2003 SUZUKI XL7

* SUZUKI AERIO FAST FACTS stats for suzuki aerio    Description:    Subcompact sedan    Subcompact hatchback wagon    Model options:    Sedan: Aerio S    Aerio GS    Hatch: Aerio SX    Wheelbase:    Sedan: 97.6 inches    Hatch: 97.6 inches    Overall length:    Sedan: 171.3 inches    Hatch: 166.5 inches    Engine size:    DOHC 2.0-L I4    Transmissions/speeds:    Auto/4    Rear/front drive:    Rear    Steering:    Power rack and pinion    Braking:    Power disc/drum     opt. ABS    Air bags:     2 (front)    Maximum GVWR:    2WD: 4145 pounds    AWD: 4365 pounds    EPA mileage est. city/hwy:    Sedan S M/5: 26/33 mpg    Sedan GS M/5: 26/32 mpg    Sedan GS A/4: 26/31 mpg    Hatch SX M/5: 26/32 mpg    Hatch SX A/4: 26/31 mpg    Price range est.    Sedan: $ 13,499    Hatch: $ 14,499   Read Feature Story   Read New Car News   Read Brand Reviews   Read Car-Truck Test Reviews   Return to Guide's Homepage

SUZUKI AERIO CARVES MAJOR CABIN SPACE OUT OF A LITTLE CAR

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 subcompact 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 subcompact size with a hatchback-style rear gate -- while narrow like other subcompacts 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 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.

What's under the hood? 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 5700 rpm and torque numbers of 135 lb-ft at 3000 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.

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.