2025 Suzuki Fronx review: Australian first drive

The competition is heating up amongst the compact-sized SUVs, with Suzuki bringing the Fronx to the Australian market for under $30,000 before on-road costs.

Following on from the likes of Chery's Tiggo 4, MG's ZS and Mahindra's XUV 3XO, the 2025 Suzuki Fronx will be yet another option for budget-conscious buyers wanting a small, urban-focused SUV.

Priced from $28,990 plus on-road costs, the Fronx name is a portmanteau of Frontier and Crossover. This new Fronx name is also connected to the Suzuki Fronte, a compact hatchback that Australia got as the Alto in earlier days.

We unfortunately didn't get the gorgeous Suzuki Fronte Coupe of the early 1970s, which was designed by Giugiaro. Look it up.

What we get today, though, is a compact SUV (it's just under four metres long) that is inspired by the trend of swooping coupe styling, built atop of the current Suzuki Baleno hatchback platform.

A one-time mainstay of the Suzuki line-up in Australia, the Baleno was axed locally in 2022 for Australia, but does continue on in other markets with a new model.

India still gets the Baleno, for example, a market where Suzuki controls around 45 per cent of new car sales. India is also where the platform-sharing Baleno and Fronx are built at the Maruti Suzuki Ahmedabad plant.

With a price tag that starts with a two, the Fronx is able to compete more aggressively with the growing set of Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Korean competitors in this value-focused part of the market.

The Fronx is not a car that's completely lacking in features to keep the price down, either. There's single-zone climate control, a 360-degree camera system, head-up display, a wireless charging pad, and a 9.0-inch infotainment display. The seats have a mixture of cloth and faux leather in the materials, and the front lights are a dusk-sensing reflector LED type.

There are also parking sensors front and rear, but we do miss out on rain-sensing wipers.

A 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder 'K15C' engine is employed by the Suzuki Fronx, which is similar to (but not exactly the same as) the K15B engine under the bonnet of the highly popular Jimny four-wheel-drive.

In this case, the Fronx develops 75.8kW at 6000rpm and 136.8Nm at 4400rpm without any forced induction, which is an impressively accurate number quoted by Suzuki without any rounding.

For reference, the Jimny makes 75kW at 6000rpm and 130Nm at 4000rpm.

The Fronx picks up a 12V mild-hybrid system, with a small lithium-ion battery (less than one kilowatt-hour) situated beneath the front passenger seat. This collects and expels energy in conjunction with a belt alternator starter, which is an electric motor that is connected to the engine's crankshaft via a belt. This way, it can collect small amounts of energy under coasting and braking, provide a smoother stop-start system, and a small amount of driving assistance for small periods.

This system replaces the alternator, but the engine still retains a regular, toothed starter motor.

Let's be clear here, though. While Suzuki might market the Fronx as a full-fat hybrid, 'mild-hybrid' would be a more apt description. The hybrid drive systems you get in the likes of a Toyota Yaris Cross, Chery Tiggo 4, or the MG ZS are much more serious hybrids than what you get in this case.

And at the same time, a lack of a turbocharger means the Fronx struggles to keep up with the outputs of more powerful competitors with forced induction. The 125kW and 275Nm from an MG ZS is impressive, while the gap to a Chery Tiggo 4 is less with 108kW and 210Nm. The Mahindra XUV 3XO is more sprightly with 82kW and 200Nm from a 1.2-litre turbocharged engine, while the Hyundai Venue's 1.6-litre engine atmo donk makes 90kW and 151Nm.

Comparing the Fronx to its own stablemates, it plugs a neat gap in between the outgoing Ignis and the S-Cross, which is also getting close to the end of its life. Sitting at 3995mm long (and on the same 2520mm wheelbase as what you get on the old Baleno), the Fronx is a bit smaller than the Tiggo 4 and ZS, lining more closely with the recently introduced Mahindra XUV 3XO.

However, you might be surprised by the effective use of space inside the Fronx. It doesn't feel cramped up front, and there is impressive leg room and head room in the second row. In my own driving position (I'm 180cm tall and sit a little close to the steering wheel), I could sit behind myself comfortably without my knees scraping on the seat in front.

The materials on the inside are a bit hard and scratchy, as you'd expect from a car at this price point. Lexus engineers won't be poring over the touch-and-feel any time soon. However, there is a mixture of textures and colours that helps to break up the look of the Fronx inside, and pulls it away from feeling like a heartless econobox.

