Plug-in hybrid models are the best "teacher" before complete electrification

Why do I think that a plug-in hybrid is the car that can prepare you for the electric future? Because this model acts more like a teacher, rather than an examiner. In a fully electric vehicle, the moment you run out of batteries is the moment when you have no traction until you charge using a portable generator or until you're being towed to a charging spot. On a plug-in hybrid, instead, if you run out of batteries, there is a backup combustion engine, usually gasoline-powered, that can take you to the next charging station, if you want to charge right away.

At the same time, compared to regular hybrids, you can drive the plug-in version in electric mode even at speeds in excess of 100 km/h. It's true that the electric range for these models isn't very high, but it will be enough to drive emissions-free in a city for even a few days on end.

What is the Suzuki Across

The Across is a borrowed model from another well-known Japanese manufacturer and it basically is a Toyota RAV4 with another logo and name, that's it. Other than that, everything regarding the interior, exterior and the engine is the same, minus the slightly remodeled front grille.

That's not necessarily bad, as the RAV4 is a very popular model, since it offers good comfort and plenty of space for its size, although there is room for more here and there, as well as excellent performance with a very good fuel economy.

Suzuki Across is a comfortable car offering decent space

As far as the interior is concerned, the Suzuki Across offers plenty of space for the passengers, whether we're talking about those sitting in the front or towards the back and the materials feel very nice to the touch, while the finishes and the build quality is very nice. There isn't much hard plastic on the inside and the one that is visible here and there is very high quality, while the doors make a very satisfying sound when closed, indicating that the overall structure of the vehicle is very solid.

The front and rear seats are made from a material similar to leather, but which I think will stand the test of time even better. What is more important is that they are very comfortable and won't make you feel tired even after longer driving sessions. Regarding the space, there is plenty of leg room in the back, even if the driver or the front passenger might stretch their seats towards the back and there is ventilation both in the front, as well as in the back, so no one will suffer during harsh summer or winter time.

The armrest is well-positioned, as well, and it is covered with a soft material, so on a longer trip you will feel relaxed. There is plenty of head room, but beware that you might hit your head on the frame of the doors, especially in the back when arranging the shopping bags.

And another vital aspect, if you need to put the groceries or anything else in the back, make sure to put them on the back seat and not in front of it, because that's where the ventilation system for the batteries is located and you might cause it to overheat.

The boot itself is relatively spacious at 490 liters, but I was expecting a bit more from a car that's over 4.6 meters long. There is a spare tire in the boot, as well as one of the electric motors, so that's probably where the sacrifice in space comes from, but I am pretty sure you won't have any trouble with the family even on a longer road trip. The heated steering wheel and seats work very well and the windscreen defrosting feature helped me greatly during a very frosty morning, as it melted the ice within a few minutes.

Driving impressions with the Suzuki Across

The Across is a medium to large SUV and this comes with some advantages, as well as some drawbacks. Firstly, the car doesn't feel its size, weighing about 2 tons dry. The steering is assisted electrically and is smooth and light in the city and at lower speeds, while stiffening the more the speed increases. Still, it is a bit stiffer than that of the Dacia-Renault models, without being difficult to maneuver during parking sessions, so ladies will find driving it easy.

The fact that this car is not one of those very futuristic-looking SUV works greatly in its advantage regarding the tires, which are sized at 19 inches, so you have more rubber, meaning more shock absorption for potholes and road imperfections. The drawback is that it's not the most efficient vehicle on the highway and at higher speeds, but if you need to do a little bit of off-roading, you'll do that without thinking too much about the condition of the wheels afterwards.

In the city, the car behaves like any other that I've tested so far, while I need to stress it once more that tramway tracks and road imperfections are filtered much better here. The real fun, however, will start on the highway and express roads, as this is where you'll make the most of the 2.5 liter gasoline engine. I know that you'll say it's a big engine and it will drive the consumption up, but the reality is that after I drove it like I normally drive, I parked it with an average fuel economy of 7.3 liters, while the batteries weren't charged up a lot and I'll let you know why that's important.

