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Almost as good as a Toyota! Can this '03 Suzuki Aerio really be that good? CAR WIZARD checks it out
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- čas přidán 28. 09. 2022
- Magic Mike gets an insanely great deal on this 2003 Suzuki Aerio SX! How did he get it so cheap, and what is wrong with it? The CAR WIZARD 🧙♂️ checks it over with Magic Mike. Did he get a good deal?
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I purchased a 2003 aerio in 2004 with 37 miles on the clock. Last 03 on the lot. I still own it till this day. Has 280k miles now. My daughter will be passing it down to my teenage daughter when she purchases a new car in December. It’s been a part of the family forever and we can’t see it going away. Original engine and transmission. A great underrated car for sure
Wow!
So basically no safety features at all and can break down at any minute. Great idea ?
@@lancairw867 You, sir, are a fool. Giving a kid a brand new car with all the safety features is a bad idea. They'll learn to rely on the safety features instead of their eyes. And a vehicle shouldn't break down if the owners are good with maintenance.
@@bill_clinton697 did not say brand new idiot. I’m talking last 5 years safety like blind spot monitoring, brake assist and side airbags. A F150 hits this go cart good luck 🍀
@@bill_clinton697 hey bill. I’m also a professional auto technician.
I have 456,000 miles on my 03 Aerio. Still driving nice.
For 800 bucks you'd be hard pushed to find anything better. Good score Magic Mike.
Agree!
A go cart or a side by side may have more safety features 😂
There's a reason for that.
I bought a volvo s40 from 2002 with 2.0t engine, 250k miles and only needing to replace wear and tear parts. It also has 4 more passive (no ESC) safety features compared to aerio
I bought mine at uction
$758 ive put $4.500/5000
so far maybe another grand or less she'll be precious
I had a 93 Swift, a tin can on a skateboard. It was fun to drive being so light, 1600 lbs, with the 1.3L 4 cylinder and 5 speed manual. Quality was no where near Toyota or Honda but it was reliable.
I had a '94 Swift GT for 11 years, bought new, the only time it had a problem was when the OEM 4 year battery died at 4 years and 2 months. In front of my house, so it was considerate :). It had 130k reliable fun miles, until it was flooded up to the door handles in '05. Let it dry out for two weeks, jumped it and it started right up. Traded it away for some work on the flood damage. Miss that car, would probably still be going strong... Borbet alloys, SS headers, exhaust, (not a fart can, Canadian SS), K&N, chip, struts, springs. Road & Track, or Car and Driver, I forget which, back in the 90's, called it a racing go-kart with license plates 😀 I wish Suzuki hadn't left the U.S. market, especially now that I'm looking for a car...
@@thomasbeirne8213 the old boxy swifts looked awesome imo and the gti was silly fast for what it was , would embarrass many much bigger engine cars
My son owns a 2008 Suzuki SX4 which I gave him and it is running Great with 154,000 miles!
To any 2002-era Top Gear fans, yes, this car is the hatchback version of the Suzuki Liana - the original Reasonably Priced Car.
Now Magic Mike needs to drive it like Michael Gambon. 😋
Is it the US version or the UK version?
@@damilolaakanni UK had the Liana.
@@damilolaakanni It was the UK version of Top Gear
Liana had a hatchback/wagon version around the world as well
I just scored a 2000 Chevy (Suzuki) Tracker for $150. 2WD, 2.0 liter engine. 199K miles. Runs very well . I didn't know these little buggers were rear wheel drive and body on frame until I started snooping around underneath.
I love cars that are SUPER easy to work on. The Aerio is one of them.
I like Magic Mike. He seems like he is willing to make of the most of this amazing opportunity working with you at Omega. He has an amazing future ahead of him.
I bought one new when I started Nursing school in 2003. Living in Northest Arkansas, everything was a 30 mile drive. By the time I graduated in 2006 I had put 80k miles on it. It ran great, surprisingly strong motor, but I had issues with the transmission. The driver side CV shaft leaked and it was the actual bearing race in the housing that was machined wrong. Warranty work and it was fixed.
