Suzuki Across Review & Prices

You might feel like a cartoon character doing a double-take the first time you see the Suzuki Across. Your eyes will do that comedy flick from side to side as they see a ‘Suzuki’ badge but think it should say something else.

That’s because this Suzuki is, and whisper this in case the people at Suzuki hear you, is really a Toyota RAV4 with a few bits changed.

Now, in fairness to Suzuki, they have swapped more than just the badges, as the whole front end styling is unique to the Across to make it stand out from the RAV4.

We reckon it’s a success for the Suzuki as it looks bold and suitably tough in a class that has more than its share of excellent cars. Think Skoda Kodiaq and Mazda CX-5 if you want handsome family SUVs, or even Peugeot 5008 and DS7.

The reason Suzuki has borrowed the RAV4 almost completely from Toyota to make its largest SUV is simple – emissions.

With no full EV of its own and the cost of developing a hybrid system, Suzuki rightly looked to a more cost-effective option, which came in the form of the RAV4.

In its case, Suzuki went straight for the plug-in hybrid version of the RAV4, which means the Across is among the pricier cars in its sector.

However, the upside to this is it can offer a battery-only driving range of up to 46.6 miles. In more mixed use, it should average over 40mpg, which is a bit behind those other SUVs that have turbodiesel engines on offer.

Where the Suzuki pulls itself back to the fore is with carbon dioxide emissions of just 22g/km, which means this SUV holds plenty of appeal for company car drivers looking to keep their tax outgoings to a minimum.

The driving experience of the Suzuki Across will also help any driver save a bit of fuel. It’s not sporty in the slightest, so you find yourself easing back and just enjoying the drive.

Soothing suspension does an excellent job of soaking up bumps in town or on country roads, and the cabin is pretty quiet at higher speeds.

The exception to this is when you want a burst of acceleration and the CVT (continuously variable transmission) automatic gearbox lets the engine rev at its most powerful and efficient to get you up to speed. Still, at least the engine goes back to being quiet once you’re at the required velocity.

If you've decided the Suzuki Across is your ideal new car, make sure you check our our latest new Suzuki offers and used Suzuki deals to find out how much you could save when buying through carwow.

It’s a tale of two sides for the single trim level of Suzuki Across when it comes to how much it costs.

For private buyers, the hefty list price makes it a big commitment for anyone paying the full whack up front. Even a loan repayment or lease deal will prove pricier than for many of the Across’s competitors in the same class.

For company drivers, though, the Suzuki is a strong choice thanks to its low carbon dioxide emissions to offset its high list price in reduced benefit-in-kind taxation.

The Suzuki Across has an unexpected turn of speed and cushy ride, but the squidgy handling leaves you uninspired

In town

A mix of the Suzuki Across’s soft, long travel suspension and deep tyres that are certainly not like rubber bands wrapped around the wheels mean it copes really well with bumpy town roads.

With good ground clearance thanks to its SUV stance, the Suzuki is the ideal car for tackling streets strewn with speed bumps and potholes.

You barely notice these obstacles as you commute to work or ferry the kids from one activity to the next.

There’s also good vision to the front and sides of the Across courtesy of its raised driving position and fairly slim front screen pillars.

Reversing is a bit trickier as the rear pillars are big and fat, but there’s a reversing camera as standard to help guide the car into tight spots.

Also making city driving simple is the Suzuki’s standard automatic gearbox. Unless you want to win a traffic light drag race, the transmission lets the petrol engine take a back seat for much of the time. Instead, the Across can be driven on silent electric power and it suits the relaxed nature of this SUV.

On the motorway

You’ll be surprised at just how quickly the Suzuki Across can gather speed. Its official 0-62mph time is 6.0 seconds right on the nose. That’s fast by hot hatch standards, never mind a laid-back SUV.

The result is you will never find the Across wanting when it comes to getting up to speed to match traffic flow as you come down a slip road.

The only downside is the CVT (continuously variable transmission) automatic gearbox means the engine spins noisily up to quite high revs when you press hard on the accelerator. When you reach the required speed, it settles back, though, so harmony is restored.

On a twisty road

Whatever the Across name might suggest, the Suzuki is not an off-roader like the company’s Vitara or Jimny models.

It does have four-wheel drive, however, so you are assured of good traction in winter conditions, and the Suzuki can put down the power from the engine and electric motors without making the tyres scrabble for grip.

Other than the rapid acceleration, the Across is not the most exciting car on a country lane. It’s stable and doesn’t lean too much, but the steering has little feel and the automatic gearbox soon encourages you to ease back and make more stately progress than trying to drive the Across with any sort of verve.

Comfortable, roomy and classy for people, the Suzuki Across is not quite so accommodating with the amount of luggage space it offers

Suzuki has got all the important major points sorted in the Across for the driver to be comfy on any journey.

The steering wheel moves for reach and angle, and the wheel is also heated as standard to warm your hands on chilly mornings.

There’s electric adjustment for the driver’s chair to go back and forth, up and down, and alter the seat back angle. All this, and there’s also electrically powered lumbar support.

The Across matches all of this with plenty of room for the heads, legs and shoulders of its driver, so anyone will be able to make themselves at home in this SUV.