After I drove it in the morning traffic, the consumption rose to 8 liters per 100 kilometers, but for a 2.5 liter engine that's still nothing to scoff at. You have a total of 306 horsepower that you can count on for longer trips and overtaking is absolutely a breeze in this vehicle, since it accelerates fast and linearly, due to the eCVT transmission that doesn't actually shift.

You wouldn't want to drive this very fast during sharp corners, because it's not the most stable ride, although you won't overturn, but will create some discomfort for the passengers.

If you charge it, the plug-in hybrid can be very efficient

As I said before, the batteries weren't charged completely and that's very important. With the batteries at under 40% during my driving session, the car can't be switched to electric-only mode, which is the one I would use while driving in the city to further reduce consumption and emissions.

The battery isn't very large, at 18.1kWh and the fact that the car is fairly square-ish and heavy results in a range of just 75 kilometers in electric mode only, which is still enough for city driving and in case of a traffic jam. You can drive in pure electric mode until a speed of 135 km/h, while afterwards and until 180 km/h, the car will use both the electric and gasoline powertrains.

Just like most other plug-in hybrids, the Suzuki Across can charge only using AC power, so at lower speeds, in this case 7.5kW, so it will take a few hours to fully charge the battery. The vehicle will juice the batteries a bit while braking, as well, using regenerative braking and during my testing, the levels never dropped below 30%.

Like all other plug-in hybrids, the gasoline engine won't act as a generator and won't charge the batteries while running and in turn, the battery will never fully discharge to protect itself in the long term.

If you charge it timely and drive it in electric-only in the city or during traffic jams, you can drop the fuel consumption to just a few liters, but never close to the claimed 1 l/100 km. This is a problem for most plug-in hybrid manufacturers, who apparently think that these models will be driven almost exclusively in electric mode.

That's why I said that this car can be a great teacher. You charge it and drive it on batteries where possible and plan a charging session every now and then and after a few years you will have developed this habit and can take it to the next level and buy a fully electric vehicle if your commutes allow you to operate that car easily. You will enjoy much battery range and the charging speeds will also improve dramatically, so the car won't feel like a headache, but on the contrary.

Safety features and an efficient operating system

All modern cars offer the same safety features, so here we have as well things such as brake assist in case of emergencies, lane assist and pedestrian detection for those that cross the street close to the car's parking sensors. Most importantly, these features work well every time and the car will even warn you when you back up from a parking spot in case vehicles are coming from the left or right side.

There is an auto hold feature so that you don't need to keep the brake pedal pressed and it works very reliably when the car is fully stopped. However, this was a feature I had to manually enable every time I got in and I wished it was enabled by default, but at least the button is easy to find.

The front and rear sensors work very well and the camera quality is decent, not the best, but good enough to see what's happening around.

The audio system is pretty good itself and while not being JBL like in a Toyota, it produces a pleasant sound. I like that the operating system implemented here by Suzuki is simple and might be very similar to that from Toyota. There is little to the animations and the overall aspect isn't very eye-popping, which is actually very good for a car, but rather you have a simple tablet in the middle with a few applications and settings that are very easy to find. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are present here.

I was seriously impressed that the system works very well and is very responsive and the scrolling speed for the menus is excellent. You don't have to press multiple times to ensure that it registered a touch and the interface, while seeming too simple for a car that costs over 55.000 euros, is very intuitive and simple.

Is it worth buying a plug-in hybrid car like the Suzuki Across?

As far as I am concerned, the Suzuki Across, which has the same listed price as the Toyota RAV4, is a very balanced car, with performance that surpasses many other renowned SUVs on the market, spacious enough for a family with two kids that can be very economical due to the great fuel economy and the reliability for which the manufacturer is known.

The listed price for the Suzuki Across is 55.900 euros, but the car is currently under a promotional price on Suzuki Romania's page at 46.990 euros, which makes it worth it for the quality materials and build, as well as for the economical and highly-performant traction system. You have a gasoline engine that Toyota's been manufacturing for a number of years now and that has proven its reliability, as well as two electric motors that make the system very quick indeed.

you can also drive it in electric mode, there are some off-road capabilities here and the interesting part is that it comes in just one configuration, so you don't need to worry about optional features that you might want or need or multiple engine configurations.