Used Suzuki Celerio Review (2014-2021) MK2
Independent review by Peter Hayward from Driving Force
4-minute read
Overview
- Surprisingly practical
- Very efficient
- Easy to drive
- Does without advanced technology
- Not the most eye-catching design
- Noticeable noise at higher speeds
What's the Suzuki Celerio like?
The Suzuki Celerio city car replaced the Alto and the Splash in one fell swoop for the Japanese company, and it comes with plenty of equipment straight out of the box.
It has five doors as standard and enough interior space to carry four adults in reasonable comfort – something which most city cars would struggle with.
Needless to say, it’s also very cheap to run in every way, apart from group seven insurance, which is a bit higher than cars like the Citroën C1 and lowliest Volkswagen Polo.
But it offers similar performance to the C1 and is way ahead of the Polo and most other city cars. It's also great value used.
Engines
There’s just one engine on offer – a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol producing 67bhp and driving the front wheels through a slick changing 5-speed gearbox.
Because of the car’s light weight, performance is quite acceptable from such a small engine, with the 0 to 60mph sprint taking 13.4 seconds. It’s able to keep up with the flow of traffic on the motorway, and fairly comfortable on longer trips.
Of course, this car isn't about performance – it’s about economy and minimal emissions and this is where it really scores, because it's the most economical small petrol car on the market.
There are two versions of the engine available, both of which have the same power output.
The standard car is capable of 65.7mpg with emissions of 99g/km, but the Dualjet version ups the ante to a superb 78.4mpg and just 84g/km.
The manual 5-speed is very good and easy to use, but there's also an automated manual with a fully automatic option that can be driven by those who have an auto-only license, and it’s just as economical as the manual.
Driving Experience
It’s smooth and reasonably quiet unless pressed, but becomes a little raucous towards the top end because at this level, soundproofing is not a major concern.
The road-holding is good enough to be engaging and there's reasonable feel from the steering, helping towards well-balanced handling.
Where it scores highly over most city cars is the very good quality of ride. It takes potholed and much repaired town and city roads in its stride at low speeds and can even smooth out a rough country road taken much faster.
Peter Hayward
Practicality and Equipment
There are five full seatbelts, but three adults in the back would be a squeeze. There’s good space for four, however, with enough head and legroom in the rear for one six footer to sit behind another.
Add to that a boot that's the largest in the class at 254 litres, and you end up with a very practical small car package.
There are four trim levels in all and even the most basic SZ2 gets a height adjustable driver’s seat and folding rear seat, traction control, front electric windows, and central locking.
The SZ3 adds air con and alloys, while the top SZ4 has electric mirrors, rear electric windows, and front foglights.
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Find your Suzuki Celerio your way with CarStore
Merging the road dynamics of a small car with the practicality of options from the class above, the Suzuki Celerio is an ideal option for those that want something that's easy to drive, yet more spacious than your standard city car. With a good level of comfort and low running costs, this is a car that's great value for money on the used market.
