Written by Jake Groves Published: 11 June 2025

Overview

Should you buy a Suzuki e Vitara?

Suzuki’s first electric car is a deliberate one, designed to be the exact kind of electric SUV many buyers are looking for. In its favour, the e Vitara is good to drive – it’s neat and tidy out on the road, with great feeling steering. Offering all-wheel drive is a rarity among the competition, too.

That said, it’s uncertain where the e Vitara will place among those countless rivals, as the model we drove was a pre-production prototype, and therefore not quite finished. However, it was clear enough to make a few early judgements.

A Kia EV3, for example, feels better built inside and offers much more space. A Puma Gen-E has a much larger boot. A Skoda Elroq manages to trump the e Vitara in many areas. That makes the e Vitara feel average in a group of impressive cars.

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What’s new?

This small, chunky Suzuki e Vitara is quite the big deal: it’s Suzuki’s first ever production electric car. Quite the surprise when the rest of the car world is busy developing and engineering multiple EVs to meet emissions regulations.

But that’s why Suzuki has been quick to make one now. As well as strict emissions regulations from Europe, the UK’s ZEV Mandate that requires a certain number of cars sold by a manufacturer to be zero-emission has heavily punished Suzuki.

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The new e Vitara is the brand’s first EV, and it’s starting in familiar territory. The entire car from top to bottom is newly developed, with only the name sounding familiar. Vitara has been a name used by Suzuki for more than 35 years; given the familiar size and shape of this car to the combustion model that will remain on sale, it makes sense for this car to use the name too.

Suzuki has tried to make this e Vitara as versatile as possible. As well as featuring plenty of standard technology, it’s offering both front and all-wheel drive options to give its potential buyers choice not usually offered by most cars of this size. It’s the same story inside, with sliding rear seats that can expand or contract boot space depending on what you need to use the car for.

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What’s it like inside?

Overall, the interior feels reasonably well put together – avoiding some of the tinny materials used in other Suzuki models. That is, apart from the enormous slab of gloss black plastic in the centre console, which looks cheap and will show up fingerprints quickly. Thankfully, the dashboard itself features physical buttons that remain for key bits and pieces like climate control and driving functions.

The infotainment and digital screens use new software, with crisp enough graphics that provide good info. Right up until you want to use it, and then you realise it’s a very slow system by modern standards; a tap of the screen usually takes a full second for any action to happen and, while the menu layout isn’t too complicated, we’d like easier accessibility to the driving assistance menu.

Rear space and boot space can be traded off between one another, as the e Vitara features 40:20:40 split fold and sliding rear seats that can boost legroom or expand the luggage area for your needs. With the rear seat slid to its rear-most point, tall adults can sit behind tall adults with good legroom. Headroom is tighter, although there is a divot in the ceiling that’s designed to make taller folk more comfortable.

Even so, the flexible boot isn’t amazing space-wise. At its smallest, you’re looking at 244/238 litres (depending on specification) or 310/306 litres at its biggest.

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Suzuki e Vitara range and charging

Suzuki has already confirmed the WLTP claimed range figures for each version:

• 49kWh 2WD: 214 miles
• 61kWh 2WD: 267 miles
• 61kWh 4WD: 246 miles

And, regardless of which battery you choose, the e Vitara comes with 11kW AC and 150kW DC charging capabilities. A heat pump, which is designed to help the battery be more efficient by keeping it at the optimal temperature, is standard. Not many rivals offer that in this area of the market.

What’s it like to drive?

What’s instantly noticeable from the start is the steering. There’s some impressively satisfying weight regardless of drive mode, which is something many rivals don’t offer – most are too light or lacking in any feel when you steer. Here, you grip a hexagon-like steering wheel and get into the e Vitara’s rhythms fast.

It’s also a tidy handler. It’s not all that exciting, but the car’s shape and design gives it a low stance for good grip and very little body roll. The whole ride is well balanced; it’s not too harsh over large lumps and bumps, but not too soft where the car undulates and tilts like a ship in choppy seas.

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Performance is perfectly reasonable for both front and all-wheel drive models. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between Normal and Sport driving modes, but Eco will dull down the throttle. There’s also a button that switches on the regeneration when you lift off the throttle; in its heaviest setting, it significantly slows the car down but not to a full stop.

Noise-wise, the e Vitara keeps tyre roar down to an acceptable level even at motorway speeds on rougher tarmac. We did drive it on quite a blustery day, mind, which meant wind noise was significant; more time in different weather might give us a more accurate baseline amount of motorway noise.

What models and trims are available?

Two trim versions will be available at launch – Motion and Ultra – following a similar trim structure to the Suzuki Swift. Full model information is on our Suzuki e Vitara specs page.

The new e Vitara can be had with two different battery options – 49kWh or 61kWh – and you can choose from front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (if you choose the larger battery). Suzuki calls its all-wheel drive model Allgrip-e.

The power structure becomes a little complicated, however. A front-wheel drive Motion model has a single 144hp electric motor; a front-wheel drive Ultra model comes with 174hp; an all-wheel drive Ultra model has a total of 239hp from its two electric motors.

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What else should I know?

Suzuki is keen to point out that, as well as an eight-year all-round warranty, the e Vitara has a 10-year warranty for the battery pack. That’s two more years than the industry rule, which Suzuki says is designed to give peace of mind.

The brand has also worked with Toyota with the e Vitara. However, unlike with other cars in Suzuki’s range, the e Vitara’s technology and battery powertrain was developed by Suzuki – not lifted from Toyota. For reference, the e Vitara’s technology, structure and interior is broadly the same as that of the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser.

Click through to the next page to see our ratings and what we like – and don’t – about the Suzuki e Vitara SUV. In addition, you can find out more about how we test cars if you want a better understanding of our process.