What was the mileage at time when your transmission went out?
@@frankdelao280 Around 70000 miles.
@@scottieray thank you 👍
Magic Mike. Please rustproof it before winter. It will help slow the rust down and hopefully keep excess rust damage away for a while!
I have a Suzuki sx4 awd 2008 100% made in japan, wirh all the options with 120.000 miles, only tires, brakes, regular maintenance y one water pump and still running perfect. I'm so happy with this car.
Man the windshield, turn indicator, and cruise control looks exactly like my 2003 Mitsubishi Montero
Some of the switchgear looks like toyota parts too.
The cruise control stock looks exactly like the ones I had in my Lexus LS and GS 400.
It's a great buy, cheap to run a good around town vehicle. I worked in a multi line dealership that Suzuki as one of its makes, even when they were being sold new, parts were something of an issue. The only Japanese make that has a tougher time with parts is Daihatsu, especially for the Rocky (remember those!).
That Rocky was actually pretty cool
Partsouq has lots of JDM parts. Weird stuff too. I got cables for my 04 Civic that the dealer told me would take "weeks" in three days. I have no dog in this fight, I just need parts.
@@Oldjohn52 I actually had a harder time getting parts for my 1985 Toyota Supra (Celica Supra), at least when I owned it a decade ago, maybe things have changed between then and now for the second gen Supra but I had to wind up getting rid of the car because I couldn't find a gas tank or HVAC controls and there wasn't even existing used parts for either. Thought about doing a fuel cell but in the end it just didn't make sense for a car I paid $800 for, I got 4 years out of it. Was a cool car but I didn't have space for multiple cars anymore.
In my Country Haiti 🇭🇹 we had the Daihatsu Rocky with the 2.8 turbo diesel engine man i can tell this thing doesn’t want to die we have bad roads and tough hills with mud and stuff 4 vehicles can reach the Top : 1- Toyota Land cruiser 2- Nissan Patrol and for the poor or mid class 3- Daihatsu Rocky 4- Suzuki Samurai the rest don’t even waste your money
Until you need to find replacement parts and find it hard to get them from Suzuki
For some reason 16 year old me thought the AWD version of this was the closest thing I could get to the Pikes Peak Escudo from Gran Turismo 2
I can see that to be honest
I own a 2005 Suzuki XL-7 we've had it since 2006 and it only had 2000 miles on it and it's got 170k miles now with absolutely no issues whatsoever its been the best vehicle ever
A manual 2013 SX4 is near bulletproof with timing chain, tons of room for wrenching if needed, seating position is great, good clearance, lots of space and has selectable AWD
Keep your oil changes at 3k miles and your timing chain (as well as chain tensioner) will love you. Go with a high mileage oil formula to help prevent chain guides from cracking. To help preserve the cat change your engine air filter frequently (every 6 months or more if in dusty area), clean your egr/throttle body yearly. If it rainy/snowy area highly recommended removing and spraying under-chassis support cross-members with Rustoleum (after removing any rust) and respray frequently as needed. Every time under the car, spray all rubber boots and suspension/exhaust bushings (spray silicone, 303 aerospace, AT-205, etc), highly recommend RedLine gear oil for the manual trans, change transfer case fluid every 30k (max) it gets black fast!. Make sure you run the A/C at least once a month even in winter. Many of the oem parts are now discontinued so preventative is key. Things to consider: 1) Adding 16 ounces of MMO to crankcase 100 to 300 miles before each oil change to help reduce any accumulation of particulate matter in key areas such as piston oil return passages, oil control ring seats, oil pump inside and passages, inside of TC chain tensioner. 2) Run some TC-W3 through fuel frequently to prevent upper cylinder carbon build-up, reduce emissions, clean/lubricate injectors, all of which will also help preserve the life of the cat.
That's a better looking car than most new cars.
I'm most impressed that this car came with an independent rear suspension while even today, just about all compact cars still have torsion beams.
