March 16, 2005 - Suzuki throws us another strike. Like in bowling, not baseball. We're getting the impression that Suzuki is consistently cranking out cars that are well-built, and even better-priced. The Aerio SX is no exception. Though we do have a few minor criticisms, our overall experience with it has been mostly a positive one, and always enjoyable.

Our test vehicle was the "SX" which translates into English as "5-door", as opposed to the "Sedan", which, well, nevermind. The two cars are fundamentally identical, save for the extra cargo space and "sport-wagon" visual appeal of the Aerio SX. And speaking of visual appeal...

Styling
Our first impression of the SX's styling was okay, but we grew to like it more over time. Justin loved it right off the bat. But then again, Justin's affection for wagons is nearly indiscriminate.

The SX does have a lot of elements working for it. The front fascia is sweet! It looks like a well-done aftermarket job. Think: A toned-down version of the Lancer evolution V without all the nifty vents. By the way, this car comes with available AWD, so maybe that'll jog your imagination a little.

Wrapped around the sides are some very unique skirt and body pieces. We have no idea what inspired them, but they look good. The rear of the car is probably the area we have yet to fall in love with visually. The rear window is integrated to a much larger black area. The result is this obtrusively-large black oblong-shaped eyesore.

Furthermore, we cringed at the site of another Altezza-style tail light cluster. Call us conservative, but can't we leave that crap to the aftermarket? On an otherwise chrome-free car, why put it there? Auto designers generally use a pleasing shape (outline) when designing the clusters. To visually interrupt it with a bunch of flash should be a felony. The tail on the SX isn't all bad, though. The spoiler with integrated brake light is nice. So is the Roof-mounted antenna.

Alloy wheels are a good thing, and the six-spoke design on the SX looks great. But they're 15's. We think a 16 inch wheel (or larger) would look a lot better. Then again, a larger rotating mass would put more stress on the rear drums.

Performance
Wait did they say drums? Yep, that's what we said. In this pretty bitchin' little 155 hp, 152 lb.-ft. machine with available "Quad-Grip" AWD, all that's backing up the front discs is a drum brake setup in the rear. Granted, the system is probably adequate, but the brake pedal felt quirky, even after a week. However, this was with the optional ABS, which is something we don't typically care for anyway. Besides, we're talking about a brand new car here, so we're pretty sure it's no big deal.

Those power numbers of 155 and 152 are the result of a 16-valve engine pushing it's four cylinders through 2.3 liters of displacement. The result is a respectable (rated) 25 mpg on streets that aren't as crowded as those in L.A., and 31 mpg on freeways that... aren't as crowded as those in L.A.!

Keeping all the bits and pieces of the engine in their proper places at proper times is two-stage timing chain. Should you care? Hell yeah, you should! Have you ever had a timing belt replaced, as you're supposed to, every 60K miles? It's expensive! Well the Aerio doesn't have one. So now you won't have to worry about that.

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