South African first time car buyers are seeking value as never before.
As pressure on the Rand and economy force motorists to take a more sober look at their ownership possibilities, Suzuki is championing the affordable option with its latest release.
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Cleverly called the S-Presso, this new Suzuki claims the title of South Africa’s cheapest passenger car. Sourced from India, where Suzuki is the biggest single automotive brand, the S-Presso is looks bigger than it is.
The design uses pseudo-SUV styling details to create the illusion of size, but amazingly, this Suzuki weighs only 770kg.
Powering the S-Presso is Suzuki’s 1-litre three-cylinder engine and although it doesn’t benefit from turbocharging, it is also not required to move about much mass. With modest outputs of 50kW and 90Nm, the S-Presso should offer decent driveability at commuting and inner-city speeds, although it might struggle at Gauteng altitude with freeway speeds in the far righthand lane.
Reinforcing its cost of ownership awareness, Suzuki claims that the five-speed manual gearbox should help achieve a 4.9l/100km fuel consumption figure.
The S-Presso entry-level model is priced at R134 900. For that you get air-conditioning, central locking, rear park distance sensors and a trip computer. More important, are the safety features. Despite its affordability billing, Suzuki’s S-Presso 1.0 GL has dual front airbags and ABS brakes.
If you can stretch the budget to R139 900, you’ll get the GL+ specification, which upgrades to a touchscreen infotainment system, allowing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The rear park assist also gains a reversing camera feed.
Developed in India, Suzuki’s S-Presso is perfectly appropriate for our local market. It has a very generous 180mm of ground clearance, to compensate for those unplanned pothole strikes or gravel road sections, which are a reality of the South African motoring landscape.
Feature image: Suzuki
