US MSRP Range: $13,500 - $15,000
Canadian MSRP Range: $15,500 - $20,000
Invoice Range: $13,000 - $14,500
Price Quote
MSRP As Tested: $14,999
Versions: Sedan - S and GS, Hatchback Wagon Aerio
Vehicle Category: Sub-Compact Sedan and Wagon
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: Front-Wheel Drive. Optional All-Wheel Drive.
Engine As Tested: 2.0-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, Inline 4-cylinder, 141-horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 135 lb-ft torque at 3,000 rpm
Transmission As Tested: 5-Speed Manual. Optional 4-Speed Automatic.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Sedan S with 5-Speed Manual - 26/33, Sedan GS with 5-Speed Manual - 26/32, Sedan GS with 4-Speed Automatic - 26/31, Hatchback Wagon SX with 5-Speed Manual - 26/32, Hatchback Wagon SX with 4-Speed Automatic - 26/31
Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger airbags, front-wheeldisc brakes and rear-wheel drum brakes, In-Trunk Emergency Trunk Release, Daytime Running Lights
Competition: Chrysler PT Cruise, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Nissan Sentra, Subaru Impreza Outback, Toyota Matrix, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta
PORT ROYAL, S.C. -- Road traffic stacks up behind the drawbridge spanning Port Royal Sound, a long inlet sheltered by barrier islands like Saint Helena, Parris and Hunting stringing along the Atlantic Coast of South Carolina.
We're stuck in a long line of cars waiting to cross the bridge, engine idling and shifter stick racked back to neutral with four Yokohama tires parked on the pavement. The pause in this dash across Carolina barrier islands while steering a new type of sub-compact car by Suzuki of Japan provides an opportunity to consider the interior package where so much space has been carved out of such a little car.
Our vehicle -- Suzuki's new 2003 Aerio SX, a four-door of sub-compact size with a hatchback-style rear gate -- while narrow like other sub-compacts stretches long and rises high.
Off a wheelbase of 97.6 inches, the Aerio SX draws out to 166.5 inches in body length and its roof hikes over five feet to a height of 60.8 inches.
A long and tall structure within the context of a relatively small car forges a passenger compartment that seems downright spacious. Broad side doors extend high and low to make entry easy and front buckets have high seats like chairs so riders sit up in a commanding position yet there's still headroom even for those with tall torsos.
The cabin layout includes the pair of bucket seats in front followed by two bolstered seats sculpted into a bench and divided by a fold-down armrest. Seatbacks on both sides of the bench drop forward independently to increase the size of the rear cargo compartment.
Flip up the rear hatch door to reach that bay, with a large multi-section plastic tray concealed below the flat cargo floor.
Now check out the styling of Aerio's streamlined package.
It looks keen and aggressive, with crisp lines and sporty aerodynamic elements like a thick front air dam and low side sills or the spoiler flange fixed to trailing edge of the arching roof that seems to disguise the otherwise boxy parameters of a hatchback's form.
At the nose, the deep air dam resembles a fat lip thrust forward, with thin horizontal strips of a grille added along with indented round foglamps. Immediately above, large triangular polycarbonate shields at corners define multi-lens headlamp clusters. The hood rakes up in a steep assent to the windshield, where front pillars flow into roof rails arching over second and third blackened door pillars to meet opposed angular rear pillars that descend into a hatchback tail. Creased planes as shoulders run the length of both sides above flat doors that fall between front and rear wheelwells bulging in body-colored rims. Five-spoke alloy wheels support 15-inch Yokohama tires.
Two sets of wide doors on each side provide access to front and rear seats in the cabin, while the hatchback lid at the rump swings high to expose the back bay.
Koji Yamada, in charge of small passenger cars and sport-utility vehicles for Suzuki Motor Corp., of Japan, says the basic concept driving designs for Aerio is to bring together attributes of three different types of vehicles -- the roominess of a minivan, the versatility of a wagon or SUV for hauling people and cargo, and the fun-to-drive nature of a sports sedan geared toward performance.
The idea melds the agile manners of a small four-door sports sedan with the cargo-hauling capability of a SUV and the space and capacity of a miserly minivan.
It's part sports car, part station wagon and part thrifty hauling machine that's both practical for varied uses but also spirited and playful.
Aerio stocks as standard equipment a dual-cam 2.0-liter in-line four-cylinder engine that produces class-leading firepower. It makes 141-hp at 5,700 rpm and torque numbers of 135 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm.
A short-stick manual five-speed is the standard shifter for Aerio SX, but an electronic automatic four-speed transaxle is also available.
We drive both versions during a day of running around the Carolina barrier islands and coastal plain and find that -- excepting times when sticking still in drawbridge traffic -- Aerio shows such exuberance that you must constantly watch the pressure applied to the throttle, unless you want to spend time discussing the car's performance with officers enforcing local speed laws.
It zips off the line at a traffic signal and runs quickly through gears to the legal limit. And even at freeway pace, such as our romp down the multi-lane I-95, Aerio acts strong and always grounded.
Aerio hunkers low in a stable stance with wheels pushed out to the four corners.
Suspension, with MacPherson struts front and rear, uses subframes to isolate vibrations and noises of the road.
Add liquid-filled mounts for the engine plus a heap of insulation surrounding the passenger compartment and you end up with a cabin that's surprisingly quiet for a small car.
Suzuki also applies the Aerio label to a different design with conventional four-door sedan styling but still the tall roofline.
Both sedan and hatchback share a chassis, powertrain, mechanical gear and essential equipment.
In the United States, Aerio the sedan comes in two issues, a price-leading base model Aerio S and the deluxe Aerio GS, which has equipment that matches the sole hatchback, Aerio SX. In Canada, both the sedan and hatchback models are available in three issues, the GL, GLX and top of the line SX.
All three versions of Aerio carry an extensive list of standards, including air conditioning, power steering, foglamps, power mirrors, tilting steering wheel, a tachometer, rear window defroster, intermittent wipers and a Clarion AM-FM stereo kit with CD player and six speakers.
Aerio SX also gets cruise control, a keyless remote entry system, rear window wiper/washer, the rear spoiler and a chrome tip on the exhaust pipe. Optional gear includes the automatic shifter and ABS, plus some special floor mats.
Where Built: Japan
Seating: 5
Number of Rows: 2
Crash Test Ratings:
- NHTSA Frontal Impact/Driver Crash Test Rating: To Be Determined
- NHTSA Frontal Impact/Passenger Crash Test Rating: To Be Determined
- NHTSA Side Impact/Front Seat Crash Test Rating: To Be Determined
- NHTSA Side Impact/Rear Seat Crash Test Rating: To Be Determined
- NHTSA Rollover Resistance Rating: To Be Determined
- IIHS Frontal Offset Crash Test: rated Good
Length in Inches: Sedan - 171.3. Hatchback Wagon - 166.5
Warranties: 3 years/36,000 miles bumper-to-bumper, 3 years/unlimited miles corrosion, 7 years/100,000 mile powertrain, 3 years/36,000 miles free Roadside Assistance.
Weight in Pounds: Sedan - 2,641 . Hatchback Wagon - 2,630
Towing Capacity in Pounds: Not Applicable
Gas Tank Capacity in Gallons: 13.2
Destination Charge: $520
