Suzuki e Vitara

Suzuki’s first electric car the e Vitara was launched recently & Company Car & Van were lucky enough to spend a week in a 61kWh Motion 2WD version. Compact but spacious & with cute looks here’s how we got on.

Tell me more

Whilst the Vitara tag would suggest an SUV, the e Vitara is actually a B sized five-door hatchback designed by Suzuki in a joint venture with Toyota. The car gets Suzuki’s  ‘Heartect-e’ architecture, made specifically for electric cars & one that can be used with single & dual motor’s allowing Suzuki to keep their AllGrip 4WD tech on this electric platform.

Model choice & prices

The e Vitara is available in two trims, Motion & Ultra with two batteries 49kWh or 61kWh & either 2WD or AllGrip 4WD. Motion is priced from £26,249 in 49kWh battery guise, with range topping Ultra AllGrip 4WD coming in at £34,049 with the 61kWh battery.

Range

The 61kWh battery offers a 264 mile range, while the 49kWh battery comes with 213 miles.

Power & performance

Model                      Battery                  Power          0-62mph      Top speed

Suzuki e Vitara    49kWh 2WD         142bhp       9.6 seconds     93mph

Suzuki e Vitara    61kWh 2WD          142bhp       8.7 seconds     93mph

Suzuki e Vitara    61kWh AllGrip-e  181bhp        7.4 seconds     93mph

Outside

The e Vitara’s compact shape is actually more interesting than many electric competitors. So you get a large Suzuki logo in the centre of  front flat grille, high corner headlights, chunky wheel arches, large black alloys, a high mounted rear light bar & rear spoiler with the e Vitara name sitting proudly in the centre.

Inside

The interior looks & feels quite cramped, thanks in the main to the dark colours & roof lining. However when you climb aboard there’s a surprisingly large amount of space in the front & even more in the rear where two six-foot tall friends sat comfortably side by side.

Four square air-vents & the large 10.1-inch touchscreen & 10.25-inch drivers display are the stand out’s on the dashboard, with a small line of short-cut switches in the centre that mainly control the cars climate. The centre binnacle is finished in a shiny black plastic that encompasses a space for you phone, twin cup holders, the rotary gear lever, driving modes switches, either Normal or Sport plus a separate one for Snow plus an electric parking brake.

The finishes aren’t bad but there’s a distinct lack of colour on offer with some cheaper plastics used lower down & on the door pockets. The seat fabrics are also dark & look & feel hard wearing with the diamond patterned door finishes the only thing that breaks up the colour way.

Cabin practicality

Under armrest storage, decent sized front door pockets, a small glove box, twin USB’s a 12v socket & a useful low down centre area offer areas to store bits & bobs. In the rear you also get two USB’s & your own climate adjustment on the Motion model we tested.

Boot

A sliding rear bench gives you the option of either a 306 litre or 238 litre boot capacity, neither of which feels large enough. The boot floor sits high with just enough space below to store your charging cable. The seat back splits three ways, with carpeted panels that cover the gap if you fold the seats down or slide them forward.

Specs

All versions are decently equipped with our Motion test car including a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, automatic air conditioning, a heat pump, adaptive cruise control, a rear parking camera, front & rear parking sensors, with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto connectivity.

Charging 

The e Vitara’s 61kWh battery will take 5.5 hours to fully charge from a home wallbox, while the smaller battery takes 4.5 hours. Suzuki claims that maximum charging speeds of 150kW are possible from a DC charger, so the large battery can be charged up from 10-80 per cent in 45 minutes, all via a front left sided charging port. We utilised out won Rolec Evo adding 37kWh of charge overnight. https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-products/evo

Infotainment & switches

The screen is an easy reach from the drivers seat & the menus are logical. However, it looks small compared to the competition & the menus are slow to load with some annoying traits such as having to turn on the heated seats in the screen menu which takes three touches to achieve.

Elsewhere separate one-pedal button & driving mode switches make life easier as does the simple cruise control activation on the  steering wheel. The wiper stalk on the right of the steering wheel works by pushing it down rather than up. Although we connected our iPhone wirelessly, the system had a tendency not to re-connect each time we got in the car which was a tad frustrating.

Driving in town

Whilst the e Vitara can’t be described as interesting to drive, it’s probably one of the easiest electric cars we’ve ever driven. Climb in press start & the foot brake, select Drive & release the electric hand brake & away you go. It’s smooth, quiet & simple with absolutely no complaints from us.

Interestingly whilst our 61kWh Motion model has more power than the smaller battery version, with 172bhp, it has the same 193Nm torque figure as the less powerful model. The difference between Normal or Sport drive mode is throttle response but even in Sport the e Vitara’s more serene than exciting. When we engaged the pedal regeneration switch, a useful addition for the urban crawl, you’ll notice the car slow down with the throttle dialled back, although it isn’t strong enough for one-pedal driving.

The small exterior dimensions of the e Vitara & lowish suspension set-up mean’s it’s very accomplished at dealing with the usual potholes & bumps that many other EV’s struggle with. Indeed in our ten days with it we didn’t notice the battery weight at all & only when we hit the motorway did the cabin become in any way noisy with some wind & tyre noise entering . That’s impressive. The Snow drive option on our test car wasn’t called into play but it’s useful to have nonetheless.

Visibility & manoeuvrability

You sit quite high in the drivers seat so forward visibility is good. However, the rear side windows & rear window are quite narrow so when you reverse you’ll want to utilise the cars reversing camera if fitted. Light steering & a small 10.4 metre turning circle make driving in town & parking in the supermarket car park easy otherwise.

Motorway driving 

Here we utilised the e Vitara’s adaptive cruise control which enabled comfortable progress at 70mph where it will happily keep up with faster moving traffic. The speakers are quite good so the outside noise though noticeable isn’t too intrusive.

Economy

In town we were seeing a return of 3 miles per kWh driven in a very cold January. On the motorway this fell to 2.4 miles per kWh, so maximum range would in theory be 175 miles. Indeed when fully charged the battery range displayed was 205 miles, some way off the claimed of 264 miles.

Warranty

10 years for the battery is excellent & Suzuki reliability is reassuringly high.

Pros

Well equipped, attractively priced & good to drive. Spacious rear space. We like the looks too. Low BIK gives Suzuki a foot hold into the company car sector.

Cons

Almost identical to the Toyota Urban Cruiser. Driving range is distinctly average. Small boot. Others charge faster. Infotainment is slow.

Verdict

Suzuki have been slow to get an EV to market & whilst the e Vitara is good news for the brand, even with off-road capability, it doesn’t really stand out from much of the competition. We like the way it drives as it’s comfortable & super-easy to use, but the infotainments slow to respond & both the real world driving range & charging speeds are disappointing.

If you’re looking for a spacious city run-around that’s simple to use & just a little bit different in looks, the e Vitara could be for you.

3.25/5