Suzuki Across review

Does the Suzuki Across look rather familiar to you? It might well do, because it has more than a little in common with another – better known – SUV from another brand.

That’s right, built in collaboration with Toyota, the Across is very closely related to the Toyota RAV4. While very similar underneath, it’s not entirely a copy and paste job, with the Suzuki getting a differently styled front end and only one engine option and trim level.

Unlike the RAV4, you can only have the Across as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which means you get a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, two electric motors and an 18.1kWh battery. That puts it under direct fire from not only the RAV4 PHEV, but also the DS 7, the Ford Kuga and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. 

On top of that, it also needs to take down the Mazda CX-5, the Peugeot 5008 and the Skoda Kodiaq, all equally tough family SUV rivals. So, does the Across have what it takes and should it be on your shortlist? Read on to find out...

Every Suzuki Across comes with four-wheel drive, with an electric motor on both the front and rear axles. Combined with the petrol engine, that gives you a total of 302bhp when you put your foot down. 

That’s not insignificant and it helps the Across officially cover 0-62mph in just 6.0 seconds – quicker than the DS 7 Plug-in Hybrid 225 (8.9 seconds), Ford Kuga PHEV (7.3 seconds) and the Land Rover Discovery Sport Plug-in Hybrid (7.0 seconds).

If you don’t engage the fully electric mode, the Across’s CVT automatic gearbox means the engine revs soar then stay high until you ease off again. It’s not too intrusive, but it’s not exactly relaxing either, with the engine sounding pretty coarse and sending vibrations through the pedals.

Refinement is much better in EV (electric vehicle) mode. Acceleration is accompanied only by the whirring of the electric motors as a soundtrack, and there’s no grating petrol engine noise.

Suzuki says the Across can go up to 47 miles officially on electric power alone, which is less than the BMW X3 (55 miles) and Honda CR-V PHEV (50 miles). It does, however, have a longer range than the Kuga PHEV (43 miles), DS 7 (37 miles) and Discovery Sport (37 miles).

Whether you're travelling on petrol or electric power, ride comfort isn’t the Across’s strongest suit. It’s a similar problem that the Toyota RAV4 PHEV suffers, with the firm suspension required to compensate for the heavy electric battery meaning that it thuds over potholes and motorway expansion joints. It’s certainly not back-breakingly uncomfortable, but it never feels completely settled at speed.

Even though the Across is a quick car with firm suspension, you won’t find much enjoyment from driving it quickly, because its handling is fairly ordinary. However, you could argue that spirited drives are not really the point of a family SUV like this. 

To that end, when you’re driving normally, the Across controls its body well enough, and the light steering makes negotiating car parks and town centres a doddle. If you want a PHEV that handles well, you’ll want to take a look at the X3 or, alternatively, the mild hybrid Mazda CX-5, which has more steering feel and better body control.

“I do appreciate the Across’s four-wheel drive system, because it’s great to have extra peace of mind when you’re driving in very wet or wintery conditions.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Drivers of all shapes and sizes are well catered for in the Suzuki Across. It has full electric seat adjustment with a memory recall function, adjustable lumbar support and a large centre armrest.

The driving position places you high above the road, plus it gives a commanding view over the road ahead. Meanwhile, thin front windscreen pillars make sure you have an unobstructed view out at junctions and roundabouts.

The view over your shoulder isn't as good, with thick rear pillars reducing your visibility slightly. Luckily, the view out of the rear windscreen is much better, helping you to park easily; this is aided further by standard-fit front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

Infotainment used to be a weakness of the Across, but a mid-life facelift changed that with the introduction of a new 10.5in touchscreen that has sharp graphics and a simple operating system. DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring and built-in sat-nav. 

Most of the materials on the upper surfaces look smart and feel relatively plush. The chunky switches on the dashboard have a slick action, and the rubberised finish on the physical air conditioning controls add to the car’s rugged feel. 

Overall, it's a pleasant place to be, but it's not as visually spectacular as the interior of, say, the Peugeot 3008 and it doesn't feel as solid as the Mazda CX-5.

