BMW M8 vs Suzuki E-Vitara

What's the difference?

The right lane on Aussie freeways is occasionally referred to as the ‘fast lane’, which is laughable because the highest legal speed in the entire country is 130km/h (81mph). And that’s only on a few stretches in the Top End. Other than that, 110km/h (68mph) is all you’re getting.

Sure, a 'buck thirty' isn’t hanging around, but the subject of this review is a 460kW (625hp) four-door missile, capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, and on to a maximum velocity somewhat in excess of our legal limit. 

Fact is, the BMW M8 Competition Gran Coupe is born and bred in Germany, where the autobahn’s left lane is serious territory, with open speed sections, and the car itself the only thing holding you back. In this case, to no less than 305km/h (190mph)!

Which begs the question, isn’t steering this machine onto an Aussie highway like cracking a walnut with a twin-turbo, V8-powered sledgehammer?

Well, yes, But by that logic a whole bunch of high-end, ultra high-performance cars would instantly become surplus to requirements here. Yet they continue to sell, in healthy numbers.  

So, there’s got to be more to it. Time to investigate.

Suzuki really needs you to buy this car.

Not only are cut-price Chinese rivals dicing up the entry-level part of the market where this Japanese brand used to thrive, but Suzuki is also facing pressure to adapt to Australia’s tough new emissions laws.

That’s where this e Vitara comes in.

Built in India on a new platform shared with Toyota, the e Vitara is unlike any Suzuki that's come before it in Australia. Does it have what it takes to crack the super competitive end of the new-car market?

Read on to find out.