I got a 93 Sonoma for $1000. A good cleaning and $25 in parts and it was ready to go. 4 months and counting with no issues. If It dose break you can fix it in a Walmart parking lot lol
I own a 2006 Buick Lucerne cxl with the 3.8 series 3. I am really impressed with this vehicle
I have a 2006 Suzuki Aerio AWD sedan. They are much better than ppl think. Japanese assembled, they keep going. Had mine for 13 years now it has 165,000 miles. Has good power with the AWD. Was very underrated. I get around 28-30 mpg too. Only issue is the parts, you have to order some parts directly from Suzuki in Japan.
One of my cars is a 2011 SX4 I use as a work car with 140K on it. I'm the original owner, do my own maintenance, It's switchable AWD, manual transmission. Never had anything major to fix on it. Parts for Suzuki is now a challenge because Suzuki left the USA in 2014 ish but I still can get parts.
Same here I have a 2008 manual awd it's got 135,000 miles. I had to get the front subframe because it was rotted. Good luck finding a new one. Had to buy a good used one on Ebay. It's running good now.
I had one exactly like that and its the most reliable, best car I have ever owned
I had a Suzuki Swift back in the 90’s. It was not a good car. But I liked it, because driving it on the freeways made me feel closer to God. Unfortunately, it was a magnet for other cars hitting it when it was parked in parking lots, because it was so small that other cars couldn’t see it. BTW, Jimmy McGill drove a Suzuki in the early days. It was the Samurai that probably finished off Suzuki in the US, because it thought it could fly (and it actually couldn’t.)
I purchased a 2003 Aerio SX new. I have passed this car on to my daughter and she is still daily driving the car.. The Aerios were made in Japan and for the money are hard to beat..
Suzuki finally getting some love.
often times when the alternator is out it just needs new brushes (like 20 bucks instead of 150). but sometimes the worn out brushes wear a groove in the stator, meaning the new brushes won't last as long as the original. This will happen if you see the battery light intermittently going on and off but you keep driving it instead of dealing with it immediately.
Also, every part in a new non-OEM alternator is low bid and probably won't last as long as the original.
A little bit of machining on rotor rings, new brushes and bearings and it will be as good as new.
I had a guy that had a Grand Vitara v6 though. He kept it going just as long ~250k but started to have issues buying parts. That was like 2 years ago pre covid supply issues. He would have to source parts from all around Asia. Issue was resolved when he was pulling out of his neighborhood and he said it literally just died.
😀
Still love my 08 Grand Vitara Sport! Some rough spots for sure, but super reliable.
They use that engine in planes so it’s pretty good
here in eastern europe they are called "Liana", sold with 1.3, 1.6 petrol and rare 1,4 diesel. They are really bulletproof, but the body is rotting away, mainly above the back struts....
@Hischiribunghi Plesnitrunghi Hungary
My niece has a Suzuki SX4, just hit 200,000 miles. It's had 1 clutch, 1 alternator, 1 set of brakes, and maybe 5 or 6 oil changes
Please be a good uncle and talk to her about the oil changes lol.
Couldn't agree more with the Suzuki love! I am currently looking at a 2013 Grand Vitara for my partner, and she is hesitant as she REALLY wants a Ford Explorer. I think I've won her over on the fuel economy and price/mileage, but the battle still rages on! I think I may show her this video as the final volley in the battle of the new (to her) car.
That little Zuke is a very tidy, solid car! A good solid unit. A perfect knockabout car. Cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to fix. A good score. Not too small, just big enough, actually a decent driver.👍
Great when you don’t care about modern safety or have given up on life 👍🏼😬
@@lancairw867 I wasn't aware you are in charge of everyone's safety. Huh.
@@mescko i can’t believe you guys are defending this Suzuki POS ?
Cheap to fix in what way?
@@zythr9999 not much on them to fix, and parts seem to be pretty cheap over all compared to other cars.
