Suzuki Celerio review: the cheapest new car in Bahrain does the basics honestly
3.3/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the Celerio for exactly what it is: the lowest total cost of ownership of any new car sold in Bahrain, aimed at a first-time buyer, a second car for short commutes, or a small-fleet workhorse. It has no pretensions to highway comfort or overtaking urgency, and anyone expecting either should look one segment up. Judged on its actual brief, it delivers.
Pros
- Lowest total cost of ownership of any new car sold in Bahrain
- Surprisingly good interior space for its footprint thanks to a tall, boxy cabin
- Simple K10 engine keeps independent-workshop repairs cheap
- Cheapest insurance bracket available on a new car
Cons
- Wind noise and effort climbing causeway inclines make it a poor highway car
- Safety equipment is basic even for its class
- Automated-manual gearbox lacks the smoothness of a true CVT or torque-converter automatic
- Three-cylinder thrum at idle is not to everyone's taste
The three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine is the Celerio's defining feature, and it announces itself with a slight thrum at idle that some buyers find characterful and others find cheap. Either way, at under 830 kg the car does not need much power to feel adequately brisk around town, and the automated-manual gearbox — a clutchless manual rather than a true CVT — trades some smoothness for mechanical simplicity and a lower price than a torque-converter automatic.
What it is actually for
This is a car for short trips: the daily commute into central Manama, the school run, errands. It is genuinely the cheapest way to own a new car in Bahrain, with insurance and fuel costs to match, and interior space that is surprisingly good for the exterior footprint thanks to a tall, boxy cabin.
Highway use exposes the limits quickly. Wind noise is prominent past 100 km/h, the three-cylinder engine has to work hard to maintain speed on the causeway's inclines, and safety equipment is basic even by the standards of the class — buyers who spend meaningful time on the highway should look at a Swift or Dzire instead.
Ownership
Simplicity is the Celerio's biggest asset for long-term ownership: there is very little to go wrong mechanically, parts are inexpensive, and independent workshops across Bahrain know the K10 engine well. Resale values are modest in absolute terms, which is expected of a car this cheap to begin with, but the running-cost savings over the ownership period are the real value proposition, not the resale line.