Suzuki e Vitara Review & Prices

This is the new Suzuki e Vitara, the first pure electric car the brand has ever sold in the UK. It’s an alternative to cars like the Kia EV3, Peugeot E-2008 and the Smart #1.

It’s a bit like a football team in the Championship going up against an established Premier League outfit in the FA Cup. It’s something of an underdog story, but you shouldn’t write it off just yet.

That’s because the e Vitara is Suzuki doing what it does best: making simple and well-equipped small cars which are easy to live with and nice to drive. It’s not as exciting to look at as a Peugeot E-2008, but it’s still a handsome-looking thing with some rugged charm thanks to the black cladding around the lower half.

The interior design is nothing to write home about, but more importantly everything is logically laid out and really easy to use. You get physical buttons for the climate control, which is much better than the touchscreen-based setup you get in the Volvo EX30, and the infotainment system is intuitive as well.

There are plenty of cubbies around the cabin, and rear legroom is decent for a car of this size. Taller adults will struggle for headroom though, and the Kia EV3 is a lot more spacious.

This extends to the boot, which at 244 litres is far smaller than the Kia EV3, Ford Puma Gen-E and the Hyundai Kona Electric. However, if you need more space you can slide the rear seats forward to expand your luggage capacity to 310 litres. That makes it around the same size as the Smart #1’s boot, but at the expense of pretty much all of your rear legroom. Still, it’s nice to have the flexibility.

Powering this car is a choice of two battery packs: 49kWh and 61kWh. You can also choose between a single motor model or a dual-motor version with all-wheel drive.

The e Vitara can manage up to 266 miles on a charge according to official tests, although this drops to 246 miles if you go for the dual motor model. That’s up to 33 miles more than a Ford Puma Gen-E can do, however it’s some way short of the Kia EV3 and its 375-mile range.

Out on the road the Suzuki e Vitara is perfect for driving around town. You get a great view forward and the boxy shape makes it really easy to slot through gaps in traffic.

The suspension does a good job of dealing with big bumps, although it does fidget about a bit over smaller imperfections. It’s pretty good on a twisty road as well. There’s not much fun to be had, but it feels safe and predictable through corners with minimal body roll.

Get out on the motorway and the e Vitara feels less at home. You do get adaptive cruise control as standard which is nice on longer drives, but there’s a lot of wind noise as your speed climbs which gets intrusive after a while.

If you fancy this electric SUV, check out the latest Suzuki e Vitara deals, as well as e Vitara lease deals available through Carwow. You can check out used Suzukis from our network of trusted dealers, and Carwow can help you sell your car, too.

Suzuki e Vitara prices start just under £30,000 for the Motion trim, putting it on par with the Smart #1 and making it slightly cheaper than the Kia EV3 and Peugeot E-2008. There’s quite a leap to the next trim, called Ultra, which is nearly £36,000, but that’s still less than top-spec versions of those other alternatives.

It falls behind some similarly priced cars in terms of range and practicality, but one of the e Vitara’s biggest selling points is the amount of standard equipment you get. All versions get adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, keyless entry, front and rear parking sensors and a 10.1-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The e Vitara also gets a 10-year battery warranty, two years more than most manufacturers offer, and you can get up to 10 years of warranty coverage on the car if you keep it serviced within Suzuki’s dealer network. That’s great peace of mind.