Suzuki Aerio Wagon Safety & Crash Test Results

PF_Flyer

Discuss safety issues with the Aerio wagon here.

hpulley4

The same place that gave it a poor bumper rating gave it a good/best pick in the 40MPH offset crash. See www.hwysafety.org. Tons of cars get this now so it seems like all these tests are getting somewhere compared to cars just a few years ago.

lngtonge18

Here is the direct link to the Aerio's impressive structural performance:

http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/0217.htm

Excellent results. I figured those beefy A pillars would hold up well. I don't even see any distortion in them. At least Suzuki got the impact performance right.

frenchcar

Thanks for the crash test results which proves my point. This is one safe small car inspite of the cheap or flimsy bumper which has little to do with safety. Check out the Hyundai Elantra. Great bumper but one of the worst safety records. The Aerio has a stiff floor pan, sturdy side pillars (A,B and C) and a roof that will support 3000 pounds. The crumple zones really work. My old 1988 SAAB 900 that I kept as a second car has a honeycomb section bumper that dates back to 1979 or earlier. I once skided on ice into a steel post at 15 miles per hour which resulted in a dent 5 inches wide by 4 inches deep and in just 10 minutes it went back into shape with only a tiny blemish mark. Great result but it is one of the most expensive bumpers to replace if ever needed. Some cars have back bars with mini shock absorbers behind them. I wish Suzuki would add side air bags or side window curtain restraints.

smiller678

The pictures of the Aerio offset crash test was impressive. I can't believe how well the car held up. There was no buckling or indentations in the A pillar. Simple impressive. It makes me feel a lot better about the safety performance of this car. Good job Suzuki!

Happy motoring all

gregoriusm

My daughter and son-in-law just bought a 2003 Sedan on the weekend. From what I see here, it may be only about the 3rd sedan in this forum?

So, I've read every post from 1 to 584... whew!

I find it very interesting that some of the posters have said they would take a Hyundai Elantra over the Aerio because it has side-curtain airbags. That's all well and good if you get hit in the side. But, more accidents are offset front-end than side, and if you'll notice the tests of the Aerio and the Elantra on the HighwaySafety.org site, you'll find that the side of your head might be in fine shape in the Elantra, but the rest of you would be bent WAY out of shape or dead!

The Aerio was picked as Best of the Best. It doesn't get better than that. And when they do the NHTSA tests (not done yet for the Aerio), I'll bet it will be at least a 4 all around, if not all 5's!

So, if you're concerned about safety, I'd worry a lot less about ABS and side-airbags than the fact that the car crumples up (in this case, the Elantra) and YOU along with it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for ABS and side airbags. I have ABS on my car here in the great white north. Love them and would have gotten side air bags if they were offered when I bought the car.

But, you'll never see me in a Hyundai Elantra - ABS or no ABS - side airbags or no side airbags.

I'll take the crash-worthiness of the Aerio ANY DAY!!!

Just a few thoughts....

I wish you all well!

... Greg

jontyrees

I can't argue against the benefits of new safety devices like side-airbags, (well maybe I could - unwanted deployments, explosive force, etc), abs, awd, etc, but you'd think that cars without them are absolute deathtraps listening to some folks. We'd be better off with cars that rendered cell phones inoperable than cars with full-body airbags.

Airbags worry me a little - what happens when your airbag equipped 15yr old Chrysler rustbucket starts to break down? Could you hit a freeway expansion strip and BAM! airbag to the face?

lngtonge18

I was checking out the side impact tests of small cars on the insurance institute's website and was completley shocked to discover that the Aerio's new standard side airbags protect only the chest. In and of itself, that isn't odd since some other cars offer the same. However, the Suzuki Forenza has standard dual chamber side airbags that protect both the head and the chest. Why would Suzuki design two totally different side airbag systems for similarly priced cars? A complete waste of money, plus it makes the Aerio look outclassed in safety by a car in its own showroom. I guess Suzuki feels Aerio owner's heads aren't as important as the Forenza owner's....

lngtonge18

My main point was that Suzuki added the side airbags to both cars at the same time, so I find it odd that Suzuki would allow one car to have a better side airbag design. They could have easily added the dual chamber design to the Aerio.

billmchale

I think it is important to remember here that besides the fact the Forenza/Reno line are Suzukis in name only, they are also very different than the Aerio in the seating positions of the car. I doubt it would be a simple matter of retrofitting the Aerio with the Forenza's airbags, I suspect that they would have to be completely redesigned.

If the Forenza's were made by Suzuki I would be blaming them for not using the Aerio's engine in it... the Forenza's engine is not a very compelling choice in a world where most 4 cylinders have more power and better gas milage.

lngtonge18

Again, my point is that Suzuki should have offered the dual chamber airbag to begin with. I'm not saying they need to retrofit the bag from the Forenza; rather, they should have designed a better airbag for the Aerio, especially once they knew the Forenza would have one. Offering a chest only airbag in 2005 is almost pointless unless they offered a head curtain to go along with it. Since they don't, it makes the Aerio's safety pale compared to the Forenza's. Why do something half-a**ed when they were starting from scratch?

aeriohawaii

It is Nice to see Suzuki make Side Airbags as Standard Equipment. It is the Only car in it class to offer them as Standard Equipment.

