New ELECTRIC Suzuki e Vitara revealed – and it’ll be a Toyota EV too

The electric Suzuki e Vitara is revealed as Suzuki’s first EV offering a choice of three powertrains. It’ll also turn into a Toyota EV.

Japanese car makers have been a little less gung-ho about heading down the EV route and disregarding any future for ICE than most legacy car makers, but now even Suzuki has succumbed to the need to at least offer an EV and have turned up with an electric version of the Vitara dubbed the Suzuki e Vitara. Although name apart, it bears little resemblance to the current Vitara.

The e Vitara is the production take on the Suzuki eVX Concept we saw last year with all the concept-y bits toned down to deliver a boxy SUV around the size of the VW ID. 3, around 100m longer than its ICE sibling and with an extra 200mm in the wheelbase.

Inside is what you expect from a compact-ish EV in 2024, with a digital driver’s display and matching infotainment all under a single-panel, some actual buttons, floating centre console, wireless charging pad and cup holders.

The e Vitara sits on a new ‘Heratect-e’ Platform and comes with a trio of powertrain options, with the entry-level model getting a 49kWh battery and a 142bhp electric motor driving the front wheels, with the mid-range option getting a bigger 61kWh battery and a 172bhp motor.

Top of the tree is a dual motor e Vitara getting a 61kWh battery, AWD and 181bhp bringing with it Allgrip-e,  which manages the two motors independently for offroad use and also comes with Trail Mode for off-road use.

It looks like the new Suzuki e Vitart will arrive in the UK next summer with prices likely to start in the mid £30ks. We’ll also soon see a new Toyota ‘bZ’ model based on the e Vitara but suitably Toyota-fied and based on the Toyota Urban SUV Concept.