India-Made Maruti eVitara: What The Japanese Are Saying About This Electric SUV
Maruti Suzuki has already started the production of their first-ever electric vehicle, the eVitara. While the electric SUV has not been launched in India yet, the Japanese car manufacturer has already started shipping the car to international markets. It is, in fact, available in the UK market, and we have started seeing several videos of the upcoming EV. While India is eagerly waiting for this SUV to be launched, here is what the Japanese have to say about this electric SUV.
As mentioned above, the eSUV is actually available in international markets. The SUV is manufactured here in India. Japanese journalists drove this electric SUV at the Sodegaura Forest Raceway in Japan. They are calling it Suzuki’s first-ever mass-produced EV model, rather than Suzuki's first EV.
The model sold in Japan and international markets is slightly different from what we would get in India later this year. In fact, we would be missing out on a number of features. The exterior design of the eVitara is the same as we have seen in the images before.
It is based on the HEARTECT-e platform, which is specific to EVs. It is available with both 2WD and 4WD configurations in many markets. The eSUV is 4,275 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width, and 1,640 mm in height. In terms of size, they compare it with the Nissan Kicks.
Suzuki will be offering the single-motor 2WD version in both base and higher variants. However, only the higher variants will get the 4WD option. The base version comes with a 106 kW / 193 Nm motor paired with a 49 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. The higher variants will use a 128 kW / 193 Nm motor with a 61 kWh battery. The battery pack used in the eVitara has been made by Findream, a subsidiary of BYD, and this has been intentionally done by Suzuki to keep the cost low without compromising reliability.
The SUV gets 18-inch wheels, thick black cladding around the wheel arches, and they feel that the overall looks of the car are pretty good. The eVitara has a strong presence on the road. The interiors of the eSUV felt higher in quality and simpler than the Fronx. It gets a 360-degree camera, a floating-type infotainment system, a fully digital instrument cluster, a head-up display (HUD), and so on. They also talked about the shaved-off top and bottom design of the steering wheel. Overall, they liked the fit and finish of the SUV’s interiors too.
They drove both the 2WD and the 4WD versions of the SUV and felt that the 2WD version was very gentle to drive compared to the 4WD version. Apart from the whining sound from the motor, which felt louder in the 2WD version, they didn’t have anything else to complain about.
The 4WD version was quicker, and they didn’t comment much on the ride quality as they were driving on a race track. However, they did mention that the SUV handled curves very cleanly, probably because of the lower center of gravity.
Overall, the Japanese were impressed with the Made-in-India eVitara and said that it is pretty hard to believe this is Suzuki’s first mass-produced EV. The floor of the EV did feel slightly high due to the battery packs under the floor. The rear seats felt slightly cramped, mainly because the EV doesn’t offer too much headroom due to the sunroof. They were happy with the overall product and feel that the only thing Suzuki has to do now is price it competitively.