lngtonge18

Not true. The Elantra and Spectra both offer standard side airbags and these airbags protect the head, unlike the Aerio.

aeriohawaii

I Forgot to mention that Hyundai and Kia had side air bags.

chrisducati

I am wondering if Suzuki even gets a heads up to what is coming with the Daewoo products. It buys them thru its connection with GM so has little say in production changes. Aside from sticking a plastic S on the front and the name on the back. Suzuki goes about business totally differently than GM does. The US market has always been low on their agenda until just recently. They sell tons of vehicles around the world. I think until just this last year they were number one seller of R class cars in Japan and had been for over a decade. Kind of like Ford with it's F-150 here in the States. Many of their sales go to countries that do not even mandate airbags at all. Basically They could leave the US market and never even notice the lose of sales. From the look of their expansion plan here in the states most of the products bound for our shores will not actually be Suzuki's They will be Daewoo products. Suzuki designed products are designed for the other 98% of the world. I doubt they well ever build a large sedan. The Aerio is the largest car they make.

frozentundra

Actually, I believe Suzuki makes the Verona sedan which is a mid-size car. It is vastly underpowered, but it is an attractive looking car and is sold (at least in Canada) as the Chevy Epica.

chrisducati

The Aerio is the largest car Suzuki manufactures. Please re-read my statement. I said Makes, not sells. Suzuki does not build the Verona, Forenza, Reno or Swift + which is sold in Canada. All of the above except the Aerio are built by GM/Daewoo of Korea. Suzuki had no production input on those vehicles. It markets those vehicles thru its connection with GM. GM owns 10% of Suzuki. Suzuki and GM have been long time partners in brand labeling. The Geo/Chevrolet metro, Chevrolet Sprint, Geo/Chevrolet Tracker were all built by Suzuki and badged for north American sale. They sold in other parts of the world as Suzuki's The Metro/Swift was also sold in Europe in four wheel drive form as a Subaru.

bricknord

Just sold my 1995 Sidekick 4-door. Great vehicle for all 125k miles. Sold on Suzuki reliability. The trucklet was getting old, though, and I was concerned for my wife to be driving it since due to it's age, I started to worry about safety. No airbags, no ABS, etc. Sort of tinny, and in this day and age where ABS and airbags are kind of no-brainers, I thought, hey, time to upgrade to something a little more modern and safe. I noticed after ruling out the Mitsu Lancer due to lack of ABS on the ES, that most Zooks had ABS optional. Great! I had owner loyalty from the Sidekick, and drove down to the Suzuki dealer ready to buy a car. I had a few basic non-neotiable requirements: stick, ABS, size of a Forenza or less roughly, less than 16 grand give or take a grand. Wife loved the look of the Aerio SX. The website sez ABS and stick available! Great! Upon arriving at the dealer, they do a search. No ABS Aerios with 5 speed anywhere. Like, in the USA! Ok, no problem, I'll settle for an LX sedan, and I'm not picky about color, just find me an ABS car. No dice, none available anywhere! What gives? Ok, I'll take a Reno then! I really want a Suzuki even if it really isn't a Zook! Umm, no ABS cars to be had anywhere either. Sheesh. I walk out totally disappointed. I'm not going to settle for a new car in 2005 without a basic safety feature such as ABS. So, to my great regret, I looked around. Hmm...you can get a Scion xA with ABS and side airbags for $14k or so! In a stick! Wow! Sold!

FWIW, Suzuki, would really have rather bought your car, and tried pretty hard to do so. You might want to give some thought to making an option that is shown to be available actually exist. You would have sold a car to me. Hoping to buy a car from you next time around. Thanks!

Hope someone at Suzuki reads these forums since I can't find a link on their site for feedback such as this. Good luck to all of you on the forum with your Aerios! I appreciate all the good info I read in many posts over time which led me to consider the car and try to buy one even though I was ultimately unsuccessful. Take care!

missweasel

I had the same problem. And I even backed off on the 5sp requirement! I spoke to the manufacturer's rep at the Dallas car show last month and voiced my frustration about the ABS issue. After he finished with the same ol' tap dance that I get from every other salesperson confronted with my ABS hardline, he eventually told me that they have limited availability of Aerios because production was temporarily suspended while the plant where they are made is being re-tooled for the new Vitara. True? Who knows. BTW, I almost got the Scion xA as well, but the Aerio is just so much roomier and peppier. Hopefully Suzuki will get there act together for 06 and my 93 Geo hangs on until then.

csandste

my assumption is that each of these decisions is made differently. My assumption is that Suzuki may make some marketing decisions with how they want to bring in the Forenza, but that the major decisions as to product design are still in the hands of Daewoo (or its successor).

lynnster2

What is REALLY scary is that the 2005 AWD Aerio sedan crash results came out with a POOR rating! We bought this car! The driver in a side impact is toast! The only thing I cared about before we handed over the money was crash safety testing & the salesman assured me it got a good rating all the way which seems now to have been a lie. We bought our 2005 Aerio, new in 2006. The dealer has since gone under. Looks like we need to consider getting rid of this asap. The link provided above were results for a 2002 Aerio, but the link at the bottom took me to the results of a 2005. I wonder what happened between 02 and 05 that caused the crash tests to go from GOOD to POOR? Anyone? Or did I misread something. :mad: