If ever a car deserved to succeed in the South African new-car sales race, it is the Suzuki S-Presso. Thus it came as welcome news that Suzuki’s latest model, launched just before lock-down in late March 2020, sold a remarkable 555 units in June, the first full, semi-normal sales month that the S-Presso has been on sale.
That sales performance also saw Suzuki as a manufacturer rack up record sales figures here once again, selling a total of 1 433 units, and placing the company 7th overall amongst vehicle manufacturers here. That figure is more impressive considering that Suzuki only sells passenger cars here.
If one were to ignore sales of pick-ups in the overall figures for June, Suzuki would be placed fourth! The success is well-deserved. Like a fine cup of strong coffee, a blend of high-quality and a low price was always going to have customers smacking their lips, as soon as the word was out!
The S-Presso is the cheapest car on sale in SA
Talking of price, the Suzuki S-Presso is currently the cheapest new vehicle available on the South African market. The entry-level model, the 1.0 GL, sells for R134 900.The model on review here, the S-Presso 1.0 S-Edition, with more equipment, sells for R152 900.
Styling
The styling of the Suzuki S-Presso is one of its strongest attributes. The Renault Kwid launched a few years ago built a lot of its sales success on the fact that in appeareance it looked a lot like a scaled-down SUV. Well, the S-Presso takes that formula a bold step futher. It looks like a not-so-mini-SUV with a funky, chunky attitude that draws more than a little inspiration from the much-loved Suzuki Jimny off-roader.
Despite its lower price, The S-Presso is a bigger car than its natural rivals in this market, the afore-mentioned Kwid, the Datsun Go and the Hyundai Atos. So it’s not only cheap, but it offers a large cabin section with lots of headroom. And it has a high ground-clearance as well, for an SUV-like view from the driver’s seat.
Space and comfort
As already mentioned, space is going to be a big reason for buying the S-Presso. It offers generous head and leg room for up to five adults. The boot space for this class of car is also generous at 239 litres.
To go with the funky, cheeky exterior styling, the interior is just as cheerful. It features a centrally-located giant-sized speedo with digital readouts, and just below that is an infotainment pod (this is not available on the base model) that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Below that are switches for the electric windows, although it takes you a while to remember where these switches are!
The dashboard is a mixture of geometric shapes that are interesting without seeming to be too contrived, and the solidity of the dashboard is not bad for a car costing under R160 000. The overall level of quality in the cabin is surprisingly good for such a low-priced car. Of course the plastics are of the hard variety, rather than being plush soft-touch items, but the whole interior is well put together.
Perhaps the biggest factor here is that the S-Presso offers an elevated driving position like a small SUV, and this makes one feel well-catered for, straight away behind the wheel. And the seats are very comfortable, with an upholstery finish in cloth with vinyl inserts that looks very durable.
The Drive
You will be aware when checking out the S-Presso that it is powered by a little 998 cc 3-cylinder engine. This develops a modest 50 kW of power and 90 Nm. What you will not be expecting is how well this engine propels the car in every-day traffic. The key here is that S-Presso, like other Indian-built small Suzukis, comes in with a low body weight. It tips the scales un-laden at just 770 kg, and this imparts an agility and an amount of off-the-line acceleration that will surprise you.
A feature that instantly impressed us was the presence of a reverse camera on the S-Edition model, which makes parking it so much easier.
Performance
The little engine is well-located in the chassis, and with the S-Presso you don’t get the typical 3-cylinder vibration that afflicts other similarly-engined cheap cars in this market. There is a feeling of solidity that belies the S-Presso’s light weight.
Another aspect of the car we really enjoyed is the gear change. The gear lever on the manual model is short, slick, and well-located as far as linkages to the gearbox are concerned. The stubby gear-lever and positive clutch action enables not only fast gear-changes, but a satisfaction to the driver every time you use it! Again, Suzuki’s rivals could learn a lot by thoroughly examining how they achieved this feeling of quality in such a low-priced car.
As for hard-performance figures, the S-Presso goes to the top of its class on acceleration. It covers the 0-100 km/h sprint in just over 13 seconds and subjectively it feels the quickest car in its class. Top speed, however, is less impressive at around 145 km/h, probably due to the car’s comparatively large frontal area.
Ride and handling
With its high ground clearance at 180 mm and high seating position, I didn’t expect the S-Presso to handle like a sports car and it doesn’t. But for normal motoring it feels solid and predictable. The steering is just a little vague around the centre spot, due to a lack of self-centring. At highway speeds the car tracks reasonably straight and true, but because of that somewhat vague steering you have to concentrate bit more than you would in, say, a Suzuki Swift.
The suspension offers a comfortable ride. It does feed back smaller road ripples into the cabin, though not to a degree that these upset the car’s balance. Conversely, it handles bigger bumps with aplomb, which is something we’ve noticed on many Indian-built cars, which presumably have to deal with large bumps and potholes in their home-country on a regular basis.
The overall impression is of solidity, but with just a touch more remoteness than you would get in a car with a lower centre of gravity.
Fuel Consumption
As for fuel consumption, Suzuki claims 4,9 litres/100 km, and we believe a figure of 5,5 litres/100 km will easily be attainable. Despite the fact that the engine is of small capacity, the excellent gearing in the first three ratios means that you can achieve reasonable acceleration with a light throttle, and can then hook fourth gear quickly for driving economically around the city and in the suburbs. This all helps in keeping the consumption figures low. Fifth gear is generally a bit too tall for urban driving, matched with an engine that only produces 90 Nm of torque.
Safety
Safety-wise, the S-Presso comes with dual airbags and ABS braking, which one pretty much expects in any new car these days, even ones costing as little as R140 000 to R160 000. The wing mirrors offer a good view of the flanks, although you have to manually set them using stalks in the cockpit, so it is a good idea to get them set for your preferences before setting off. The S-Edition model has a rear view camera which is a surprising and welcome extra in this car, and it also comes with rear park sensors.
Verdict
The S-Presso, especially in S-Edition trim, is a very attractive car. The S-Edition spec offers the black cladding around the wheel arches and a front skid-plate. Incidentally, with its high-ground clearance and good bad-road bump absorption, the S-Presso is going to stand up to poor dirt roads extremely well for a light car.
Some people find the S-Presso a bit of an odd-ball, looks-wise, on first acquaintance, but its very strong frontal styling is distinctive and fun, and soon you begin to love its odd-ball appearance.
You will love the S-Presso even more once you drive it. This is a very strong contender for the Car of the Year title, and at its price it is unmatched in terms of value-for-money.
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