Suzuki Celerio
Quick Facts
- Price: From R144 900
- Engine: 1.0-liter petrol
- Power/Torque: 55 Nm/90 Nm
- Transmission: Manual and Auto
- Fuel consumption (claimed): Under 4.8 L/100 km
Known as South Africa’s biggest small budget car, the Suzuki Celerio received its new look which included, a refreshed interior, and additional customer value. Suzuki South Africa introduced a refreshed Celerio in GA and GL specification levels in June 2018. It retained its promotional five year / 200 000 km mechanical warranty as standard.
There is no mistake distinguishing the 2018 Suzuki Celerio from its predecessor, thanks to a redesigned front bumper, which features an integrated lower air intake and more aggressive design.
Starting from the tar up, the bumper has a more integrated lower air intake, which narrows towards the top and ends narrower than the grille below the front number plate holder. The shape of the intake is mimicked by the moulded color section around it to accentuate the wide blacked-out grille with its large Suzuki emblem.
With the new bumper, Suzuki’s designers created a distinct separate section for the front fog lights, which stretches all the way to the front lights and integrates neatly with the Celerio’s shoulder line, which now flows from the doors on to the front fender and the bumper. As before, Suzuki will add front fog lights as standard on the GL model.
Suzuki’s designers have retained the general layout of the front console and central instrument cluster in an effort to contain costs, but have added a two-tone design to the dashboard, with a lighter coloured bottom section.
The two-tone theme is mirrored in the new cloth upholstery, which has a lighter patterned section in the seat-inlays. The cloth was selected for its durability and ease of cleaning. This design update serves to create an even more spacious feel to the cabin, which remains the largest in the A-segment.
The GL specification level adds a host of additional creature comforts, including a Bluetooth-enabled audio system with phone integration and USB jack while the GA models have been fitted with the necessary wiring and two speakers for optional radio fitment.
Other creature comforts in the GL model include;
- Front and rear electric windows.
- Remote central door locks with a hazard-lamp answer-back function and integrated security alarm.
- Tilt adjustment for the multi-functional steering wheel.
- Electrically adjustable rear side mirrors.
On the instrument cluster, Suzuki adds a tachometer and an outside temperature gauge. It has also added cloth inserts in the doors, a 60/40 split foldable rear bench seat, and a day/night rear-view mirror to the GL specification level.
The Celerio is fitted with Suzuki’s K10B 1-liter, three-cylinder engine, which offers 55 kW at 6 000 rpm and 90 Nm of torque at a peak of 3 500 rpm and potential owners can choose between the five-speed manual transmission or the five-speed automated manual transmission (AMT). The latter offers the self-shifting comfort of an automatic gearbox, with the frugal nature of a manual gearbox thanks to the fitment of the self-actuating clutch.
The Celerio offers a combined-cycle consumption figure of 4.6 liters / 100 km on the AMT-model and 4.7 liters on the manual version and Suzuki South Africa claims that the Celerio has a real-world driving range of 750 km on its fuel tank of 35 liters which would make it a very fuel-efficient car.
My final Verdict - Suzuki is fastly growing in South Africa and the Suzuki Celerio has won a number of awards in the budget car segment, however, I have not had one on test yet as soon as I have tested one I will update my comments, it is, however, impressive on paper and the material and build quality looks impressive.
Pricing
Suzuki Celerio - from R144 900
The Suzuki Celerio is sold with a 5-year/200 000km warranty and 2-year/60 000 km service plan on Celerio GL
models.