I have a 2008 sx4 sedan. Small factory body kit. Fog lamps, 17 inch wheels. 6 cd on dash radio sup woofer. Power everything pretty nice design. Gas mileage is ehhh but drives great for a economy car. 98k miles. Super clean.
These were a great deal in the snowbelt states with AWD. The AWD version ate tires. The SX4 was a great car with AWD. Better than a Subaru in snow.
I have this exact model. Suzuki Liana 2003 1600cc. Excellent economy and very comfy. Only problems I've had is idle control valve malfunction and ac refrigerant leak. Original engine 340 000 kms on the clock with city driving only. 10.5 km\litre
I’ve heard it said that Japanese Pollution Standards are so tough that when a vehicle reaches 30,000 miles their engines are replaced. In light of these high mileage vehicles it seems an enormous waste if it is true that in Japan it’s 30 & out! I had a Toyota/GM joint venture Geo that I was the 2nd owner. The first owner put 210,000 miles on it and had it dealer maintained. She was going to get so little for trade-in value that she decided to sell it. She was a family friend and we bought it for only $600. I put about $1,200 into repairs and paint and drove that car for 7 yrs. putting another 120,000 on it. We then sold it to our neighbor for the same $600 we paid. He turned around the following day and sold it for $1,200. The car was 18 years old and had no rust on it. It had been undercoated when new at the dealership and the original owner must have had it touched up if it ever needed it because it was still well covered when we sold it.
It was such a good car for us that when our younger child was ready for a car, we went out and bought another. We had similar luck with that one but while it was away at College it was neglected to the point that it was run too low on oil and threw a rod. It had 198,000 on it at that point. Garage bought it, repaired/replaced (?) the motor and sold it in about a week after they listed it.
Thank you, Wizard and Mrs. IMHO Love Suzuki automobiles, they've always been a dream to work on. I've had problems with the PCV valves freezing up below zero and blowing the valve cover gasket. 🙋♂Who thinks those resonating exhaust sound like a Cox engine in a model airplane
Had an '04 Chevy Tracker I bought new with the Suzuki XL-7 V-6 engine in it. Put 236K miles on it before I had a vehicle accident with it totaled it. I kept doing 3K mile oil changes on it and 45K mile full transmission flushes on it. Had to replace the alternator and AC condenser fan at the ten year mark. The two piece driveshaft carrier bearing rubber surround eventually tore which I did an impromptu repair using blue permatex to fill in the tear and hung the driveshaft assembly vertically until it cured. There were no new two piece driveshaft assemblies anymore but Chevy did have a one piece driveshaft for it for $1K. The engine finally got to where it wouldn't idle smooth due to wear but it would accelerate smoothly. Mine didn't have the external oil cooler so on the oil pan where there would have been oil cooler lines the pan had a bump out. There's a oval(think race track shape)shaped rubber O ring where the engine oil leaves the oil pump but on my version went back into the engine. That O Ring would wear out and a small external oil leak would develop enough to where the air would be drawn into the oiling passages resulting in the hydraulic lifters draining out overnight. It would take a few minutes to prime the lifters after starting.
I have a Carmax '04 Suzuki Grand Vitara that I've owned since the mid 2010s. Aside from general maintenance, it has been a consistent champ.
I owned one of those. It was AWD and killed it in the snow and ice. I was also 360lbs and 6ft tall. It was very comfortable and spacious. I also put 2 15in subwoofers in it. One of my favorite cars.
I purchased a 2005 2.3L aerio with 45.000km in 2009, used to go college and then to work up to 2016 when I replace it for a Suzuki Kizashi. I really love the car, it comes with 4Ab, ABS, Aircon, more than I need back in the day. Also it was kind of a sleeper cause here in Chile the common model came with a 1.6L m16a engine not the J23A. So yeah I recommend this car for people who need an A to B car easy to work on, reliable and cheap. What a great car.
