Suzuki Makes Room for Eight
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- With eight seats, a 1.6-litre engine and a $61,500 price tag, the Suzuki APV is a unique proposition in the Cat A segment
By Hadi Soedarsono
BUYING A CAR is tough when you have a big family. Imagine if you have three generations living under one roof and you need a vehicle that can accommodate three kids, two grandparents, the wife and you. Choices are pretty limited especially if your bank account only allows you to spend about $60,000 including COE.
To be exact, there used to be only two cars that would fit the profile: the Daihatsu Extol Wagon and the Kia Carens. Both are seven-seaters with 1.3-litre and 2.0-litre engines respectively. The former is based on the company’s mini commercial van platform, the Extol, while the Carens uses its own unique floorpan.
Joining these two in the budget MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) battle is the Suzuki APV. The acronym stands for All-Purpose Vehicle and the car offers eight seats. That makes the APV one of only four (the others being the Hyundai Trajet, Toyota Previa and Nissan Presage) passenger vehicles sold here to have more than seven seats. Built on a ladder frame chassis, the APV is supposed to be tough and affordable. It’s designed in Japan and assembled in Indonesia.
Although production costs were kept low, the Suzuki engineers didn’t cut corners when it came to safety. The APV has Suzuki’s proprietary TECT (Total Effective Control Technology) body, which is a structural design that’s supposed to “control and redirect collision energy away from occupants”. The doors are reinforced with side impact beams and there are two front airbags that come as standard.
Externally, the APV looks contemporarily stylish. The flared fenders, large bumpers and prominent nose give it a distinctive identity, while the tall ride height makes it look rugged at the same time.
