Suzuki eVitara review

You get the sense Suzuki has tried to add a little upmarket flair in here, but it still ends up feeling very utilitarian, with mostly dark colours and quite a bit of scratchy plastic on the dashboard and door cards. Stick to what you know best, we reckon.

If only because there are some serious questionable decisions in here. First up, that dual display that sits atop the dashboard. We’ll get to the tech itself shortly, but what is going on with all the blank space? See the gap above the instrument cluster – while it’s invisible to the driver because of the top of the steering wheel, to any passengers it looks ridiculous. How on earth did that get signed off?

The aesthetics are also not helped on account of the off-centre hazard button and air vents, while we’re also not a fan of the piano black centre console, which is prone to dust, fingerprints and scratches. It also only houses the gear selector and a couple of other buttons, and mostly feels a waste of space.

Is it comfortable at least?

Up front you sit high, with base spec versions getting fabric seats, upper spec versions half leather. On that note, we’d really recommend getting the silver or green paint – the only colours that get a tan interior, which really improves the otherwise dull upholstery. Seriously, it’s a big improvement.

In the rear you get a flat floor, but again sit high on account of the batteries, which results in limited headroom for taller folks. At least the sliding rear seats mean legroom isn’t too much of an issue, provided you haven’t got much luggage back there. It’s also quite dark unless you’ve got the upper trim’s glass sunroof.

And the tech?

All versions get 10.25in digital dial and 10.1in infotainment displays. The digital dials actually look pretty smart and work well; easy to read with plenty of customisation and integrating well with the inbuilt sat nav (which you’ll likely never use).

The infotainment display isn’t quite a success. It feels dated and is quite laggy, to the extent that you sometimes have to wait a second for it to respond. Not great when turning off the ADAS (lane keep, speed limit assist, etc) are buried deep within.

You do at least get a couple of physical buttons, including for switching on the AC and increasing/decreasing fan speed and temperature, as well as front and rear demisters. But elsewhere there are quite a few blanked off switches.

What’s the boot like?

Well, with the rear seats slid fully backwards you’re looking at 244 litres in entry-level versions, or 238 litres in the top spec on account of the subwoofer back there. Slide them fully forwards and that grows to 310/306 litres respectively. Fold all the seats down and you’re looking at a maximum 562 litres. 

That’s considerably smaller than some rivals, notably the Ford Puma, which gets a whopping 525 litres thanks to the Gigabox beneath the boot floor.