A cheap and cheerful brew
S-PRESSO: BUDGET BEATER OFFERS UNASSUMING VALUE
Gearbox very slick and 50kW drivetrain gets little Suzuki moving effortlessly.
Shooting from the hip made former television motoring show presenter Jeremy Clarkson famous. But much like a certain head of state in northern America, speaking your mind doesn’t mean that you are right.
Clarkson once proclaimed that there is no such thing as “cheap and cheerful”, but rather “expensive and cheerful or cheap and nasty”.
It’s a good thing that at 1.96m tall, Clarkson will never fit in the driver’s seat of the Suzuki S-Presso. Well, actually he won’t fit anywhere in the car, not by his own choice anyway. If he had, he might have had to swallow his words about the most affordable passenger car in South Africa at the moment.
Because apart from the driver’s seat, which doesn’t cater for taller frames, and the expected hard plastic making up most of the cabin, the S-Presso is anything but nasty. And in fact, the Japanese carmaker’s latest offering in GL+ manual guise left us quite cheerful after spending a week with it recently.
We had good reason to hold our breath initially, as the vehicles which have been vying for the mantle of being SA’s cheapest car of late have come in for a fair bit of stick, especially on the safety front.
Not only did the S-Presso touch down locally on the eve of lockdown in March with even the entry level GL model inclusive of ABS with EBD and dual front airbags as standard equipment, it also undercut it competitors’ prices by quite some margin.
In fact, it’s a one-two for S-Presso at the top of the local cheapest chart with the GL priced at R134 900 and the next entry on the list being the GL+ at R139 900.
Although Suzuki’s description of the S-Presso being an urban SUV is slightly hard to swallow even in this age of endless crossovers, we’ll admit the generous 180mm ground clearance and unique front-end design featuring a four-slot grille gives the car high-riding SUV-like appeal. At the back, an integrated roof spoiler and high C-shape taillights add to this appeal.
Inside things are as basic and plasticky as they come, with less buttons in the entire cabin than on most mid-range cars’ steering wheels alone. The dashboard features a large circular centre console housing a large digital speedometer, trip computer and infotainment system. The centre console, vents and door handle inlays are all colour-coded and a striking feature of the car’s funky design aimed at younger buyers.
The fact that the driver’s seat can’t adjust up and down will not bode well for taller drivers. At 1.82m I just managed to be comfortable, but colleague Charl Bosch’s head was touching the roof and he is only two centimetres taller.
Apart from electric front windows, rear park distance control, air conditioner, digital meter cluster, integrated multi-information display, halogen multi-reflector headlamps and remote central locking, which come standard across the model range, the GL+ also includes a touchscreen infotainment system with reverse camera, Apple Carplay and Android Auto plus Bluetooth and USB/Aux connectivity.
Leg room and storage is adequate considering the car is not meant for long-haul distances, while boot space is 239 litres and can be extended by folding down the rear bench seat. And there is a full size spare wheel under the boot floor.
The S-Presso range’s power comes from a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre petrol engine also used in the Celerio. The powerplant sends 50kW/90Nm to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. And this combination is the S-Presso’s real beauty in our opinion. The gearbox is very slick and although a 50kW drivetrain is anything but a rocket, it gets the car moving effortlessly and should be easy enough for most potential buyers to upgrade to an AMT (automated manual transmission) model.
And while the S-Presso is made for city traffic, it performs decently on the open road. It easily reaches 120km/h on the highway and feels comfortable at that speed without overexerting the engine.
As far as fuel consumption goes, we managed to get in around the 6l/100km-mark without making any attempt to drive economically, slightly more than Suzuki’s claim of 4.9l/100km. But that is a very impressive number and should get you more than 400km on the 27-litre fuel tank.
Riding on the Heartect platform that also underpins the Dzire, Ignis and Swift, the S-Presso benefits from being both light (770kg) and rigid, which translate well into the car’s handling and lower engine noise and vibration.
Further enhancing the drive is the S-Presso’s road-holding, made possible by a wheelbase that measures a generous 2 380mm out of a total length of 3 565mm. And with the added assistance of the parking sensors and reverse camera, manoeuvring the S-Presso is almost as easy as parking a golf cart.
The S-Presso shows that if a carmaker can get the basics right, there is no need for sideshows. It is unassuming and honest, and you don’t have to be as young and funky as its target market to have genuine fun behind the wheel.
The S-Presso is sold standard with a two-year/30 000km service plan and five-year/200 000km mechanical warranty, while a year’s complimentary insurance is included in the price.