The Suzuki Auto company has made massive gains into the South African passenger market since opening a head office in Johannesburg in 2007. Every year the business consistently increases its vehicle sales and in February 2023 the Suzuki brand held 14% of the passenger vehicle sales in the country.
As the company continues to expand through dealer network and introducing new models to its line-up, it has now spotted an opportunity to fill a gap in the commercial vehicle sector. The more on-line shopping grows in South Africa the more the need is created for a compact economical no frills large load bay van, to deliver those packages.
Entre the Suzuki Eeco……
The Eeco is not a new vehicle, it has been tried and tested for many years in India selling over a million units since launch. The benefit for South Africa is the model that lands on our shores is the newest version of the Eeco including all the improvements made over the years to upgrade performance, design, and safety.
Offering fuel-efficiency for door to door transport of goods achieving package delivery at the lowest possible cost. A panel van with all the benefits of an entry-lever passenger vehicle.
The van has been designed with a large roof-to-bumper rear door that opens upwards and two sliding doors on each side that operate independently. The load bay itself is wide and flat offering a loading length of 1 620mm from rear to steel grid partition that is fitted as standard to protect the driver from any load movement. Width of an impressive 1 300mm enabling the Eeco to swallow a full-sized SA pallet (1 070mm). Certified load-carrying capacity of 615 kg with two passengers and a full tank of fuel.
Other features are rack-and-pinion steering with an aggressive steering ratio for a turning circle of only 4.5 metres, MacPherson strut front suspension, 13-inch wheels and a ground clearance of 160mm. Overall, the Eeco is 3 675mm long and 1 475mm wide with a wheelbase of 2 350mm.
Workhorse version of the brands well known 1.2 litre petrol engine, the K12N has 16 valves across four-cylinders and is equipped with variable-valve timing. Multipoint fuel-injection and compression ratio of 12:1 for greater low-down torque. 59kW at 6 000 r/min and 104 Nm at 3 000 r/min through a manual five speed transmission.
As mentioned, safety has also been addressed with ABS, brake force distribution, electronic stability control, rear parking sensors and high-mounted stop lamp. The Eeco model has side-impact steel beams in the front doors and three point retractable seatbelts for both occupants.
Inside the cabin the driver and passenger will enjoy large side windows for easy navigation, high seating position and large adjustable side mirrors. A digital instrument panel with clear display of important vehicle information. 12v power socket to connect mobile phones and GPS devices fitted as standard.
Only one model option available and only in white to allow for easy branding. Warranty of three years/100 000 km.
Currently the first batch are on the water and will soon be available at all 95 Suzuki dealers across South Africa.
