Had the opportunity to drive the new Suzuki Clerio last week, now built on the reknowned Heartect platform, that does duty for the Swift & Baleno models. Suzuki are definitely one of the successful brands in SA presently, and continue to smash sales records every other month. They seem to have the ideal range that suits the SA car buying public, that of value for money cars, that are superbly built.
I remember attending the previous generation Celerio launch a few years ago in Durban. The same small car is still here but very much updated. The Global launch was held three months ago, so SA is lucky to have the new Celerio so timeously. The 2022 Suzuki Celerio is a brand-new model from the tar up and as such it features a newly fledged exterior and interior design, a new platform and a new DualJet engine.
Styling.
The Suzuki Celerio has been given a different look,with a more rounded and depply sculpted body, and it has a deep oval grille with the iconic S-emblem, with chrome accents that stretch beyond the grille to the teardrop headlamps. The creses going down the side give the Celerio a defined and sculpted look, very attractive. The darkened alloy wheels which are 14 inch steel wheels the GA & 15 inch alloy for GL models with the latter being the top model. The GL also has body-coloured door handles & side mirrors. It has droplet tail lamps to finish the look.
This brightwork also disguises the fit lines of the lower moulded bumper, which help to create a bold and unified look. The lower black and body colour bumper houses the fog lights (on the GL specification level.
Interior.
The Celerio has a fairly spacious interior with new, integrated front- and rear seats that optimise space, while remaining comfortable. Suzuki has also added a 60:40 split rear seat and reshaped the luggage bay with a flush fitting parcel shelf, luggage hooks and a deeper base (despite housing a full-sized spare) to increase loading space to 295 litres.
In the front it has an attractive and well planned dashboard has been redesigned for visibility, a sense of space, and to integrate the new 7” touchscreen infotainment system (standard on the GL specification level). Suzuki also redesigned the centre console to integrate all the main controls, including electric windows (GL), door locks (GL) and the standard air conditioning to be close at hand for both the driver and front passenger. As mentioned, the Celerio GL is fitted with a new-generation version of its touch[1]screen infotainment system. My driving partner and I felt quite comfy, despite both of us just touching six foot in height.
This system is equipped with a USB port, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. It also features a host of smart vehicle notifications, alerts and information, such as instantaneous and average fuel consumption, fuel range and information from its integrated rear parking sensors. The Android Auto was not that easy to operate off the app in the car, and we ended up using the phone instead.
The GA model is also equipped with rear parking sensors, but the guidance is audio only. This model has, however, also been pre-equipped with a roof-mounted antenna, two speakers and integrated wiring for the easy fitment of a Suzuki audio system.
All models have Bluetooth and audio controls on the steering wheel. Staying inside the cabin – there are assistant grips for all passengers, cup and bottle holders in the centre console and in all doors and a 12V accessory socket. Power steering is also standard across the range. In the GL model, Suzuki has splashed out with silver detailing on the centre and side air vent bezels, silver door handles, front and rear electric windows, remote controlled door locks and front- and rear mounted speakers connected to the infotainment system. The GL models also have a digital tachometer in the electronic display that is fitted next to the large analogue speedometer.
Engine.
Cue the entry of the DualJet engine, which is new to the Celerio. This engine (code-named K10C) offers multi-point fuel injection from two injectors per cylinder, which allowed Suzuki engineers to offer more efficient combustion and a higher compression ratio (11.5:1).
While the main focus in the Celerio is on fuel efficiency, the efficient combustion and EGR system has lowered the emission rating to a mere 84 g/km, which is well below the emission tax threshold of 120 g/km set by the South African government. The engine got us through traffic and never lagged, which is a good sign at altitude.
It has Engine Automatic Start Stop (EASS) system, which help with a good average fuel consumption figure of 4.2 litres per 100 km (in the AMT version). This makes the Suzuki Celerio South Africa’s most fuel-efficient five-door petrol hatchback.
This e incredible fuel efficiency of the 1 litre DualJet engine does not come at the expense of power delivery. In South Africa, this engine will deliver 49 kW at 5 500 rpm and 89 Nm at 3 500 rpm. This gives the Celerio 1.0 DualJet a theoretical output of 81 horsepower per tonne.
It delivers power to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission or an automated manual transmission (AMT) with the same number of gears. We drove the manual version which was great, and changed gears easily.
The latter performs from inside the cabin like a normal automatic transmission (with the option of manual override). The Celerio has electric power steering and with its rigid platform and shorted wheelbase of 2,435 metres, it has an impressive turning radius of only 4.7 metres.
Safety is always paramount at Suzuki. The 2022 Suzuki Celerio is equipped with an electronic stability programme (ESP) as standard, a first in this segment, and it has two airbags across the range. All Celerio models also have an ISOFIX restraint system for child seats as standard and the front seats have been lifted slightly for a more commanding driving position with better all-round visibility.
We whizzed around the central Jhb area, and Suzuki touts the Celerio as a city car, and it delivered on that front. Zippy in traffic with a comfy interior, filled with the right tech that make a journey seem easy. Not hard to say that this will be another winner for Suzuki.
Pricing is excellent and the pricing is as follows:
Celerio 1.0L GA MT R174 900.00
Celerio 1.0L GL MT R194 900.00
Celerio 1.0 GL AMT R209 900.00
The Suzuki Celerio range will be sold with Suzuki’s 5 year / 200 000 km mechanical warranty and a Roadside Assistance programme for the same period. A 6-year / unlimited anti-corrosion warranty is also included as standard. All models also receive a 2- year / 30 000 km service plan as standard.