The next frontier awaits: a cheap and cheerful, compact SUV

Suzuki, long-time maker of honest small cars, has added the value-packed Fronx to the fleet.

The all-new Japanese SUV lines up at just under four metres long, yet offers a decent amount of space and features for four. It’s a cheerful compact with ‘Fronx’ apparently a combo of ‘frontier’ and ‘next’, which suits well enough.

This is a tidy-looking machine with coupe-style profile and clean, uncluttered body lines, with a fair choice of mature body-colour combinations to further help set the Fronx apart in the parking lot.

It’s a restrained, grown-up style  which belies the $29,990 driveaway opening price.

The Suzuki’s features list is broad and runs from wireless phone charger to full suite of driver aids (sometimes annoyances, albeit switchable) such as lane-departure warnings and rear parking assistance through cameras  and sensors.

There is a swathe of buttons and switches to be learnt – from disabling the stop-start system to voice controls for the 9-inch screen to adjusting the head-up display in front of the driver.

Now, both front seats are heated (handy even in Southeast Queensland) but the comfortable-enough driver’s seat may sit a tad too high for old six-footers.

There’s room for an adult-sized driver with adult-sized passenger behind but, in both instances, a little more head room would be appreciated.

The tidy cabin is well organised with most of today’s expected comforts, conveniences and safety features.

It’s not a premium interior at this price, with lots of hard plastics.

Overall, it feels a little old-school, which may well suit many at this end of the market.

Where the Fronx comes into its own is the frugality of the mild hybrid system. With a 1.5-litre petrol engine plus extra battery and integrated starter-generator to help with re-starts and some acceleration, the five-door Suzuki runs at a claimed 4.9-litres per 100km. That figure isn’t too far off in the real world when poking around.

Out and about, the front-wheel-drive Fronx is happy enough to keep up with traffic, if no sports machine.

The compact and lightweight body is a bonus for manoeuvring through city streets but is want to complain about uneven, pock-marked surfaces at suburban speeds. It’s happier when the 16-inch alloy wheels get a little speed up (NB: There’s no spare wheel, just a ‘flat tyre repair kit’).

The Japanese-designed, Indian-built SUV’s handling and road holding are safe enough with some understeer if squeezing out the last of the 76kW into the turns. Here, paddle shifters on the steering wheel column for the six-speed automatic transmission add some sportiness to the drive but the show can become a little raucous if pressing on.

So, this all-new Suzuki Fronx is a smart-looking, five-door SUV with room for four adults and a weekend’s luggage.

It is cheap at today’s prices (albeit with some elements less than  premium), yet it is competent as a value-packed runaround.

The Fronx, with five-year warranty, has the marked advantage, too, of carrying Suzuki’s well-earned reputation for building reliable and durable small cars over many decades.