From the driver’s seat, you get a good view of the road ahead and to the sides, as the seating position is quite raised up by the standards of this sort of car.

Vision over the driver’s left shoulder is not so good due to the large rear screen pillar, but this isn’t an issue when backing into a space as the Across comes with a reversing camera, and front and rear parking sensors, included.

You also get lots of places to store things in the Across. There are cupholders in the centre console, a tray in front of the gear lever with wireless charging pad for your phone, and door bins big enough to hold a 1.5-litre water bottle.

The glovebox is a reasonable size, and there’s yet more storage in the cubby under the armrest between the front seats. In here, you’ll find USB chargers to supplement the ones beneath the heater controls.

Space in the back seats

The back doors of the Suzuki Across don’t open as wide as those in some other similar cars. It makes stepping into the back seats or loading kids into their chairs just a smidge harder than it should be.

However, once you’re sat in the back of the Across, there is masses of space for anyone. Three adults can fit in here as the middle seat’s raised cushion still gives good head room and there’s enough space for feet, too.

The low window line gives children a clear view out, and there are two ISOFIX child seat mounts that are easy to get at in each of the outer rear seats.

Decent door bins provide some storage and there’s a pocket in the back of both front seats.

A couple of USB chargers will keep the kids and their devices charged up, and there’s a central armrest with two cupholders. However, there’s no ski hatch to the boot to cope with long, thin loads.

Boot space

The Suzuki Across comes with a hands-free boot opener that you work by waving your foot under the bumper. It doesn’t always work first time, but is handy when your arms are full of bags.

With the tailgate open, access to the boot is great and the floor sits flush with the load sill. There are also sturdy tie-down points, and a 12-volt charging socket back here.

With the seats up, space for bags is smaller than a Volkswagen Tiguan at 490 litres compared with 615, as there are the electric motors and battery under the Suzuki’s floor taking up a bit of space.

However, there is some hidden storage under the Across’s boot for small items.

Tip the 60-40 split rear seat down and you free up a huge cargo bay that’s big enough to carry a bike without you having to remove the wheels or jam it in.

The releases for the seats are on the top of the backs, so you need to reach in or open the side doors to get at them, whereas other cars have remote releases in the side walls of the boot.

Simple, clean lines and classy looks mark out the Suzuki Across’s cabin, but the infotainment is a bit slow-witted

The overriding impression of the Suzuki Across’s cabin is how well it’s made. All of the plastics and materials feel strong and solidly fixed in place.

It’s not perfect, mind, as there are some scratchy surfaces on the plastics and the driver’s door armrest is unyielding when you want it to be cushioned and soft.

Looking at the main dials, there’s a large speedo in the middle, with battery power indicator on the left, and gauges on the right for fuel and temperature.

In the middle of the cluster is a 7.0-inch colour display for various functions that can be chosen using the steering wheel buttons. It’s all very simple and easy to understand, as you’d expect of a car that is largely based on a Toyota.

This is true of the Suzuki’s infotainment set-up, as well, which uses a 9.0-inch touchscreen. For most of the time, it’s fine but the amount of space given on the screen can be on the small side for the sat nav.

The touchscreen is also on the slow side to react to your inputs, but there are physical shortcut buttons for all of the important menus such as sat-nav, radio, and car settings. Suzuki also includes a couple of rotary knobs to make it easy to adjust the volume and flick through radio stations.

With the infotainment screen positioned high on the dash, it’s a lot less distracting to read while driving than some others.

Where Toyota has been slow to embrace Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to let you connect your phone to the car, the Suzuki Across comes with these connectivity choices included.

Below the infotainment screen are the heater controls, which are logical and the two main dials have a rubberised surround that feels very high grade as you adjust the dual zone air conditioning’s temperature zones.

The stubby gear selector for the automatic gearbox adds to the handsome appeal of the Suzuki’s interior, and there’s a rotary dial next to it that you use to choose between the driving modes or economy, sport or normal.

With an official fuel economy figure of 282mpg, make full use of its plug-in hybrid credentials and charge it at every opportunity and the Across is a cheap car to run.

If you can charge the Across at the start and end of every trip, and those journeys are less than 46.6 miles in length, you could avoid using the 2.5-litre petrol engine altogether.

That’s only if you drive in very particular circumstances, so you’re more likely to see somewhere above 40mpg in a mix of daily driving conditions.

Regardless of the fuel economy, the Suzuki Across comes with carbon dioxide emissions of 22g/km, which puts it in a very low bracket for road tax and company car tax, too.

As well as airbags for the front, side and curtains as you get in most cars in this class, the Suzuki Across comes with one for the driver’s knees.

It also has lane departure warning, cruise control with speed limiter, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert.

As if that’s not enough, you also get automatic emergency braking, road sign recognition, and two ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear bench.

A three-year, 60,000-mile warranty is standard with the Across, which is not as generous as Toyota’s 10-year, 120,000-mile cover that can be applied to the RAV4.

The hybrid system’s battery enjoys a longer five-year warranty period, though the mileage limit is still capped at 60,0000 miles.

The Suzuki Across has not had any recalls, which bodes well for the car’s future reliability.