It has been a busy year for us with my day job keeping me extremely busy and exhausted so we are playing catch up on some of our reviews.
A while back, (5 years ago actually!) we tested the three door version of the awesome little Suzuki Jimny, which was a great little wagon off road but not that great for around town. How does the 5 door compare? Check out our video to find out.
This time round we have two cars at the same time. And they are they same, but also different, but also the same, apart from being different. Um, what?
Yes, here we have the Suzuki S-Cross Hybrid two wheel drive up against the Suzuki S-Cross Hybrid four wheel drive. The one in red is the 2wd version. The blue one is the 4wd version. Yes, after a few hours in them I finally remembered which was which!
Suzuki have always been renowned for some of the most fuel efficient cars on the planet and kinder to the environment as a result. But now Suzuki have gone one step further bringing out a range of hybrid options with an aim of becoming less reliant on the internal combustion engine in the near future.
Remaining largely unchanged for the last twenty or so years Suzuki finally upgraded the Jimny (very easy to pronounce this Jiminy, as I do many times, even the Suzuki sales guys sometimes take to calling it Jiminy Cricket!), and let’s face it, why would you change something that has been extremely successful for the last two plus decades. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well, the Jimny certainly wasn’t broke, and new model isn’t trying to fix something that doesn’t need fixing, instead, they are pretty much perfecting perfection.
Suzuki are well renowned for their quality small cars and SUVs for a very reasonable and affordable price and the latest Baleno range is no different. Starting at only $21,990 for the base GLX manual and $25,990 for the RS auto, as tested. This makes it a very affordable conveyance indeed, especially considering all the standard equipment it comes with. All models come with satellite navigation, handsfree Bluetooth with audio streaming, Apple Carplay/Android Auto, cruise control with speed limiter, reversing camera and a partridge in a pear tree. Well, not that last bit, that would cost extra. The RS adds neat little displays on the instrument panel such as a G-force meter and fuel economy and performance info screens, although not sure how often you would actually use them, might be nice to play with every now and then just for something different to look at. Also added to the RS is four-wheel disc brakes, the two GLX models come with the old-school drums on the rear, LED projector auto levelling headlights, LED daytime running lights, keyless entry with push button start and climate control air conditioning.
(more…)My initial thoughts on the Suzuki Splash were ‘yep, this needs to go for big splash off a short pier’. I was unimpressed with the front end styling as it is lacking any form of standout design and seems very dated and uninspiring. The equipment level also gave the same feeling of ho-humness, it’s basic as basic can be as far as modern cars are. Sure it has acronyms like ABS and EBD, but that’s where all the extras end. Other than air-conditioning the interior is just as bland. Suzuki hasn’t even bothered with a tachometer instead opting for a single large speedo with the fuel gauge and trip computer incorporated into the LED display. The stereo is AM (but who uses that anymore), FM and has a CD player but is lacking an Auxiliary input which, in all honesty, should be a standard with all cars in this day and technological age.
NZ On Cars 