Suzuki eVitara EV launched in Malaysia – Toyota Urban Cruiser twin, 174 PS/193 Nm, 426 km WLTP, RM188k

Naza Eastern Motors has announced that the Suzuki eVitara battery-electric vehicle has now gone on sale in Malaysia. The compact electric SUV, which is also sold as the Urban Cruiser by Toyota, will be available in limited units here, the company said.

First up, the pricing, and the Suzuki eVitara is priced at RM188,000, on-the-road without insurance. This makes it RM10k cheaper than the Toyota Urban Cruiser, which was launched here in April, priced at RM198,000 (also on-the-road without insurance). The eVitara is a CBU import from India, where it is built by Suzuki Motor Gujarat alongside the UC.

Revealed in November 2024, the eVitara, which is underpinned by a HEARTECT-e platform, measures 4,275 mm long, 1,800 mm wide and 1,635 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. Ground clearance is 180 mm, while kerb weight for the variant is 1,791 kg.

As previously indicated by its UC twin, the eVitara isn’t very big, around the size of a Mazda CX-3 (4,275 mm, 1,765 mm), but it is taller – in terms of sizing, it has a smaller footprint than typical B-segment ICE SUVs like the Proton X50 and Honda HR-V.

Suzuki eVitara EV launched in Malaysia – Toyota Urban Cruiser twin, 174 PS/193 Nm, 426 km WLTP, RM188k

While there’s no running away from the overall shape between it and the UC, the eVitara naturally has a different face, with a unique hexagonal front end and three-point matrix lighting elements helping to differentiate it from the Toyota. You’ll find automatic LED headlamps with LED daytime running lights, automatic headlamp levelling, along with LED front fog lamps. The SUV rides on the same 18-inch two-tone alloys (with 225/55 tyres) as the UC.

Like the Toyota UC sold here, the eVitara for Malaysia comes in a single front motor guise. Numbers are likewise identical to the UC, with 174 PS (172 hp, or 128 kW) and 193 Nm of torque from the motor, which draws power from a 61.1 kWh lithium iron phosphate 120-cell battery. The LFP unit is supplied by BYD, but made in India.

Combined WLTP range is 426 km and max charging rates are 7 kW AC and 67 kW DC – the latter will get the battery from 15-80% SoC in around 50 minutes. As for AC charging, the unit can be juiced to full in approximately nine hours using a 7 kW charger. Performance wise, the 0-100 km/h sprint is identical to the local UC, being accomplished in 8.7 seconds, while the top speed is 150 km/h.

Inside, the cabin will be familiar from the UC, with a two-tone presentation on call, complete with piano black accents and high luminance dark silver trim. There’s a two-spoke steering wheel, a floating centre console with shift-by-wire controls and two digital displays (10.25-inch instrument meter, 10.1-inch infotainment).

Standard equipment include a wireless Qi mobile charger, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and a sunroof (manual shade), as well as the same upholstery combination as presented on the UC, which consists of perforated synthetic leather in a brown and black scheme.

However, the eVitara gets a different audio system to the Toyota – it runs an Infinity sound system compared to a JBL set-up on the UC, and there are some differences in the driver complement, with the Infinity system having a lesser count, eschewing the A-pillar mounted tweeters found on the UC’s JBL package.

Elsewhere, the eVitara features a comprehensive suite of safety and driver assistance systems, with the latter including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure prevention, multiple collision braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive high beam, surround view monitor and parking sensors. The car also comes with seven airbags (front, front side, curtain and knee).

Five exterior colour options are available, and these are Celestial Blue Pearl Metallic, Bluish Black Pearl and three two-tone combinations, in this case Land Breeze Green Pearl Metallic, Splendid Silver Pearl Metallic and Grandeur Grey Pearl Metallic, all three with a Bluish Black Pearl contrast shade.

The Suzuki eVitara comes with a five-year unlimited mileage vehicle warranty, five-year/100,000km BEV components warranty and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty. The company said that the first 10 buyers will receive five years of complimentary EV charging at selected dealerships (terms and conditions apply).

Suzuki eVitara specification sheet and price list. Click to enlarge.

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