A month after the surprise Facebook announcement about the opening of the reservation books, Suzuki officially launched the new S-Presso AGS in Okada this week. Priced at P660,000, the two-pedal S-Presso has other upgrades that make it more enticing for the budget conscious.
Car fanatics are probably wondering why this happened only now when the transmission was present in the lineup with the Dzire sedan as far back as 2018. According to Yazuki Nakagawa, Assistant to the General Manager, it’s a matter of costing (as with all things in imported cars). They could’ve fitted the AGS locally but that would incur higher cost. The AGS S-Presso was only made available recently from the source country (India) that’s why it only arrived now.
So what else is new with Suzuki’s “Kopi”? Aside from the new transmission, it received a slew of upgrades inside the cabin. The side mirror adjustment is now electronically powered (bye bye manual stalks!), audio and phone buttons on the steering wheel, a new touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an overhead mic for the voice assistants of the two smartphone systems, and the gauge cluster of the AGS variant has a gear indicator. This is joined by the relatively spacious cabin with a lot of cubby holes for your belongings.
The manual and ‘matic S-Presso are virtually identical from the outside. They have the same mini SUV stance with halogen headlights, C-shaped taillights, and the machine finished 14-inch alloy wheels. Another thing that remained was the dimensions. It’s still pretty small but has a generous enough cabin that a 5’7 female can sit comfortably at the backseat.
Under the hood is a new engine – the K10C Dual Jet that’s also found in the all-new Celerio. It has the same power figures of 67 horsepower and 90 Nm of torque. What’s great is the S-Presso also inherited the upgrades of the Celerio including the Engine Auto Start Stop system.
In terms of safety, the S-Presso now has Electronic Stability Program for both variants while the AGS gets additional Hill Hold Control. Other amenities include front airbags, ABS, and rear sensors.
The new Suzuki S-Presso AGS is now good for the taking in all 72 Suzuki dealerships nationwide. It’s available in four colors named Fire Red, Sizzle Orange, White, and Metallic Granite Gray.