The 2013 Frankfurt International Motor Show seems like its been all about two types of cars this year: lavish coupes (think Volvo and Mercedes-Benz) and crossover SUV concepts. It’s Suzuki’s turn to churn out a supermini-sized crossover SUV and they’re calling it the iV-4 Concept. It’s a new genre of vehicle that will compete with rivals like the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke, to name but a few.
The Suzuki iV-4 will continue the Japanese brand’s linage of compact 4×4, such as its brilliant Jimny and the often underrated Grand Vitara. Suzuki considers themselves ‘pioneers’ in the 4×4 industry and they believe “the iV-4 is a logical heir to Suzuki’s SUV DNA.” In case you’re wondering; ‘I’ stands for ‘individuality’, ‘V’ stands for ‘vehicle’, and ‘4’ for ’4-wheel drive’.
Faithful to Suzuki’s SUV design style, the iV-4 gets straight, sleek lines, a clamshell bonet and a five-slotted front grille with a futuristic feel to it, courtesy of the show car’s laser fog lights and the grille’s unique illumination. Distinctive, kicked-up, character lines on the sides are teamed with large-diameter 20-inch wheels and tyres for a powerful SUV presence. Many customisable options like the paint and off-road accessories will be available to help individualise the Suzuki iV-4.
The concept car is 4.2 m long, 1.8 m wide, 1.6 m tall. The concept is meant to be a car you can buy today, so we can consider it not being far off production-readiness. The iV-4 is lightweight and will boast low CO2 levels, despite the four-wheel drive model with its next-generation ALLGRIP system.
We can expect to see a production version by 2015, Suzuki says, and it’ll come in two or four-wheel drive.
