Say hello to…
…the Suzuki eVitara, the Japanese brand’s first all-electric car. The small family SUV borrow’s, perhaps, Suzuki’s best-known name from the regular Vitara, and while the two cars fit in the same space in the market, they are completely different cars both in looks and power.
The all-electric Suzuki is available with either a 49kWh or a 61kWh battery with either two- or four-wheel drive, which the brand labels Allgrip.
Two trim levels are available:
- Motion
- Ultra
Standard equipment on the Motion specification includes drive modes, heat pump, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, rear view camera, adaptive cruise control, heated steering wheel, auto high beam, auto wipers, 10.25-inch driver’s display, 10-inch infotainment screen, 4x USB sockets, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and 18-inch alloy wheels.
Ultra adds surround view camera, wireless phone charger, powered driver’s seat, synthetic leather upholstery, uprated stereo and 19-inch alloy wheels.
Is The Suzuki eVitara Suitable For My Fleet
While fleets like EVs, unfortunately the eVitara has a poor maximum charge speed of just 70kW. This is well below the market average, let alone the market best. For those that only home charge, or only occasionally rapid charge, this won’t be a big problem but for any higher mileage driver who uses public charging frequently, this will mean longer waits to charge.
And despite the standard fit heat pump, in our testing, the eVitara wasn’t efficient either. We saw an average of 2.4 miles per kWh, which when coupled to a battery with a useable capacity of 60kWh, that equates to a range of just 144 miles.
Leasing A Suzuki eVitara
Gateway2lease is offering the Suzuki eVitara Ultra for £309 a month on a 3+36 contract with 10,000 miles a year. If you’re covering 10,000 miles a year the Vitara has running costs of around £36 a month, according to Gensen Reports. Class 1A NIC comes in at £15 a month.
Driving A Suzuki eVitara
Suzuki ran a very successful and accurate ad campaign with the tag-line ‘good different’. It suited the brand’s range at the time. However, now that Suzuki’s entered the world of the EV, that tag doesn’t really work.
The eVitara is not that different from a host of other battery powered small family SUVs. Four-wheel drive is not that uncommon in EVs. The range, too, is decidedly average, as are the power and acceleration stats.
Inside, the latest Suzuki is also similar to the current crop, with large screens dominating the dashboard.
The infotainment screen is clear, but it’s not that fast to respond to inputs and to deactivate the ADAS systems it takes far too many steps through the menu system including sitting through some unnecessary graphics.
On the plus-side, the car is fitted with Apple CarPlay as standard, but in our test car the connection kept dropping out and then refusing to reconnect.
On the move, the eVitara feels faster than its on-paper figures suggest.
The suspension is set on the softer side, which is good in for general comfort, but over some undulations there’s a bit too much bounce from the rear at about 40-60mph.
For a car that’s just 4.2m long, there’s decent room for passengers, particularly in the rear seats. The downside to this is that boot space is not great at 238 litres. The rear bench can be slid forward however, reducing rear legroom, but increasing boot space to a more reasonable 306 litres.
Overall, the eVitara needed to be ‘good different’ to elevate itself in the ultra-competitive electric SUV market and as a result Suzuki has missed an opportunity.
FleetandLeasing.com Verdict On The Suzuki eVitara
Poor real-world efficiency and slow charging speed let the eVitara down.
Suzuki eVitara
- Model: eVitara Ultra Allgrip
- Power: 183 hp
- Torque: 307Nm
- Max speed: 93mph
- 0-62mph: 7.4 seconds
- Official range: 245 miles
- Test range: 144 miles
- CO2 emissions: 0g/km
- BIK tax band 2025/26: 3%
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