Suzuki Fronx – First drive

Suzuki, the small car specialist, hasn’t had anything new for a bit, and certainly nothing new in the SUV sector. Well now it checks both boxes with the local release of Fronx. The unusual name melds Frontier with X (for crossover). 

Happily the newcomer sits in the compact crossover sector, with length a smidge under 4m, surprisingly generous space for four adults, an okay amount of luggage capacity (around 300L, doubling to 600L with the rear seat folded) and price around the $30k area. Actually, if you get in quick you can nab the ‘base’ model – it really only differs from the two-tone variant by having a monotone colour scheme – for just a hair under $30k. Before ORCs at any rate. Add $1000 for the models with the blackened roof. And that offer only holds until the first 500 are gone. After that they’re $31,990 and $32,990, respectively.

Lots of kit 

And what’s also worth nothing is that Fronx is genuinely well appointed with all sorts of safety and convenience items that might once have been left out on Suzukis. Included are – would you believe – a head-up display, heated seats, a Qi charger, surround camera and leather-like upholstery. There’s also all the safety items you’d reasonably expect to see in a modern vehicle. And I guess one final overall aspect we should briefly mention is that it looks pretty appealing, with a modern front and rear, smart alloys, and a coupe style roofline that doesn’t seem to impinge on headroom in the rear.

There are some bright body colours too, like red and the orange hue you see here. Moreover, the interior is a bit swisher than what you might be used to in a Suzuki SUV. The instruments are still analogue but highly legible (with the handy traffic sign recognition), and thankfully the infotainment screen is reserved for just that. If you want to turn off things like lane keeping, that’s done by button. Actually there’s a swag of them down by your right knee. And mercifully Fronx doesn’t bleat at you the whole time like so many do nowadays. If you’re a little over the limit the traffic sign recognition just flashes away. 

And the one final thing that might swing it for the target audience, which tends these days to be private and mature, is its fuel use figure. Being a mild hybrid it rates an overall of 5.4L/100km (125g/km). And that’s of the less expensive stuff too, another bonus. So far, so good then.

Frugality first

At this point you’re probably thinking there’s a but coming. Actually, not really. Being a mild hybrid with a 1.5L VVT naturally aspirated engine at its core, this is no speedster. The idea here is that its integrated starter generator device adds 55Nm of electric assist, especially off the mark when fuel use is greatest and naturally aspirated engines are at their worst. This one produces 76kW at 6000rpm and 137Nm at 4400rpm. On the go if you’re wanting to set the pace, best to have about 3000rpm showing when the VVT system feels to be adding its influence. For an overtake reckon on 4000rpm showing. Handily this has paddles that make a quick downshift of the six-speed Aisin automatic a breeze. Paddles are unusual in this price sector.

During a quick stopover, I took the Fronx for a spin around a familiar track and it’s what you’d expect of a car in this sector, a well balanced, pleasant mix of ride and handling. This rides on a strengthened Baleno platform and the front driver hangs on nicely, and turns breezily in a way that only cars weighing just over a tonne can. Its ride is pretty accommodating too, comfy over all but the worst surfaces. Being lightweight there’s not so much sound deadening so you can hear some tyre roar on coarse surfaces but it’s acceptable for the class.

There’s plenty of competition here, with the likes of Stonic and Venue and the newly released Mahindra XUV300. Not to mention the ever-popular ASX. But with its thoughtful mix of specification, frugality, space and style, Fronx deserves to carve a sizable niche for itself in what is now the best selling sector in New Zealand.