Its build quality feels good, and there are a few nooks for storing your bits and bobs. There's room for bottles in the doors, and a small wallet and some keys could fit in the lidded centre console.

Other stuff can float around the wireless charging pad up front, and there are two relatively small cupholders.

The single-zone climate control panel – comprising physical buttons and its own liquid-crystal display – works painlessly and frees up the 9.0-inch infotainment display to stick to its own core responsibilities.

There's a 12V power outlet up front, along with a USB-A point that is used for smartphone mirroring. There are USB-A and USB-C points in the back, but no air vents, pop-down armrest or cupholders (save for the bottle holders in the doors).

There's a traditional and to-the-point nature to the interior of the Fronx. It does the job, feels well made, and isn't pretending to be some kind of cut-price luxury car. In saying that, some buyers might appreciate the fancier details and showroom appeal of other small SUVs at this price point.

The boot has 304 litres of space available, which is a little on the small side, but is good enough for the segment and most people's needs. There is an extra storage nook on the side, a luggage blind, and a false floor with some extra space underneath. Although, space for a spare wheel (including a bottle jack) hasn't been employed by Suzuki Australia. The Fronx is stuck with an inferior tyre repair kit.

Don't expect rocketship performance from Suzuki's new small SUV, because you won't get it. Full-blooded presses of the accelerator give you a good level of initial responsiveness, but mustering only meagre power and torque means the Fronx is not very fast when labouring hard.

Perhaps I'm being harsh, and it's worth saying that its performance would be adequate for most tastes and needs. But, more grunt can be had elsewhere at a similar price point.

Compared to the more expensive Suzuki S-Cross, for example, which has the delightful turbocharged BoosterJet engine, the eagerness of performance from a throttle press is the most marked difference here.

The six-speed automatic transmission handles the power with smooth aplomb, getting a clear advantage over the sometimes jerky performance you get from some competitors equipped with a dual-clutch automatic. This is an important facet in the driving experience, and will be particularly appreciated in trafficked and dense urban driving.

Otherwise, the Suzuki Fronx portends a driving experience that you would expect from the Japanese brand. It's light, nimble and fun to drive, with good roadholding characteristics and eager steering response. If you think about what you get with the current Swift, and many other Suzukis over the years, it's the same thing here. Albeit, with a bit more height and about 100 extra kilograms to contend with.

So while some Chinese competitors are able to offer more equipment, power and metal for the money, the driver engagement, natural feel to the steering and outright roadholding ability are the advantages of the Suzuki Fronx.

Although, this nature does come at the expense of ride quality somewhat. While smoother surfaces are no problem, the Fronx can feel a little unsettled as it bobbles over minor and major road imperfections.

Another note is the large, thick C-pillar – which adds to the so-called coupe styling of the Fronx – that limits the vision of your blind spot as you twist your neck on lane changes.

Don't expect much of a hybrid impact in the driving experience, beyond a smoother stop-start system at the traffic lights. It doesn't seem to add much motivation either, but does manage to trim a little bit of consumption. Against an impressive claim of 4.9 litres per 100 kilometres, we saw a figure of 6.5L/100km indicated on our relatively short first drive in rural Victoria. Perhaps that number might come down a little in different driving conditions.

In terms of service costs, $1277 for three years and 45,000km or $2005 for five years and 65,000km makes it a little more expensive than others to service through the dealership network. The Chery Tiggo 4 and Hyundai Venue are both cheaper to service, for example, but a Toyota Yaris Cross is a little pricier.

While news around new cars often includes some kind of increase in price for consumers, as vehicles get bigger and more feature-laden, the Fronx bucks that trend.

No doubt, the introduction of sharply priced competitors from the likes of Chery and others would have put Suzuki on notice. And while the S-Cross is an impressive car in many respects, an asking price that is too high has stymied most of its possible success.

The S-Cross is up against it in that regard, being a vehicle that's assembled in Hungary, with an engine that comes all the way from Japan. It's a tricky thing to keep prices down, when the car and its components are racking up so many frequent flyer miles.

The Fronx doesn't have so many problems in that regard, but it still cannot match the sharp prices of the Chery Tiggo 4, Mahindra XUV 3XO and MG ZS.

While the value-for-money quotient might have some holes in it, the Fronx will still hold appeal through the fun and sharp driving experience, and good use of space from a relatively short footprint.

Think of it as being similar to the Suzuki Swift, but with more interior space and practicality thrown in.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

Read more about Sam Purcell