It’s been a long time coming, but Suzuki has finally produced its first fully-electric
vehicle. Called e Vitara, it’s a compact crossover SUV that won’t be in dealerships until
late-June or early-July but with pre-orders being taken.
The e Vitara shares the same platform, and many features but styling differences with
the Toyota Urban Cruiser. Both are built in India at Suzuki’s Gujerat factory on its
Heartect-e lightweight dedicated electric chassis. At this stage it’s unlikely that Toyota
will be importing the Urban Cruiser.
Suzuki is unique Australia in that a separate independent company distributes its
vehicles in Queensland and part of Northern NSW with the factory-backed Suzuki
Australia looking after all other areas. Generally, there are only minor differences
including model grades, specifications or styling trims.
In both markets e Vitara will be available in either two- or four-wheel drive with two
specification levels: 2WD Motion and AWD Ultra. In Queensland a 2WD Ultra is also
offered.
The long-running Suzuki Vitara remains on sale in either petrol or hybrid powertrains but
differs significantly from its EV sibling which is marginally longer but with a significantly
longer wheelbase that provides additional interior space as well as a bolder, more
premium styling and new tech features.
STYLING
The design of the e Vitara is a major departure from the fairly bland looks of previous
Vitara models. It’s much bolder and more adventurous with a smooth but sculpted
exterior sitting above, and surrounded by, prominent black plastic cladding to infer some
off-road credentials.
At the front the tall erect bonnet sits over LED headlights and large LED daytime
running lights. The usual narrow ‘grille’ that identifies most EVs, with a large Suzuki
badge in the centre.
The rear doors have the annoying ‘hidden’ handles mounted high on the C pillars and
designed to suggest a coupe appearance.
The rear mirrors have a similar design to those at the front with a full-width light bar
linking them.
Both variants come with 18-inch alloy wheels.
Ultra gets a panoramic non-opening glass roof with a retractable sunshade.
There are four colour options. Arctic White is standard. Bluish Black Pearl and Land
Breeze Green are an $890 option with two-tone also available with a Black Pearl roof on
the Ultra for $1340.
INTERIOR
The biggest design feature comes inside the e Vitara. The brown seats and trim will not
be to everyone’s taste but at least it’s different and we loved it.
The floating centre console is piano black that’s hard to view in bright sunlight and too
easy to smudge. A big plus, at least in our eyes, are physical climate control switches in
the centre of the dash.
There are twin large cupholders in the centre console although grippers would have
helped for smaller containers. The door bins are large and wide. There’s also a large
space below the centre console for keeping items away from prying eyes.
Ultra gets a smartphone wireless charger at the base of the dashboard.
Some clever design allows rear seat and boot space to be adjusted with the seats able
to slide back and forwards. When the seats are all the way back for maximum legroom
luggage space is just 238 litres. At the other extreme, legroom is quite cramped but
luggage space is increased to 310 litres. With the rear seatbacks folded there’s 562
litres.
There is a useful storage compartment beneath the boot floor but no spare wheel.
POWERTRAIN
The e Vitara powertrain combines a lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) battery system,
electric drive axles and an integrated heat pump battery management system.
The 2WD Motion variant comes with a 49kWh battery that drives a 106kW / 193Nm
motor mounted on the front axle. Ultra increases the battery to 61kWh and adds a rear-
mounted motor for total output of 135kW and 307Nm.
The charging port is on the front passenger side of the vehicle. Charging time for both
variants are an impressive 11kW with AC and 70kW with DC.
WLTP driving range is listed at 344km and 395km respectively The Queensland-only
2WD Ultra has a claimed 426km range.
Vehicle to Load (VTL) is available in both variants.
SAFETY
Standard safety in all e Vitara models includes seven airbags, adaptive cruise control,
autonomous emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist and
departure prevention, forward collision warning, dual sensor brake support, multi-
collision baking, high beam assist, front and rear parking sensors and blind spot
monitoring.
Ultra AWD adds front LED foglamps, adaptive high beam, hill descent control and a trail
mode switch.
