2018 Suzuki Celerio Test Review

By Farzana Chaumoo

We recently tested Suzuki’s refreshed Celerio in GL specification, following its local launch in June 2018.

In having the Suzuki Celerio for several days, I had many niggles with it. However, since its market niche is quite specialized and I’m not the targeted buyer, but wanting to give you a good review nonetheless, I thought it best to review the Celerio with a potential customer - Ms J. Olivier.

Let’s break down Ms Olivier’s profile quickly: she is a 23-year old working female, lives in the city, has no kids, enjoys travelling, and currently owns a 2006 Hyundai Atos.

Ms Olivier was actually the perfect person to do this with, as she drives a car from a similar market segment to the Celerio. This allowed us to do somewhat of a comparison review - and I say somewhat because her car is not the modern day version -  but what follows is our collective insights on these two cars.

Fun fact: her car was known as the Atos before it was replaced by the Hyundai i10 in most markets around the world in 2007.

Other rivals the Celerio competes with is the KIA Picanto, Citroën C1, Ford Figo and Toyota Aygo.

Styling

Our Celerio test derivative came in the colour Blazing Red. It has a redesigned front bumper with a neatly integrated, and a distinct separate section, for the front fog lights - which come standard on the GL variant. The GL-spec derivative can be distinguished from the GA trim by its colour coded mirrors and door handles, and the addition of chrome accents in the front grille.

Walking up to the Celerio, Olivier loved how stylish, “cute” and modern the look and design was. The interior has a very neat layout, and Olivier loved the fact that you could connect your phone through Bluetooth and also control volume from the steering wheel, because the Atos doesn’t have that. We discussed dimensions and how the Celerio has a slightly broader stance than her Atos.

She also made a very interesting remark about its colour though, one I never expected. I’m a lady and I love all things red, in fact it’s one of my favourite colours, but on a deeper level, and it comes with experience, Olivier said she would never buy this car, or any car for that matter, in red.

She would prefer a neutral colour for her next car because it would save her time and money, in the event that replacement body parts for the car are needed. Her Atos has a unique metallic paint that has added to her expenses after accidents. With having a beautiful coloured car comes the headache of paint-matching on replacement parts, which then costs more than if those parts were finished in neutral colours. The age of her car, and the exposure to nature’s elements, has also lead to her paint peeling in many places, and Ms Olivier not retouching it.

With the pop-up of many trained vehicle-detailers, I would definitely recommend sending your car in, even if it’s only once in a blue moon, and even if you own the cheapest car in the country. Regular waxing will help protect the paint and clear coat on your car, by preserving the oils in the paint which help to prevent oxidation.  

The Drive

From standstill it has a bit of a kick, a good one, and while it may take some time to reach speed on the highway, once it hits a speed it will soldier on. It also holds itself well on bends at speed. However, I did gripe about the constant steering input. In the Celerio’s defense, I was testing the car on one of windiest weeks of the year and the little city car tried its best to hold to the road.

Olivier loved the power steering and the look of the driver instrument cluster. Its size also makes it easy to park anywhere and manoeuvre around in tight spaces.

Performance

All derivatives of the Celerio are fitted with a 1.0-litre engine (998 cm3), mated to a five-speed gearbox. The little engine puts out 50 kW at 6 000 r/min and 90 Nm at 3 500 r/min. Both myself and Ms Olivier were impressed by the performance of this 1.0-litre. The fact that the Celerio had slightly bigger tyres than the Atos would also mean it has wider tread faces that would allow for better handling. Similarly, you can feel the difference in power and steering when switching between driving modes like Eco and City.

I’m not going to lie, I expected this car would stall and roll at stops and inclines knowing the roads I travel daily, and with it being a small budget hatchback, but it didn’t. The gearbox, while very noisy, has smooth shifts, and to clarify, the car is not prone to rolling or stalling.

Space and Comfort

Olivier said she expected the boot to be smaller when she got into the driver’s seat. This was just her perception from the distance of the windows and the size of the car. When we compared her 2006 Atos to the 2018 Celerio, the Atos had a slightly bigger boot, nevertheless, she was still impressed, and the seats do fold down to increase storage space.

It’s also interesting to note that Olivier moved house three times already with her Atos, and another journo at AutoTrader has also used the Celerio to move. She mentioned in cars these size, there’s also enough luggage space for three people when road tripping. So, as small as these cars appear, they are very capable.

Rear passenger leg room is impressive, and storage space around the cabin is on par with other small cars. However, the door pocket needed to be slightly broader – I have tiny hands, but I would almost graze my knuckles getting my phones out each time.

Safety

In terms of safety, both the GA and GL models are fitted with ABS brakes, two front airbags, seat belts for five occupants, a high-mounted additional stop lamp, an immobiliser and child-proof rear door locks.

There are small cars that have no safety features at all, so these are definitely a plus in Olivier’s books. What’s more, the Celerio also has a full size spare wheel beneath the floor of the boot.

Fuel Consumption

The Celerio is amazingly fuel-efficient, with a claimed average figure of 4.7 litres/100 km for the manual derivatives and a 4.6 litres/100 km average for the AMT model. This means that the Celerio has a real-world driving range of 750 km on its fuel tank of 35 litres. That’s just two tanks of fuel from Johannesburg to Cape Town, or one tank from Johannesburg to Durban while still having enough run-around fuel left over for a few days’ worth of sight-seeing.

That’s one of the key points Olivier mentioned about cars in this segment: she absolutely loves how light on fuel it is. It especially goes a long way in these tough economic times, where we are trying to brace ourselves for a +R1/litre fuel price increase for October.

Price and Service Plan

The Celerio starts from R138,500 for the 1.0i GA MT, rises to R155,500 for the 1.0i GL MT (test derivative) and from R169,900 for the 1.0i GL AMT. All GL models come with a 2-year/60 000 km service plan as standard.

The Verdict

The little city car is no pushover. It has a great sound system, stylish looks, considerable space, decent performance and electric windows all-round. Olivier said she never noticed Suzuki before, but absolutely loved the Celerio and may now be on her way to get one. My job here is done.