Yes, had one also. The only front wheel drive car I ever owned that had 200K miles on the CV joints and they weren't clicking. It started using a lot of oil however. And mine leaked at the valve cover also. Too bad Suzuki had to stop selling cars in the US when they reorganized in the early 2000s.
mine leaks too, even after replace & reseal it still leaked. Problem with the mill if I remember right. Probably why magic Mike hasnt changed it yet. just feed her oil every few months and she'll be fine
My dad had a 1999 grand vitara that had 230,000 miles on it and not much had happened to it . It was still running strong but rust got the best of it.
I am so jealous of pros like you guys who have the skill, knowledge and tools to find your way into great cars at a great price......
It's all in who ya know.
Yes, he has found his way into at least 20 or 30 of them. Demasiado!
I pay $1400 a month for my current car. So putting $3000 into an $800 car for a daily makes a lot of sense. You don’t have a monthly car payment so you are saving a ton of money, and getting way better gas mileage. When I was younger that’s how I made it around,, inexpensive Hondas and Hyundais. Never had a car payment back then, it was a good feeling
SO glad to see that you can still buy cheap cars out there. might just be a great winter car especially for 800 bucks!
It’s an old, simple and honest Japanese car. You can’t go wrong with that, doesn’t matter the brand.
Magic Mike is such a cool guy.
Seems like a nice guy from the video. I used to work with a guy everyone called Magic Mike. Really smart guy and made things work that shouldn't have been possible on paper. I used to give him a hard time and asked him how the strip club was going (due to the movie of the same name) 😊
Suzuki is such an overlooked brand simply because it’s not snobbish or out to impress. But they are such good cars! My aunt has a 2019 Ignis and it’s the perfect city car - it does over 50mpg around town and all the time - and it’s gas/petrol! It’s simple - the only tech really in it is a touchscreen with Apple Car Play/Android Auto and a very clear reverse camera but that’s it above the usual power steering and electric windows. And it is such a refreshing change jn a sea of ridiculously over complicated and tech heavy new cars.
Older cars are so overlooked in general - simple, fixable and not stupidly expensive car. People are too obsessed with impressing others rather than living on planet earth and in reality.
with ian ending i love too see wizard drop down to copart f.l pick up on big boat for a rebuild stream
Here in New Zealand these were called the Liana. Very very reliable cars. Suzuki is an underrated brand.
Since Suzuki is out of the US yet again,parts are very hard to find. Always liked the Aerio....but if/when something breaks,good luck getting the parts or a mech. That can fix a Suzuki.
Then again try and get parts for a new Ford or Chevy
I loved my Aerio, was a great car. Got totaled in an accident or I would still have it
Is Daniel San and Magic Mike the only 2 mechanics working for Omega auto clinic now? Definitely need more Daniels and Mikes to work for Omega auto clinic.
I own a 2006, with 113K on it, and its never missed a beat. No major repairs, just some bushings, control arms, brakes and tires. The only think that doesn't work is the rear window wash nozzle. Super reliable.
In the Britain we called them Liana,i worked for Suzuki UK & they were only a 1.6L in hatch/saloon. They are ok cars,good mpg with ok handling & sold slow.
One of the issues with Suzuki sales from a world wide perspective is the inconsistency of pricing from one country to another. For example, what I would have payed for a loaded 2008 Suzuki SX4 Hatch with AWD at the time was around $16k U.S. dollars. The same car in Central America such as Costa Rica was priced at around $25k dollars and would be missing some of the nicer electronics that would come in the U.S. version. Instead of a 6-disc AM/FM OEM stock radio/cd player, the Central American version would come with a a cheap aftermarket single din radio in a make-shift looking installation kit. Also the Central America version would come with only 2 airbags whereas the U.S. version had 4. So in some markets, the Suzuki line-up just wasn't as competitive as other brands didn't "decontent" their cars when selling in those same nations. In the U.S. Suzuki was nearly always several thousand dollars cheaper than the competition and offered a better warranty, but that wasn't the same in other countries were even though the Suzuki cars were liked by people shopping for cars, the bottom line was that in some of those countries there were other brands that offered better bang for the buck that Suzuki, even if those other brands weren't known to be as reliable as Suzuki cars are, it still makes it more difficult to make the sale against stiff competition that outprices the Suzuki car and in some cases (such as Duster and/or Panda) outperformed the Suzuki equivalent as well. Part of this problem comes from the fact that each independent importer of Suzuki cars can go with the pricing that they want to, so one of the only ways to keep the price of a Suzuki car down low enough to make sense to a potential purchaser was for the importer to mainly just import stripped down versions of any Suzuki model (ie fewer airbags, no cd/navigation rather the importer would install a cheap aftermarket radio after the vehicles arrived in their country, etc) and then if that importer did order a small quantity of the loaded versions of the same car, in order for that importer and car dealer to make make a worthwhile profit off the loaded version it would end up being priced well above other competitive vehicles which limited even further the potential market for that specific model. This is still a weak spot for Suzuki cars when it comes to a world market perspective. Some importers just like to gouge.
