Suzuki has done well selling its line of small sport utilities in North America, beginning with the little Samurai in 1986, followed by the Sidekick and its successors, the Vitara and the seven-passenger XL-7.
With a General Motors tie-in, Suzuki also has sold the Sidekick and Vitara models through Chevrolet dealerships as the Geo/Chevrolet Tracker.
Although the SUVs are what most of us know about Suzuki, the Japanese automaker also has sold small cars in the United States, some of those branded as Suzuki vehicles and some as Geo or Chevy models.
None of those small cars has met with great success in the North American marketplace, however, and now Suzuki wants to change that.
To that end, the company introduced a new line of small cars — the Aerio sedan and Aerio SX wagon. These cars went on sale in early spring and already are doing well for Suzuki dealers.
The Aerio sedan has a lot in common with other small sedans that have been introduced over the past three or four years, including the Toyota Echo and Ford Focus.
In fact, the Aerio looks a lot like these other new sedans — short, with a high roof and a roomier interior than its external appearance would suggest.
The driver's seat of the Aerio is quite comfortable, like the Echo, Focus and Volkswagen New Beetle. Even in the back seat of the Aerio, there is ample room for two full-size or three average-size adults.
Suzuki says the Aerio has more total interior volume than most cars in the small car class, and that the trunk, at 14.6 cubic feet, has more volume than any vehicle in the class.
The price is certainly right.
Starting list price of the Aerio sedan is just $13,999 plus $500 transportation (less dealer discounts and manufacturer rebates or incentives, if any). And our test car, the Aerio GS manual-transmission model, came with a base price of $14,499 (plus transportation) and a total price of $15,074, which included transportation and the only option, floor mats ($75).
No, the Aerio is not a hot rod, so if your taste in cars requires enough power to beat everyone to the next red light, the Aerio won't be the car for you.
But I found the Aerio sedan's 2.0-liter, double-overhead-cam, inline four-cylinder engine to have plenty of power. The engine cranks out 141 horsepower and 135 foot-pounds of torque, which is plenty for a car that weighs less than 3,000 pounds (2,604 pounds, to be exact).
Although I wouldn't choose the five-speed manual transmission if I were buying the Aerio for its main intended use — an economical commuting vehicle — I found the gearbox to be easy to shift and pleasant to use. The optional four-speed automatic would be the preferred transmission for just about anyone who would plan to drive the Aerio in daily drive-time stop-and-go freeway traffic, during which shifting gears and depressing the clutch pedal become a real chore.
Styling of the Aerio is not overly compelling like the extreme cuteness of a car such as the New Beetle, but like the others of its type — the Focus and Echo, specifically — the Aerio's exterior is a product of its functional interior. The car is meant to carry five people in as small an exterior package as possible, so the outer wrapper is a bit unusual.
But even so, it's not ugly, either, and it kind of grows on you after a while.
Suzuki has a different opinion of the styling, though. From the press release comes this description of the Aerio: "Punctuating the Aerio's exterior are bold front and rear bumpers, sporty side moldings, wheel flares and a striking front grille, giving both models an urban, edgy feel." You can be the judge as to whether any of that is true, since beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
Something you can count on, though: One of Suzuki's strongest attributes is quality, and that certainly is evident in the Aerio. Suzuki builds vehicles that run for a long time with a minimum of maintenance, and I can tell you that not only from what I've heard about these cars, but my own Suzuki ownership experiences.
For the bargain price of $14,499, the Aerio GS sedan came standard with such amenities as air conditioning, cruise control, AM/FM/compact-disc stereo with six speakers, glowing red digital gauges, tilt steering wheel, reclining front seats, split-folding rear seat, trunk light, 15-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps, remote keyless entry, power windows/mirrors/door locks, intermittent wipers, rear defroster, rear spoiler, daytime running lights, second-generation dual front air bags, child-seat anchors and tethers, rear child door safety locks, driver's seat height adjuster, power rack-and-pinion steering, and direct ignition.
Unlike many other Japanese cars, the Aerio comes with a zero-maintenance timing chain in the engine, so there is no need to pay for a costly timing-belt replacement every 60,000 miles. That expensive timing-belt replacement requirement has been a real pain to a lot of Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda owners over the past 15 years or more. You'll find that maintenance on the Aerio mostly will be limited to periodic oil/filter changes.
The interior, besides the roominess, is fairly well appointed for an econobox such as this, with front bucket seats that are quite comfortable, instruments and controls that are well-placed and easy to see or reach.
Road handling is tight and predictable, thanks in part to the independent suspension and the light weight of the vehicle. I found the car to hold to the road very well in tight turns.
Two trim levels are offered — the base S model and the uplevel GS, which we tested. Additionally, the SX "crossover" wagon is offered in a single trim level, with a starting price of $14,999. The cars all come with front-wheel drive now, but all-wheel-drive versions of the sedan and wagon will be offered beginning this fall.
Besides the reasonable list price (remember that the median price of a new car is now about $26,000) and the predictably low maintenance costs of the Aerio, it's also quite easy on gas.
EPA fuel-economy ratings are 26 miles per gallon in the city and 33 mpg on the highway with the manual gearbox. (The figures are 26 city/31 highway with the automatic.)
The tank holds 13.2 gallons of gasoline, and unleaded regular is recommended.