SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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This is a first sight/reveal report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. There was no driving experience . We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

S-Presso: Suzuki shows smallest SUV

Distinctly different

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: March 20, 2020

The numbers
Five models. Prices range from R134 900 to R160 900 and include one year’s comprehensive insurance
Engine: Suzuki K10B, 998 cc, DOHC 12-valve, inline three-cylinder
Power: 50 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 90 Nm at 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13.5 seconds*
Practical top speed: About 140 km/h*
Claimed average fuel consumption: 4.9 l/100 km
Tank: 27 litres
Luggage: 239 litres
Standard tyre: 165/70R14
Spare: As above
Warranty: 5 years / 200 000km, with 3 years’ roadside assistance including emergency medical rescue and security support
Service plan: 2 years / 30 000 km
*Road tested in India

It’s really small. At 3565 mm short, it’s safely shy of India’s four-metre tax break point and only 90 mm longer than a smart forfour®. It's over a foot shorter than Renault’s Triber®, although that’s a seven-seater and part of a different clan entirely. Height and width are 1565 and 1520 mm respectively.

Like most current microcars, it uses a one-litre, three-cylinder engine without turbocharging to produce 50 kilowatts of power and 90 Newton-metres of torque. Its job is to move people around urban environments as economically as possible.

Viewed from the front, S-Presso’s eye-catching four-trumpet grille, with large S-emblem, is flanked by squared-off halogen headlamps with integrated, yet separate, indicators. Below that, its lower bumper sweeps up into the front panel to create a larger air intake and the visual impression of a high-riding SUV. It isn’t just an optical trick; all models of S-Presso have 180mm of ground clearance, thanks in part to 14” steel wheels. SUV styling continues along the sides with bold fenders and semi-squared-off wheel arches.


Suspension is typical of most small cars with McPherson struts in front and a flexible beam at the rear. Brakes are disc and drum respectively. Wheel placement close to the corners ensures good road holding and allowed engineers to build the car into a 2.38-metre wheelbase.

Basic kit on the entry-level GL comprises five-speed manual gearbox, two airbags, air conditioner, fabric upholstery, radio, ABS brakes with EBD, halogen multi-reflector  headlamps, foldable rear bench seat and powered front windows. Then there are rear parking beepers, digital meters, integrated information display and remote central locking.
 
A further R5000 graduates you to GL+ with its touchscreen infotainment system that provides Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connections and USB/auxiliary plugs. And a reversing camera. And optional, at R13 000, automated manual transmission (AMT).

For R8000 more there’s S-Edition with its special appearance package: silvered grille, front and rear skid plates, similar garnishes for centre console, aircon louvres and door panels and protective cladding for wheel arches and lower door panels. If you don’t want them all, they can be added piece-by-piece as accessories. Or you could order others; grille and window trims, coloured roof spoilers, bumper bezel garnishes, Rugged Exterior kit, or mud flaps.

While accessorising, let’s not forget the inside; door trims, carpets, parcel shelf and sill guards.

S-Presso comes in six colours; White, Sizzle Orange, Fire Red, pearlescent Starry Blue and metallics - Granite Grey or Silky Silver. Add accessory trim in various colours and the possibilities for personalisation are almost endless.

It’s small, ugly-cute and decently equipped. We couldn’t get hands-on or even eyes-on with it, because of Covid-19 restrictions, so it was launched on YouTube.

We’ll catch you up on practicalities when a review car arrives.


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.