Suzuki has long been a master of the cheap and the cheerful, and the Suzuki Celerio sold between 2015 and 2019 was one in a long line of tiny, affordable small cars aimed at those who simply need cheap transportation. It was designed for the Indian market, after all, where the Celerio and its ilk are among the most common vehicles on the road.
While its purpose and its roots mean it was never the most entertaining or stylish small car around, and it lacked some features alongside its contemporaries, it did make for something that was inexpensive and generally fairly stout - two qualities that make it quite appealing as a used car.
If you’d like a little more sophistication than the Celerio can offer, there are still plenty of other used choices. Including others from Suzuki, as the older Alto and newer Ignis are both a little more stylish and fun to drive. The Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 trio, and rival Volkswagen Up, Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii trio are plentiful and affordable too.
The Suzuki Celerio is the kind of car you’ll buy for entirely pragmatic reasons. When new it was cheap, simple, and well built, and bought by people who were more concerned about their car operating faultlessly and economically than they were about the latest styling trends or features.
It serves the same role today. You could go out and buy a Volkswagen Up for similar money, which makes the Celerio a hard sell, but Suzuki’s reputation for reliability and the likelihood of gentler previous owners (Celerios tended to attract older buyers, rather than young ones) are still valuable characteristics.
Entry-level models are sparsely equipped but for not a lot more money on the used market you can find better-specified SZ3 and SZ4 versions which include comfort features like air conditioning. The 1-litre engines are frugal (Dualjet versions especially) and the Celerio is an absolute doddle to drive. It rides well, will handle the odd motorway trip, and there’s even some fun to be had thanks to its light weight and responsive engines, in typical small-car style.
Good interior space and a pretty reasonable boot for a car this size are both plus points, while a relative lack of safety equipment and more modern features are the demerits - most Celerios only have two speakers for the audio system, and none got a touchscreen. Everything also feels a bit tinny, but at the same time, it does feel built to last.
The Celerio wasn’t short of competition when new, and there are still plenty of alternatives on the used market. The Volkswagen Up, Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii trio is the one to beat, for their quality feel and refinement, while the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 have a funky look and lively drive. The Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto are other value choices, while for city driving and tight parking spaces, the Toyota iQ and Smart Fortwo are about as good as it gets.
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While both engines look largely identical on paper, we’d advise looking for a Celerio with ‘Dualjet’ badging if you can, since Suzuki did claim better economy figures and marginally better performance, and every little bonus helps at this level in the market. Unless you can’t use a manual transmission or spend your entire life in traffic, we’d avoid the AGS automated manual gearbox too, which really does chip away at the already modest performance.
In terms of specification, go as high as you can - Celerios are pretty affordable on the used market and the basic SZ2 lacked features most buyers consider essential these days such as air conditioning, so an SZ3 or SZ4 is a much better bet.
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Petrol: Sold alongside the Dualjet below but dropped before the car went off sale, the entry-level Celerio engine was a 1-litre naturally-aspirated three-cylinder petrol making 68PS. Suzuki quoted a 13.5-second 0-62mph time and 65.7mpg combined economy (by NEDC standards) with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Petrol AGS: The 1-litre petrol was also attached to a 5-speed automated manual gearbox, badged AGS. In this form the 0-62mph time extended to 16.4 seconds but economy was identical.
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 Dualjet: On paper the 1-litre Dualjet petrol doesn’t look much different to the other 1-litre petrol, but as a slightly newer engine it was both quicker and more efficient, despite the identical 68PS output. 0-62mph took 13 seconds flat and NEDC economy was 78.4mpg combined - though the later WLTP figure of 58.8mpg is probably more accurate.
The Suzuki Celerio used the manufacturer’s familiar system of ‘SZ’ trim levels, with higher numbers indicating higher equipment levels. The SZ2 was fairly pared-back even by the standards of the day so it’s probably just as well we never got an SZ1, and you’ll search in vain for a touchscreen system in any Celerio, but features like air conditioning and alloy wheels were offered on higher trim lines.
The Suzuki Celerio SZ2 kept things simple with 14-inch steel wheels with trims, central locking, two-speaker audio with DAB and a CD player, and driver’s seat height adjustment.
The Suzuki Celerio SZ3 swapped the 14-inch steel wheels for 14-inch alloys, and added air conditioning, USB and Bluetooth input for the stereo, and remote central locking.
The Suzuki Celerio SZ4 was dropped from sale before 2019 but added polished 14-inch alloy wheels, a chrome front grille, electrically adjustable mirrors, front fog lights, four speakers for the audio system, rear electric windows, and a front seatback pocket. Heady stuff.
The Suzuki Celerio’s dimensions are:
Length: 3600mm
Width: 1600mm (without mirrors)
Height: 1540mm (Dualjet 1530mm)
The Suzuki Celerio’s boot size is:
254 litres
726 litres with the rear seats folded
If you’re looking at a Celerio registered before April 2017 then you won’t be sending a penny to the Treasury come taxing time, because all models had CO2 emissions under the 100g/km threshold. After April 2017, yearly VED became a flat rate after the first year, so any Celerio sold after this date will cost you £180 a year as things stand.
With all Celerios having broadly similar power, performance, and features, all Celerios fall into the same group 7 rating for insurance. While this isn’t a big number on the 1-50 group scale, it’s worth highlighting that some alternatives from other brands are lower still - the Volkswagen Up started in group 1, for instance. This is due to the Celerio’s slightly lower levels of standard safety equipment relative to its rivals.