“I’m glad built-in sat-nav is now standard, because it’ll be appreciated by those that don’t use smartphone mirroring systems, such as Apple CarPlay.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

We doubt many people will complain about space in the front of the Suzuki Across, with head, leg and shoulder room being more than sufficient for a pair of six-footers with broad shoulders. That said, the Honda CR-V is even more spacious up front. 

There’s lots of interior storage, including a reasonable-sized cubby under the front armrest, decent-sized door bins, a couple of cupholders and trays in the dashboard (which are useful for items such as keys or a mobile phone).

Rear-seat passengers will be equally happy, because the Across offers more space than the Mazda CX-5 and similar levels of leg and head room to the Ford Kuga and Land Rover Discovery Sport. Again, though, the CR-V takes the biscuit and offers more space, making it worth a look if you need lots of rear space. 

The rear seats in the Across recline and split in a 60/40 configuration before folding flat to create an enormous load bay. That said, they don’t slide as they do in the CR-V and Peugeot 5008. In fact, that latter gets an altogether more versatile 40/20/40 split and comes with seven seats – something you can’t have with the Across. 

As you might expect, you get the same 490-litre boot in the Across as you do in the Toyota RAV4 PHEV. In real world terms, that should be plenty big enough to carry a large family shop or a couple of buggies. Indeed, we managed to fit eight carry-on suitcases in there, which is the same as the CR-V PHEV and the Discovery Sport.

“The Across’s 490-litre boot certainly isn’t small – I managed to fit my weekend luggage in there with plenty of room to spare. It’s worth noting that normal hybrid versions of the Toyota RAV4 get a much larger boot, though.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

At first glance the Suzuki Across looks pretty expensive, but it actually costs less to buy outright than most of its rivals, including the DS 7 Crossback E-Tense, the Honda CR-V and the Land Rover Discovery Sport PHEV. 

It still isn’t cheap though, and will cost you quite a bit more than the Ford Kuga PHEV and the closely-related Toyota RAV4, which offers cheaper trim levels to bring the cost down. 

It’s predicted to lose its value quicker than those rivals, too, which can have an effect on the amount you’ll pay each month, if you’re buying on PCP finance. That makes it quite hard to recommend as a private buy.

However, if you’re a company car driver, the Across's low official CO2 emissions and decent electric range put it in a low benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax band, keeping monthly payments down and less than a Discovery Sport or CR-V. Again, though, the RAV4 PHEV’s CO2 emissions are similarly low and its cheaper list price reduces the monthly payments further. 

Officially, the Across can manage up to 282mpg, but don’t expect anything like that unless you keep it fully charged and stick to short journeys. On longer journeys, we'd expect around 50mpg. The PHEV battery has a maximum charging rate of 6kW, allowing it to go from empty to fully charged in about 2hr 45min.

The only trim level available is very well equipped. It includes adaptive cruise control, a leather interior, heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, 19in alloy wheels and an electric tailgate. There are six paint colours to choose from, but few other options.

The Across didn’t feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, but the Toyota RAV4 did really well, claiming second place out of 33 cars in the family SUV category. Even better, Suzuki as a brand performed brilliantly, placing third out of the 31 included manufacturers and behind only Mini and Lexus. 

The good news continues when you look at Suzuki’s standard warranty, too, which gives you cover for up to seven-years/100,000-miles if the car is serviced annually at a Suzuki dealer. That’s better than what you’ll get from almost all of the Across’s rivals, with the exception of the RAV4, which gets an industry-leading warranty of up to 10 years or 100,000 miles (if you regularly service it at a Toyota dealer).

The RAV4 received an excellent safety rating from Euro NCAP back in 2019, so you can expect a stellar level of safety in the Across, too. 

In fact, as standard, it gets plenty of safety kit, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, traffic-sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and an SOS emergency call function. There’s also blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

“As good as the Across is, it’s difficult to ignore the near identical Toyota RAV4, which costs less to buy privately and as a company car. I do appreciate the long list of standard equipment, though.” – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor