘S’ badge on its nostril, you’ll most likely just like the e-Vitara loads. For everybody else, there are higher current choices on the market together with Kia’s glorious EV3.

Click the photographs for the total gallery

MORE: Explore the Suzuki showroom

Source link

#Suzuki #eVitara #assessment #Quick #drive