Suzuki wins the small car award at this years Irish Car of The Year Awards ceremony, and well deserved it is too.

Suzuki is very well known as the ‘Small Car Experts’ and is pleased to announce that it has just won the Small Car category at the 2017 Irish Car of The Year ceremony. This year celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the awards and was supported again by its long established sponsor, Continental Tyres.

Baleno was announced as a category winner following an intensive test programme whereby 33 of Ireland’s leading motoring writers assembled to vote for the best new cars on the market. The voting jurors spent the last twelve months evaluating a total of 42 new models and voted in a number of different categories.

Each juror has 25 points to allocate in each category, with no car receiving more than 15 points. The votes were then collated and the car with the maximum points was deemed a category winner. The jurors also then re-evaluated all cars last week as a reminder prior to final voting.

Dale Wyatt, Director of Automobile comments: “This award is really positive news for us at Suzuki as the launch of Baleno has opened up further opportunities to reach some important new buyers in the crowded small car segment. It appeals to customers who are looking for a more rational choice than Swift with extra interior space and larger boot capacity but who may not be looking to move up in size to a Vitara or S-Cross.”

The Baleno is available with Suzuki’s highly acclaimed 1.0-litre three cylinder Boosterjet turbocharged engine offering CO₂ emissions of 105g/km and consumes just 4.5l/100km (62.7mpg) on the EC combined fuel consumption cycle. It was also Suzuki’s first car to be available with SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) technology and is equipped with a lithium–ion battery and Integrated Start Generator to enable CO₂ emissions of just 94g/km.

Standard equipment for all Baleno models in the range is comprehensive and the SZ-T model (Available with 1.0-litre Boosterjet) includes six airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, HID headlights, air conditioning, satellite navigation, DAB Radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, rear privacy glass, cruise control with speed limiter and front electric windows.  

SZ5 (Boosterjet and SHVS model) adds automatic climate control, rear electric windows, 4.2 inch central colour trip display, LED rear lights, Adaptive Cruise Control and Radar Brake Support .