Cool! These are called Suzuki Liana here in EU, many parts similar to my previous car - which I loved to bits - the 2004 Mitsu Lancer, like the front middle support bar under the bumber, engine placement and general arrengement of things and many other "japanese" bits - except my 1.6 Lancer had 98 horses and this monster has 2,3 and 155 horses. Anyway. Would suggest spraying the chassis with some corrosion inhibitor/anti-rust primer. Otherwise - nice and reliable workhorse! Greetings from Latvia.
areo is my favorite all around car. mine has 212743 miles and runs like a swiss watch,doesnt break down rarely,roomy big mirrors and nimble in traffic great car i love it .!
I really like the look of these too, almost bought one.
Glad to see some Suzuki love from the car wizard. A former co worker had a brand new Kazashi and loved it back in 2010. I have owned a 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi and would like to find another. Suzuki makes good cars just unfortunate they no longer sell them in the US.
We bought a new Swift 8 years ago and it's been the most reliable car we've ever had... Never had a single problem with it and we drive it in Australia in a relatively rural area. Great car, we'll definitely buy another Suzuki when the time comes.
My Suzuki motorcycles have even been awesome. Had an SV650 and a '99 1300 Bandit. Wish I never sold the Bandit, they're never gonna make em like that again.
Suzuki are an extremely underrated (automotive) brand, that most certainly don't get the love they deserve.
Here in the states except for the samurai other parts of the world great cars
Surely this is the wagon version of the Liana made famous on Top Gear and driven around their UK track by some of the world's greatest drivers.
Those are actually pretty cool. I thought about getting one just for something weird, bought and old Saab instead
A lot of people actually are drawn to Suzuki's for the same reason... because their not just another Honda/Toyota and tend to be very quirky in an interesting way. Another funny thing is that many people who do or have owned Suzuki cars also own or have owned Saab and/or Volvo's.
Never know they made those fwd.
Pretty sure we only have sx4 and aero in AWD here in Montreal. Makes sense as we get tons of snow
I loved the look of the Suzuki Kizashi!
If I could review the Suzuki Aerio with The Car Wizards and Magic Mikes I would drink the shot of whiskey with them and puff on the Cannibus cigars with them and get all schmoked up
My mom bought one new 2003 and drove it for 4 years never had a problem she loved it
I'm happy that this car is shown to everyone. I own a European one called Liana. And I'm very glad I have it.
I bough a 2003 brand new for 12,000. 10 years 200k miles. Great car. Only issue was it went thru alternators, and they were a bitch to replace. Oh, this one needs an alternator! Otherwise rugged and reliable. Never had a spot of rust.
I have a 2011 grand Vitara with 312,000 kms lots of original parts still functioning well , burns no oil! Change oil every 5000 kms! Minimal to no rust Canadian salty roads too!! Looking for another one soon !!!
I just bought a 2006 Aerio SX AWD 160k miles needed front brake pads and calipers $800 in great shape
I had a Suzuki Alto from new. Cost me 7000 euros. Drove it for 7 years until it got traded in. Not ONE issue and I only did the major services. Superb car and weighed nothing so fast enough for a small car and very low fuel consumption. Fun. My other car is a Porsche 968. No shame in the Alto at all.
