It’s been a long time coming, but Suzuki has finally produced its first fully-electric vehicle.

Called e Vitara, it’s a compact crossover SUV that won’t be in dealerships until late-June or early-July but with pre-orders being taken.

The e Vitara shares the same platform, and many features but styling differences with the Toyota Urban Cruiser.

Both are built in India at Suzuki’s Gujerat factory on its Heartect-e lightweight dedicated electric chassis.

At this stage it’s unlikely that Toyota will be importing the Urban Cruiser.

Suzuki is unique in Australia in that a separate independent company distributes its vehicles in Queensland and part of Northern NSW with the factory-backed Suzuki Australia looking after all other areas.

Generally, there are only minor differences including model grades, specifications or styling trims.

In both markets, e Vitara will be available in either two- or four-wheel drive with two specification levels: 2WD Motion and AWD Ultra.

In Queensland a 2WD Ultra is also offered.

The long-running Suzuki Vitara remains on sale in either petrol or hybrid powertrains but differs significantly from its EV sibling which is marginally longer but with a significantly longer wheelbase that provides additional interior space as well as a bolder, more premium styling and new tech features.

STYLING

The design of the e Vitara is a major departure from the fairly bland looks of previous Vitara models.

It’s much bolder and more adventurous with a smooth but sculpted exterior sitting above, and surrounded by, prominent black plastic cladding to infer some off-road credentials.

At the front the tall erect bonnet sits over LED headlights and large LED daytime running lights with the usual narrow ‘grille’ that identifies most EVs, with a large Suzuki badge in the centre.

The rear doors have the annoying ‘hidden’ handles mounted high on the C pillars and designed to suggest a coupe appearance.

The rear mirrors have a similar design to those at the front with a full-width light bar linking them.

Both variants come with 18-inch alloy wheels.

Ultra gets a panoramic non-opening glass roof with a retractable sunshade.

There are four colour options.

Arctic White is standard.

Bluish Black Pearl and Land Breeze Green are an $890 option with two-tone also available, with a Black Pearl roof on the Ultra for $1340.

INTERIOR

The biggest design feature comes inside the e Vitara.

The brown seats and trim will not be to everyone’s taste but at least it’s different and we loved it.

The floating centre console is piano black that’s hard to view in bright sunlight and too easy to smudge.

A big plus, at least in our eyes, are physical climate control switches in the centre of the dash.

There are large twin cupholders in the centre console although grippers would have helped for smaller containers.

The door bins are large and wide.

There’s also a large space below the centre console for keeping items away from prying eyes.

Ultra gets a smartphone wireless charger at the base of the dashboard.

Some clever design allows rear seat and boot space to be adjusted with the seats able to slide back and forwards.

When the seats are all the way back for maximum legroom luggage space is just 238 litres.

At the other extreme, legroom is quite cramped but luggage space is increased to 310 litres.

With the rear seatbacks folded there’s 562 litres.

There is a useful storage compartment beneath the boot floor but no spare wheel.

POWERTRAIN

The e Vitara powertrain combines a lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) battery system, electric drive axles and an integrated heat pump battery management system.

The 2WD Motion variant comes with a 49kWh battery that drives a 106kW / 193Nm motor mounted on the front axle.

Ultra increases the battery to 61kWh and adds a rear-mounted motor for total output of 135kW and 307Nm.

The charging port is on the front passenger side of the vehicle.

Charging time for both variants are an impressive 11kW with AC and 70kW with DC.

WLTP driving range is listed at 344km and 395km respectively.

The Queensland-only 2WD Ultra has a claimed 426km range.

Vehicle to Load (VTL) is available in both variants.

SAFETY

Standard safety in all e Vitara models includes seven airbags, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist and departure prevention, forward collision warning, dual sensor brake support, multi-collision braking, high beam assist, front and rear parking sensors and blind spot monitoring.

Ultra AWD adds front LED foglamps, adaptive high beam, hill descent control and a trail mode switch.

The absence of a front centre airbag and a driver monitoring system contribute to the e Vitara only gaining a four-star ANCAP rating.

While the extra airbag is disappointing, not being incessantly nagged by a camera pointing at the driver’s face may well be a positive selling point for many drivers – including us.

INFOTAINMENT

Standard in both variants are 10.1-inch central touchscreen and 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster in front of the driver.

There’s a 360-degree view camera as well as front and rear USB-A and USB-C ports.

The infotainment screen falls well short of the sharp high-res screens that we’re used to from Chinese vehicles.

Motion has four-speaker audio with Ultra stepping up to a premium 10-speaker Harman Infinity system.

DRIVING

The compact size of the e Vitara and the EV agility makes it an excellent urban vehicle.

The Ultra AWD that we tested came with a 10-way adjustable driver’s seat which allowed the driver to settle into a comfortable driving position.

Visibility is good with a large windscreen, side and rear windows together with relatively thin A-pillars.

The gear selector is a rotary and push-down set-up with a park button above it.

There are also physical buttons to adjust brake regeneration, hill descent, parking brake and auto hold.

Zero to 100km/h acceleration is listed at 7.4 seconds from the AWD Ultra and 9.6 seconds in the FWD Motion.

Ride is relatively soft, aimed at comfort rather than sportiness.

Despite the cladding, there is a decent 180mm ground clearance and the eAxle, e Vitara is only suited for modest off-road conditions.

Those looking for serious bush bashing will be aware that a Jimny EV is under development and will be hoping that it comes here.

SUMMING UP

The compact EV SUV range is growing rapidly with most models coming from China and with very competitive pricing.

This is Suzuki’s biggest challenge because the e Vitara driveaway prices run from $48,990 for the 2WD Motion through to $58,990 for the AWD Ultra.

These prices drop by $2000 with limited time cashback offers.

Even with these discounts e Vitara sits at the top end of the compact SUV EV category and it will struggle to compete against Chinese rivals such as the BYD Atto, Jaecoo J5 and GWM Ora which are more than $10k cheaper.

The fact that Suzuki is a respected and trusted Japanese brand will no doubt attract buyers, provided they aren’t deterred by it being manufactured in India.

It’s a capable and comfortable vehicle mostly aimed at urban conditions and with a fair balance between physical and touchscreen controls that will satisfy both tech-savvy and conventional drivers.

RATINGS

Looks: 8/10

Performance: 7/10

Safety: 7/10

Thirst: 7/10

Practicality: 7/10

Comfort: 7/10

Tech: 7/10

Value: 6/10

AT A GLANCE

MODEL LINE-UP

Suzuki e Vitara Motion 2WD: $48,990

Suzuki e Vitara Ultra 2WD: $54,990 (Queensland only)

Suzuki e Vitara Ultra AWD: $58,990

Note: These are driveaway prices and include all government of dealer delivery charges.

SPECIFICATIONS (Suzuki e Vitara Ultra AWD)

MODEL RANGE

Motion 2WD: $48,990 driveaway

Ultra 2WD (Queensland only): $54,990 driveaway

Ultra AWD: $58,990 driveaway

Note: There is a $2000 cashback launch offer until 31 July from Suzuki Queensland.

STANDARD WARRANTY

Five years / 100,000 kilometres

Battery eight years / 160,000 kilometres