Suzuki does not build many cars like the Suzuki Cultus: a 3/5-door hatchback with 970 , built from 1983 to 2016 in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management.
The story
The Suzuki Cultus is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki from 1983 to 2016. The nameplate is currently used as a rebadged second-generation Suzuki Celerio in Pakistan since 2017. It was first presented at the 25th Tokyo Motor Show, formally introduced to Japan in 1983 and ultimately sold in seven countries and marketed worldwide as the Suzuki Swift. An alliance formed in 1981 between General Motors, Suzuki and Isuzu allowed GM to market the Cultus as a captive import internationally under more than a dozen nameplates including the Geo Metro, Chevrolet Sprint, Pontiac Firefly, Isuzu Geminett, Margalla and Holden Barina.
It was also known as the M-car within GM. Offered across its lifespan in four body-style variations with engines from the Suzuki G engine family, the second generation Cultus still remained in production in Pakistan until late 2016. The Cultus family of vehicles has been marketed in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. The name cultus is Latin, meaning "care" or "adoration".
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 970 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 620 -. The gearbox is a 4/5-speed manual transmission / manual / 3-speed automatic transmission / automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 3-door: 2245 mm / 5-door: 2345 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Suzuki's history is not in doubt: the Suzuki Cultus Crescent/Baleno (sedan, Japan/global) / Suzuki Swift#RS / Suzuki Swift (global) / Suzuki Celerio#second / Suzuki Celerio (Pakistan) / Maruti Suzuki Dzire (sedan, Indi followed it; it was built at Kosai, Shizuoka. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Toyota 4Runner, the Fiat Uno, the Peugeot 205. Nearby in the Suzuki catalogue sit the Suzuki XL-7 and the Suzuki Landy.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Suzuki Cultus has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.