I'm very glad that Magic Mike is sticking with you. He's an excellent team member.
Yeah, I thought he left. Did he come back?
@@pclayton5063 it was junior mint that left
@@Mr-pn2eh Whoops. Thanks!
One of my employees had one with a bad starter. It was so hard to change he'd just beat it with a prybar when it didn't work. Other than that it was a great little car.
A good vehicle that was not a top seller in the US. I find the Hyundai cars have me on my reliable list. Many don’t like them, but Inhave good luck with them.
Impressive how Japanese cars won the world thanks to their reliability! Here in Brazil, honest mechanics always recommend Toyota or Honda cars! I own 3 Japanese cars myself (2 Honda and 1 Toyota) and I don't sell them for any money!
Same issue on my Chevy Tracker! (Rebadged Suzuki Grand Vitara) Replaced the alternator twice! Last time was just last year.
I bought an 06, 5spd, with 100k miles for 400 bucks this month. So simple, lil things i need to fix like suspension and rotted air intake, but im loving it. Its a downgrade from my Mercedes i drive, but its really refreshing driving something so... simple.
I had one for a month as a courtesy car . The only thing I can say is while I had it , I drove living piss out of it and it didn't go wrong
Wow I’ve never seen one of these, reminds me a lot of how I got my daily, one of my friends bought an 05 accord sedan with the 2.4 and a 5spd manual for about 5k. A few months later he ended up t boning a Mazda b3000, and the whole front end was smashed in, but there was no damage to the motor. He sold it to me for 1,500 with 140k and I then went to the junkyard where there’s practically garunteed to have these accords and spent 450$ on a new front bumper, rf fender, hood, radiator, condenser, and fan+shroud. Been going strong since march of this year just with basic maintaince and having flushed or changed every fluid in the car when I first got it running
Back in the 80s I had a Suzuki car and it was great. James May of Top Gear fame recommended Suzuki cars.
Just like u said with the brake fluid reservoir this reminds me of a Honda in lots of way especially ease to work on, my first few cars were 90s Hondas basically learned what I kno about cars from fixing mine in high school
My 1986 GEO Metro 2 door ( Suzuki Swift ) with 3 cylinder 1,000 cc engine and 5 speed served my family well for over 200K miles and averaged over 40 MPG even with the AC running. I was my daily driver for years then my daughters and sons first car in high school. Only repairs in 10 years of service was battery, tires, front brake pads and one CAM seal. Even the seat covers & dash pad held up in the Texas sun. At 200K mile we sold the running Metro to a couple to tow behind their RV for it's 2nd life.
I have a 2010 SX4 manual that has been reliable and I have 275,000 km on it. Suzuki pulled out of North America in 2013. Parts will take longer to get after 2023, when they don’t have to keep a supply chain in North America anymore.
Up here in Canada, Aerios are one of those vehicles that just disappeared on day...I used to see these regularly 7 years ago but during the past 3 years I saw less than 10 in person.
They met the same fate as the GM rebadged Daewoos, and all of the Big Three compact cars. Meanwhile, I see Mk4 Golfs and Jettas all over the place up here in the Great White North.
One of the weak points of the Aerio was the under-carriage with the suspension mounting points and chassis structural cross-members being very susceptible to rust but dramatically so in climates that regularly see snowfall and use of road-salts and many of those parts became scare to non-available, leading to many otherwise perfectly good Aerio's being scrapped but in many cases their 2.0 and 2.3 liter engines living-on inside the body of a rebuilt Suzuki Samurai, Suzuki Sidekick, or Chevy Tracker.
Looks a bit like my 2006 Matrix with 200,321 miles which also has super roomy engine bay around the 1.8L 1ZZ-FE engine. Also, you gotta love a wagon.
