South Africa’s biggest small car is getting a new look, a refreshed interior and additional customer value.
Suzuki South Africa will introduce a refreshed Celerio in GA and GL specification levels in June 2018. It will retain its promotional five year / 200 000 km mechanical warranty as standard.
New look
There is no mistake distinguishing the new 2018 Suzuki Celerio from its predecessor, thanks to a redesigned front bumper, which features an integrated lower air intake and more aggressive design.
Starting from the tar up, the bumper has a more integrated lower air intake, which narrows towards the top and ends narrower than the grille below the front number plate holder. The shape of the intake is mimicked by the moulded colour section around it to accentuate the wide blacked-out grille with its large Suzuki emblem.
With the new bumper, Suzuki’s designers created a distinct separate section for the front fog lights, which stretches all the way to the front lights and integrates neatly with the Celerio’s shoulder-line, which now flows from the doors on to the front fender and the bumper. As before, Suzuki will add front fog lights as standard on the GL model.
Viewed in profile, the shoulder line now runs across the car from the rear light clusters all the way to the front fog lights, as well as redesigned wheel covers,
At the back, the new design is rounded off with the addition of a wide rear garnish strip that aligns with the shoulder line on the vehicle and which visually widens the Celerio’s stance on the road. As before, the GL specification level is distinguishable from outside by the colourcoded mirrors and door handles and by the addition of chrome accents in the front grille.
Updated interior
Inside the spacious Celerio, Suzuki has opted to retain its focus on practicality and space.
Suzuki’s designers have retained the general layout of the front console and central instrument cluster in an effort to contain costs, but have added a two-tone design to the dashboard, with a lighter coloured bottom section.
The two-tone theme is mirrored in the new cloth upholstery, which has a lighter patterned section in the seat-inlays. The cloth was selected for its durability and ease of cleaning.
This design update serves to create an even more spacious feel to the cabin, which remains the largest in the A-segment.
Generous specification
Suzuki has left the list of specifications untouched for both the entry-level GA and more luxurious GL models.
Both models offer power steering, air conditioning with pollen filter, vanity mirrors in both sun visors, a security cover and shopping bag hook in the luggage area and a 12V accessory socket as standard.
The GA and GL specification levels also make no distinction on safety, as both versions offer ABS brakes, two front airbags, seat belts for five occupants, a highmounted additional stop lamp, an immobiliser and childproof rear door locks.
The GL specification level does add a host of additional creature comforts, including a Bluetooth-enabled audio system with phone integration and USB jack. GA models have been fitted with the necessary wiring and two speakers for optional radio fitment.
Other creature comforts in the GL model include front and rear electric windows, remote central door locks with a hazard-lamp answer-back function and integrated security alarm, tilt adjustment for the multi-functional steering wheel and electrically adjustable rear side mirrors.
On the instrument cluster, Suzuki adds a tachometer and outside temperature gauge. It has also added cloth inserts in the doors, a 60/40 split foldable rear bench seat and a day/night rear-view mirror to the GL specification level.
Award-winning engine
The Celerio is fitted with Suzuki’s K10B 1-litre, three-cylinder engine, which offers 55 kW at 6 000 rpm and 90 Nm of torque at a peak of 3 500 rpm.
The engine has won Suzuki gold and silver awards in the British Green Apple Environmental Awards for its frugal nature, which is partly thanks to the multipoint fuel injection system as well as the Celerio’s low kerb weight of only 835 kg. In South Africa, this means that the Celerio has a CO2-rating of 110 g/km for manual models and 108 g/km for the automated manual transmission model – both well below the 120 g/km emission tax bracket.
As before, owners can choose between the five-speed manual transmission and the five-speed automated manual transmission (AMT). The latter offers the selfshifting comfort of an automatic gearbox, with the frugal nature of a manual gearbox thanks to the fitment of the self-actuating clutch.
The Celerio offers a combined-cycle consumption figure of 4.6 litres / 100 km on the AMT-model and 4.7 litres on the manual version. This means that the Celerio has a real-world driving range of 750 km on its fuel tank of 35 litres.
Value for money
The one thing that Suzuki South Africa has left untouched, is the Celerio’s unmatched value-for-money offering.
Indeed, it is this combination of space, specification and price that has made the Celerio the top award-winning budget car in its category. Since its introduction in 2015, the Celerio has recorded several wins in industry-awards such as the Gumtree, Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank and CAR Top 12 Awards, and it has won similar awards in India, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Suzuki has also retained the standard 2-year/60 000 km service plan on Celerio GL models.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Suzuki Auto South Africa is a leading supplier of affordable passenger vehicles and SUVs. As South Africa’s fastest growing established vehicle brand, it won the Brand of the Year award in the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards in 2017 and again in 2018. This award is based on in-depth customer feedback from vehicle owners across the country. As CAR Magazine’s 2017 “Company to Watch”, Suzuki set a new overall sales record in South Africa and expanded its dealer network rapidly. It will introduce several new models and new dealers in 2018.
