Suzuki e Vitara long-term test
The car Suzuki e Vitara Ultra Run by Jack Mortimer, content editor
Why it’s here To see whether Suzuki’s first electric car serves as an all-rounder for a first-time electric car owner
Needs to be Easy and enjoyable to use in the city, comfortable and efficient on lengthy motorway trips
Mileage 2942 List price £32,049 Best price £20,999 Price as tested £32,999 Official range 264 miles Test range 185 miles
25 June 2026 – City slicking
I’ll admit it: I’m not a city person. Growing up in a small Midlands town, I thought London was a sprawling concrete jungle, where every road was permanently as crowded as Oxford Street. As a result, the furthest I’ve ever driven into ‘the Big Smoke’ was Wandsworth, at least until the other week. You see, when our Subscriptions Manager asked if I could help her collect a few items from our stand at the London Concours classic car show right in the centre of the capital, I hesitantly agreed.
Fortunately, I needn’t have worried; the e Vitara is easy to drive in the city. Its high driving position gives you a clear view of the road ahead, and while the rear pillars are chunky, standard-fit blind spot monitoring means you always have a good idea of what’s going on behind you.
One advantage of my Ultra, however, is its 360-degree parking camera. Of course, it appears on the touchscreen automatically when I select reverse. However, you can activate it whenever you want by pressing the ‘view’ button on the dashboard. It’s a feature that proved invaluable when negotiating some exceptionally narrow width restrictions.
The only frustrating feature I encountered in the e Vitara was its parking sensors, which are slightly too sensitive. Stop too close to the car in front at the traffic lights and the car will start beeping at you; and it will keep beeping until they move away. I suppose overly-sensitive parking sensors are better than weak ones, but it disrupted a few conversations en route.
Sensors aside, however, the e Vitara handles London traffic well, but how useful is it as a load lugger? Well, its 306-litre boot hardly sounds impressive – the Ford Puma Gen-E, for instance, offers 523 litres – but by folding down the rear seats, you get a usefully flat load area.
If you’re wondering, I managed to fit a sack truck, a folding table, two camping chairs, an easel, some canvas posters and a couple of cabin bags into the e Vitara, with a decent amount of room to spare.
Parked beside the full-sized lorries transporting valuable classic cars, my e Vitara was probably the smallest ‘working vehicle’ at the show. But I know which one I’d rather drive out of Central London in!
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