The Matrix/Vibe competed directly with the Aerio but the Matrix had the advantage of having more cargo space in the rear hatch area. It was a toss-up for me but I wasn't able to get over the asymmetrical dash layout of the Vibe which would have driven me nuts but I loved the well planned dash on the Aerio and the fact that it had a 2.3 liter engine so I ended up going for the Aerio but the Matrix/Vibe was every bit as good of a car.
@@marketingmajor8126 Thanks for the info. I may keep an eye out for one in good condition.
a simple,reliable,honest, no non sense Genuine Japanese car. Im in love with my Jimny. best car I ever owned. Love your vids. Australia send its best regards. Keep up the good work. God bless
I own a 2004 Suzuki Serious SX Yellow with Red Leather Interior Exhaust Intake love this car!!!!! My little Suzi 🥰
My parents had a 2002 pre facelift Liana hatchback, 1.6 automatic in GLX trim. Absolutely loved it as a kid, and I know my mum had a particular soft spot for it. It had a very cool orange digital dash which was just the best thing. The box shifted smooth as hell and the seats were lovely. It even sounded good for what it was, throttle pedal had a reallly nice response to it. Honestly just a great car to grow up in which i sorely miss
I actually owned this car, a UK spec one though (called the "Suzuki Liana" in the UK) - was my first car. Was known to my friends as the "granny car", but it never missed a beat. Ended up being kept in the family once I got a different car, and only got scrapped last year due to an emissions fault, and the price to get the parts to fix it would have exceeded what it was worth. Shame really, but wasn't my car.
These were really cool cars, one of my favorites on GT2
What a trip to the past. My parents gave me their 2002 AERIO SX to go to school and used it all the way up thru two different universities. To think that i've been left stranded by newers cars only to go back to my parents and take it back to use it while i wait for repairs on my new car is ridiculous.
magic mikes hair got me picturing him with big shades, a fur coat, and a cane. dude gets flyer as time goes by lol
I’ve always liked Suzuki cars. With some care they run a very long time. It’s a shame that Suzuki pulled out of the United States though.
Well when they couldn't compete with Toyota and Honda, the writing was on the wall.
Suzuki is still in the U.S, they just discontinued car sales here, but they just refocused their efforts towards motorcycles, outboards, and ATV's in the U.S. The U.S. Suzuki is now Suzuki Motors of America whereas before they used to be American Suzuki Motor Corporation. But they are still here.
I own a 2001 suzuki esteem an I would not trade it for anything, only paid 250$ for mine running an driving...mine has the 1.8 an it's a 5 speed..I will say the part can be kinda pricey...I did my cv axles I think it cost about 250$ maybe a Little less...don't break that powersteering reservoir, you can only get them from the gm dealership an it's about 300$ for it lol but it is a very dependable car an easy to work on
The Rocky was popular in Australia, because it was very strongly built and could survive on "Outback" roads.
Susuki engineers designed high performance engines for Honda that incorporated the technology in cylinder head design from their very successful GP motorbikes. The Honda sports car, that was used in a James Bond movie, was built by Susuki. (Honda 2000 ?). More cubic inches is not always the best solution. Colin Chapman would have appreciated the engine design concept because it would have suited his very light weight "Clubman" sports cars.
Loved the article. In bed with COVID blood clots in my brain, in Australia. PJ.
Suzuki used some interesting engineering in their vehicles; remember having a 4dr Swift engine on the bench and apart; the crank was very light in weight, found out later the crankshaft was hollow to lighten the weight and improve fuel economy by reducing rotational mass. The larger 1.3 4cylinder in the Swift could be swapped with the forged crank of the Samuari, but there was no performance advantage, just strength. That applied to the SOHC motors of 1298? cc.
Take care
Looks ok except the parts issue. I buy most parts for my Vibe off ebay, tons of them being it's a Toyota Corolla and Matrix parts equivalent and cheap too. That's a factor.
Have 2010 Aerio/Liana very reliable car very stable at high-speeds no matter how much you abuse it will never left u stranded handling is very good