Suzuki Across review

Does the Suzuki Across look rather familiar to you? It might well do, because it has more than a little in common with another – better known – SUV.

You see, Suzuki and Toyota are now collaborating on various models, and the Across was developed alongside the very closely related Toyota RAV4.

It's not entirely a copy and paste job – the Across has a differently styled front-end, for example – but the two cars are otherwise very similar indeed. In fact, they're virtually identical inside, save for a different steering wheel with a Suzuki (or Toyota) badge.

Unlike the RAV4, the Across offers just one engine and trim level. So if you want one, you’ll be buying a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, two motors and an 18.1kWh battery.

Rivals include the Mazda CX-5, the Peugeot 5008 and the Skoda Kodiaq plus PHEV versions of the DS 7, the Ford Kuga and the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

So how does the Suzuki Across Hybrid stack up against the best family SUVs? Should it be on your plug-in hybrid shortlist? Read on to find out...

The Suzuki Across's petrol engine produces 182bhp, plus you get an electric motor on the front axle producing 177bhp, and one at the rear making 53bhp.

For technical reasons, the car's combined maximum output is 302bhp – less than all those bhp numbers added together – but it's still enough for a brisk 0-62mph time of 6.0 seconds (top speed is 112mph).

That acceleration time is comfortably quicker than the Ford Kuga PHEV’s (9.2 seconds) and the Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e’s (6.2 seconds), and almost matches the DS 7 E-Tense 4x4 300’s (5.9 seconds).

If you don’t engage the fully electric mode, the Across’s CVT automatic gearbox means the engine revs soar then stay high until you ease off again. It’s not too intrusive, but it’s not exactly relaxing either, with the engine sounding pretty coarse and sending vibrations through the pedals.

Refinement is much better in EV (electric vehicle) mode. Acceleration is accompanied only by the whirring of the electric motors as a soundtrack, and there’s no grating petrol engine noise.

Suzuki says the Across Hybrid can go up to 47 miles on electricity alone – further than the 40 miles promised by the DS 7 and the 35 miles of the Kuga PHEV.

Whether you're travelling on electric or petrol power, ride comfort isn’t the Across’s strongest suit. The suspension is rather firm, so the Across thuds over potholes and motorway expansion joints. It’s certainly not back-breakingly uncomfortable, but it never feels completely settled at speed.

And even though this is a quick car, you won’t find much enjoyment from driving it quickly, because its handling is fairly ordinary – but then you could argue that spirited drives are not really the point of a big plug-in hybrid SUV like this. 

To that end, when you’re driving normally, the Across controls its body well enough, and has light steering that makes negotiating car parks and town centres a doddle. The four-wheel-drive system doesn’t really improve grip on a spirited drive, but does mean have peace of mind in poor weather.

If you want a hybrid SUV that handles well, you’ll want to take a look at the Honda CR-V because it has much more steering feel and controls body lean really well through corners.

Driving overview

Strengths Punchy acceleration; comfortable ride around town

Weaknesses Not very dynamic; loud CVT gearbox

Drivers of all shapes and sizes are well catered for in the Suzuki Across. It has full electric seat adjustment with a memory recall function, adjustable lumbar support and a large centre armrest.

The driving position places you high above the road and gives a commanding view over the road ahead. Better still, thin front windscreen pillars make sure you have an unobstructed view out at junctions and roundabouts.

The view over your shoulder isn't as good, with wide rear pillars reducing your visibility slightly. The view out of the wide rear windscreen is much better, helping you to park easily – something that’s aided further by standard-fit front and rear parking sensors and rear-view camera. 

In the past, infotainment wasn’t a strength of the Across. Thankfully, a facelift means it gets a 10in touchscreen infotainment system with sharp graphics and a simple operating system. Annoyingly, you can’t have built-in sat-nav with the Across, but you do get Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, so you can run sat-nav apps through the screen.

Most of the materials on the upper surfaces look smart and feel relatively plush. The chunky switches on the dashboard have a slick action, and the rubberised finish of the air-conditioning controls add to the car’s rugged SUV appeal.

Overall, it's a pleasant place to be, but it's not as visually spectacular as the interior of, say, the Peugeot 3008 and it doesn't feel as solid as the Mazda CX-5.

Interior overview

Strengths Simple infotainment system; solid driving position; interior quality

Weaknesses Thick rear pillars; no built-in sat-nav

Front leg and head room in the Suzuki Across are fine, but if you’re really long in the leg or body, you might want to try the Honda CR-V, which is slightly more spacious overall.

The Across's interior is broad – broader than that of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, in fact – and you won’t feel your passenger encroaching on your personal space. There’s lots of interior storage, too, including a reasonable-sized cubby under the front armrest, decent-sized door bins and a couple of cupholders and trays in the dashboard, for items such as keys or a mobile phone.

Rear-seat passengers get plenty of space, with a similar amount of leg and head room to the Ford Kuga and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The CR-V is even more spacious in the back, though, while the Mazda CX-5 is less roomy. 

The rear seats in the Across recline and split 60/40 before folding flat to create an enormous load bay, but they don’t slide as they do in some family SUVs. There's no seven-seat option – see our best seven-seaters page if you need one.

The Across has a 490-litre boot – the same as you get in the plug-in hybrid Toyota RAV4. You can also get the RAV4 as a regular hybrid, and that version has a much bigger boot.

You should be able to fit eight carry-on suitcases into the Across’s boot, the same as will go in the Honda CR-V PHEV and the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Practicality overview

Strengths Big boot; loads of space in front and rear

Weaknesses Rear seats are not very versatile

The Suzuki Across isn’t cheap, making it harder to recommend as a private buy, but it's not alone. You see, the DS 7 Crossback E-Tense, the Honda CR-V and the Land Rover Discovery Sport P300e are equally, if not more, expensive. The Ford Kuga PHEV is much cheaper to buy outright, as are non-PHEVs.

However, if you’re a company car driver, the Across's low official CO2 emissions and decent electric range put it in a low benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax band, keeping monthly payments down. It should cost you less in tax than a Discovery Sport or CR-V.

Officially, the Across can manage up to 282mpg, but don’t expect anything like that unless you keep it fully charged and stick to short journeys. On longer journeys, we'd expect around 50mpg. The PHEV battery has a maximum charging rate of 6kW, allowing it to go from empty to fully charged in about two hours and 45 minutes.

The only trim level available is very well equipped. It includes adaptive cruise control, a leather interior, heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, 19in alloy wheels and an electric tailgate. There are six paint colours to choose from, but few other options.

The Across didn’t feature in our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey but Suzuki  performed incredibly well, claiming fourth place out of the 32 manufacturers listed. Only Lexus, Toyota and Mini did better. 

The model comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty and its battery and hybrid system are covered for five years (the 60,000-mile limit still applies). The closely related RAV4 is covered by Toyota's industry-leading warranty of up to 10 years or 100,000 miles.

The RAV4 received an excellent safety rating from Euro NCAP back in 2019, so you can expect a stellar level of safety in the Across, too.

In fact, as standard, it gets plenty of safety kit, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, traffic-sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and an SOS emergency call function. There’s also blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

Costs overview

Strengths Great reliability record; low CO2 emissions; lots of standard equipment

Weaknesses Expensive to buy; so-so warranty