Suzuki has shown off its first all-electric model, badged the e-Vitara. The Japanese carmaker is one of the last global brands to show off an all-electric car. While this new EV carries over the famous Vitara name, it’s based on a new flexible architecture called Heartect-e, which has been designed especially for electric models.
Two battery packs
The new e-Vitara will come with a choice of two battery packs - 49kWh and 61kWh - with the larger pack being available with optional ‘AllGrip-e’ four-wheel drive thanks to two electric motors.
The entry-level model will get the 49kWh battery along with a single 106kW (144hp) electric motor driving the front wheels. The 61kWh will also be available with front-wheel drive, featuring a 128kW (174hp) motor, while the four-wheel drive e-Vitara will have two motors with a combined power of 135kW (183hp).
Range still TBC
Suzuki hasn’t issued any official range claims for the new e-Vitara yet, but has said that it’s expecting to squeeze 400km out of a full charge of the 49kWh battery. That suggests that the 61kWh version should be able to manage something like 480km on one charge. Suzuki has chosen a lithium-iron phosphate battery chemistry - popular with brands such as BYD - saying that it makes for a more robust battery pack.
The e-Vitara draws its styling from the eVX concept car shown last year, while the interior - which gets a distinctive two-spoke steering wheel, a large landscape-style touchscreen, and chunky upright air vents - looks like a much higher-quality environment than that which we’ve been used to from Suzuki. Suzuki says that the car’s styling is based around the theme of: “High-Tech & Adventure, embodying the advanced feel of a BEV and the robust nature of an SUV, inspiring a sense of adventure.”
Compact but powerful
The e-Vitara’s electric motors are combined into a single unit with their inverter (the bit that converts DC to AC power and back again), and their performance has been tuned for “characteristic nimble acceleration from a standstill and sharp acceleration during overtaking from low to high speeds.”
If you go for the four-wheel drive AllGrip-e model, that can individually brake each wheel, as well as shuffling power from one wheel to another when the growing gets really tricky.
More space for passengers
Meanwhile, that new Heartect-e structure is said to provide both robust protection for the battery pack, while at the same time taking away much of the normal under-floor structure so that the biggest possible battery pack can be fitted without encroaching on passenger space.
Toshiro Suzuki, the company’s president, welcomed the arrival of the new e-Vitara, but also said that Suzuki would pursue a number of different low-carbon solutions to suit each of the markets in which it sells cars: “The e-Vitara is our first EV, developed through repeated trial and error to create an easy-to-use EV for our customers. In order to realise a carbon-neutral society, we will provide a variety of options, including EVs, hybrid vehicles, and CNG vehicles, tailored to specific regions. Introduction of the e-Vitara represents a significant milestone in achieving carbon neutrality. Following the launch of the e-Vitara, we will continue to expand our EV line-up and propose mobility solutions tailored to the needs of specific countries and regions.”