The Suzuki Fronx is one of two important reveals this week at the Auto Expo taking place in India. Here’s all you need to know about this new model that’s likely to come to SA.

Based on the Suzuki Baleno/Toyota Starlet, the Suzuki Fronx is said to be an ‘SUV with coupe style’, but we reckon its closer to being a hatchback on stilts. Visually, it looks fresh and modern, taking quite a few of the current fashionable design elements like the LED bar at the rear and narrow daytime running lights/headlights. There’s also a similarity at the front to the confirmed-for-SA Suzuki Grand Vitara.

At 3 995 mm long and with a wheelbase of 2 520 mm, the Suzuki Fronx is almost identical in size to the Suzuki Baleno. There’s no mention of ground clearance, but given its positioning, it’s fair to assume that it will be higher than the Baleno’s 150 mm.

Under the bonnet, there will be two engines offered in the Suzuki Fronx. First up is a turbocharged 1.0-litre mild hybrid Boosterjet which develops 75 kW and 147.6 Nm. Customers will have the option of either a 5-speed manual or 6-speed torque converter auto with paddle shifters.

The second engine is the tried-and-tested 1.2-litre K-series naturally-aspirated petrol engine and that’s available with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or an AMT automatic transmission. Outputs of 67 kW and 113 Nm are quoted. It’s interesting to note that the SA-spec Baleno comes with a 77 kW/138 Nm 1.5-litre 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol.

Standard specification looks to be similar to that of the Baleno, with niceties like wireless phone charging, heads-up display, mobile phone connectivity and climate control.

It will be interesting to see if there’ll be a Toyota-badged model based on this. While we don’t have any official confirmation yet, we do know that Toyota Taisor has been trademarked.

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Suzuki Fronx for SA?

The Suzuki Fronx will be going on sale in India in April, and we expect Suzuki South Africa to bring it in during the course of 2023.