The absence of a front centre airbag and a driver monitoring system contribute to the e
Vitara only gaining a 4-star ANCAP rating. While the extra airbag is disappointing not
being incessantly nagged by a camera pointing at the driver’s face may well be a
positive selling point for many drivers – including us.
INFOTAINMENT
Standard in both variants are 10.1-inch central touchscreen and 10.25-inch digital
instrument cluster in front of the driver. There’s a 360-degree view camera as well as
front and rear USB-A and USB-C ports.
The infotainment screen falls well short of the sharp high-res screens that we’re used to
from Chinese vehicles.
Motion has four-speaker audio with Ultra stepping up to a premium 10-speaker Harman
Infinity system.
DRIVING
The compact size of the e Vitara and the EV agility makes it an excellent urban vehicle.
The Ultra AWD that we tested came with a 10-way adjustable driver’s seat which
allowed to settle into a comfortable driving position.
Visibility is good with a large windscreen, side and rear windows together with relatively
thin A-pillars.
The gear selector is a rotary and push-down set-up with a park button above it. There
are also physical buttons to adjust brake regeneration, hill descent, parking brake and
auto hold.
Zero to 100km/h acceleration is listed at 7.4 seconds from the AWD Ultra and 9.6
seconds in the FWD Motion.
Ride is relatively soft aimed at comfort rather than sportiness.
Despite the cladding, a decent 180mm ground clearance and the eAxle. e Vitara is only
suited for modest off-road conditions. Those looking for serious bush bashing will be
aware that a Jimny EV is under development and will be hoping that it comes here.
SUMMING UP
The compact EV SUV range is growing rapidly with most models coming from China
and with very competitive pricing. This is Suzuki’s biggest challenge because the e
Vitara driveaway prices run from $48,990 for the 2WD Motion through to $58,990 for the
AWD Ultra.
These prices drop by $2000 with limited time cashback offers.
Even with these discounts e Vitara sits at the top end of the compact SUV EV category
and it will struggle to compete against Chinese rivals such as the BYD Atto, Jaecoo J5
and GWM Ora which are more than $10k cheaper.
The fact that Suzuki is a respected and trusted Japanese brand will no doubt attract
buyers, provided they aren’t deterred by it being manufactured in India.
It’s a capable and comfortable vehicle mostly aimed at urban conditions and with a fair
balance between physical and touchscreen controls that will satisfy both tech-savvy and
conventional drivers.
MODEL RANGE
Motion 2WD: $48,990 driveaway
Ultra 2WD (Queensland only): $54,990 driveaway
Ultra AWD: $58,990 driveaway
Note: There is a $2000 cashback launch offer until 31 July from Suzuki Queensland.
RATINGS
Looks: 8/10
Performance: 7/10
Safety: 7/10
Thirst: 7/10
Practicality: 7/10
Comfort: 7/10
Tech: 7/10
Value: 6/10
AT A GLANCE
MODEL LINE-UP
Suzuki e Vitara Motion 2WD: $48,990
Suzuki e Vitara Ultra 2WD: $54,990 (Queensland only)
Suzuki e Vitara Ultra AWD: $58,990
Note: These are driveaway prices and include all government of dealer delivery
charges.
SPECIFICATIONS (Suzuki e Vitara Ultra AWD)
POWERTRAIN
Battery: 61 kW Lithium Iron
Single Phase AC Charging 7 kW (10-100%): 6 hours 30 minutes
Three Phase AC Charging 11 kW (10-100%): 4 hours 30 minutes
DC Rapid Charging (10-80%): 45 minutes
Motor: 106 kW / 193 Nm
DRIVELINE: Single-speed automatic. All-wheel drive.
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT, AND CAPACITIES
Length: 4275 mm
Width: 1800 mm
Height:1635 mm
Wheelbase:2700 mm
Turning circle: 10.4 metres
Kerb weight: 1704 kg
BRAKES
Front: Ventilated disc
Rear: Ventilated disc
STANDARD WARRANTY
Five years / 100,000 kilometres
Battery eight years / 160,000 kilometres
