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Are you stuck in time and want a relatively new car, at a good price and you don't care about the equipment? Then the Suzuki Celerio might be for you.

This is because the Suzuki Celerio presents itself in front of you like this. If you look through the ads, most of them have less than 50,000 miles and cost 3000 pounds. Basically, the Suzuki Celerio FE is the answer to all those who wanted the Golf IV to be released again, today.

Does it tho?

Suzuki Celerio was supposed to be the replacement of Alto, another car that hardly anyone bought. It still came with the bare minimum equipment, it had a shifter moved up on the dashboard to make it easier for you to change gears, because when you are 850 years old as the typical Celerio owner is, it matters a lot. And yet it didn't quite work out, because the Celerio already had to go up against the Suzuki Splash, and after Suzuki Splash came Suzuki Ignis, so if you wanted a cheap car, with a raised driver's position, but you didn't want to be automobilistically stuck in 2002, the Ignis was a much better option.

And that created a problem, because the Celerio is much more expensive than the Splash, much cheaper than the Ignis, and it's not even in the middle of the center. And very few people bought it, and those 3 buyers decided that this will be their last car because they are old anyway. And I'm not making fun of the Celerio 100%, but at the time I wrote this review there were less than 100 Celerios for sale on mobile.de. Quite alot on autotrader though, which is surprising exactly nobody. A brand new car for 6000 GBP? Where do I sign up? Who needs air conditioning anyway.

The illusion of the low mileage used car

I never would've thought that the Suzuki Celerio would be one of the cars where I would touch this topic, namely the mirage of low mileage used car. But it makes sense, because if you see a 2018 Celerio with 30,000 miles on the clock, chances are very high that those numbers are real. Because the Celerio was bought mainly by private individuals, who don't even have baggy eyes and a beer gut due to age, they already have arthritis. People who generally don't drive a lot and want a new but cheap car. I don't judge them, because I understand the logic and there is a market for these people as well.

It's just that a car that is sitting degrades much faster than one that is running. So if you see a car with low mileage but quite a few years behind it, it is not necessarily a good idea. Rust advances faster, plastic pipes wear out faster, brakes also wear out sitting in the parking lot. So if you want to make such a purchase, you must take into account that you will have to replace quite a lot, from simple seals to batteries and brakes. But at least in the case of Celerio, such an overhaul will cost you the equivalent of two beers and a Pall Mall. And that's the beauty of Celerio, because you can buy a simple, low mileage car and for cheaps. Only that it's plain basic. Steering wheel, pedals, shifter and maybe some climate controls. Maybe.

Suzuki Celerio FE Engines

Petrol

1.0 K10B and K10C Dualjet of 68 horsepower – It needed one extra horse power to reach the magic number, but that's all it could pull off. But even those 68 horsepower are enough for the Celerio, because it is not a runaway car, nor is it a globetrotter. In other words, the only thing that stops you from driving the Celerio on the highway is your own conscience, just as the only thing that stops you from going naked in the street is society.

Diesel

0.8 E08A of 50 horsepower - This 2 cylinder diesel was developed by Maruti Suzuki for the India market and it was launched in 2015, to be retired in 2017 because it was too expensive to justify over the petrol. So the Maruti Celerio diesel was crude, loud, slow but atleast it was economical. So just stick to a Maruti Celerio petrol. 

Suzuki Celerio FE Reliability Issues

• The fact that it is a very cheap car, built in India and somehow delivered to Europe, means that cuts were made everywhere. And this also impacts the non-existent soundproofing, from the sheet metal to the bonnet padding. But at least you have the advantage that you will never go fast enough for the external noise to be loud enough.


• The automatic gearbox is an AGS automated manual gearbox and I am not the biggest fan of automated manuals. Besides, an automatic Celerio is not associated with the idea of ​​a cheap car. It's like drinking Moet from a Fosters can. It's like Eva Longoria dressed in baggy clothing. 


• It's a tall and narrow car, so it's not the most agile in the bends. So it's not really the rival of Vauxhall Agila, aka the rebadged Suzuki Splash.

Suzuki Celerio FE Verdict

As I said, if your expectations for a car are as high as the salary offers from the private sector, and if the main criteria is that you want an almost-new, low mileage city car for a good price, then the Suzuki Celerio FE is clearly a choice very good. However, considering that the engine is not very mileage dependent, is it worth paying an premium for a low mileage Suzuki Celerio FE, when you go for a much cheaper, higher mileage Alto? We don't know, we just ask questions. Until then, the Suzuki Celerio FE is a very interesting offer for the bargain hunters..

Which engines do I recommend? Well you have only the 68 horsepower 1 litre petrol to choose from, so that won't be too difficult. But this engine is enough for the city life.