Suzuki Celerio stalls on starting block

Suzuki Australia has held back the release of its Alto replacement, the 1.0-litre Celerio, full local pricing and specifications of which have now been announced.

Originally due for release this week Down Under, the diminutive five-door will not be released for sale until Suzuki has resolved brake issues that led to its withdrawal from sale in all right-hand drive markets this week.

The withdrawal follows brake failures which occurred during performance testing by British car magazine, Autocar.

Suzuki Australia General Manager Andrew Moore told motoring.com.au that the company would not release the car until further notice. He was confident, however, that the brake issues would be resolved promptly.

Suzuki has around 100 examples of the Thai-built three-cylinder hatchback ready for sale in Australia. The car it replaces, the Indian-built Alto, found around 1900 homes here last year but up to 300 monthly sales at its peak.

Ironically, the safety-related sales hold takes place on the same day sales testing authority ANCAP was set to announce crash test results for the Celerio.

The four-seat five-door arrives Down Under with head-protecting side curtain airbags and seat belt reminders for both front rear occupants.

These are features are omitted from European-market models, which is part of the reason local safety body ANCAP awarded the Celerio four stars – one more than its Euro counterpart.

"ANCAP has put pressure on manufacturers to include head-protecting side airbags for many years, introducing this as a mandatory five-star requirement in 2004," said the crash testing authority's chair Lauchlan McIntosh.

"We are happy to see Suzuki's positive response to this pressure even though the Celerio's list of other safety features does not meet ANCAP's requirements [for five stars]."

All Australian-delivered Celerio models come with six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC) and an anti-skid braking system (ABS).

The new Celerio will be offered here in both five-speed manual and CVT automatic form, priced at $12,990 and $13,990 drive-away respectively.

The Alto was officially priced from $11,790 plus on-road costs, but was also offered at $11,990 (manual) and $12,990 (auto) drive-away, meaning its replacement costs about $1000 more.

However, only the Mitsubishi Mirage hatch (from $11,490 plus ORCs), Holden's Barina Spark (from $12,890 plus ORCs) and Proton's S16 sedan (from $11,290 dive-away) and Gen.2 hatch (from $12,990 drive-way) carry lower list prices, meaning Suzuki's smallest model remains one of Australia's cheapest new cars.

Capped-priced servicing will also be offered and Suzuki claims the Celerio will be “Australia’s most affordable car to own and operate”.

Pricing for the latter has not been announced, but it is expected to be similar to the Alto's CPS plan, which comprised a service every six months or 10,000km at an average price of $217.

Like the Alto, which pioneered Australia's micro-car segment in 2009, the Celerio is powered by a 50kW/90Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that consumes just 4.7L/100km (4.8L/100km auto), which is slightly up on the outgoing Alto manual (4.5L/100km) but down on the Alto auto (5.2L/100km).

Despite being more than 50kg lighter than the Alto at just 830kg (860kg auto), the Celerio is 100mm longer and 70mm taller at 3600mm long, 1600mm wide and 1540mm high.

The wheelbase is 60mm longer at 2425mm (almost as long as the Swift's) and Suzuki claims it offers 10 per cent more interior space, including more head room for all passengers (up 53mm in the rear), 60mm more rear shoulder room and 55mm more rear leg room.

It also claims class-leading cargo space of 254 litres (VDA; 726 litres with the rear seats folded), augmented by larger door pockets and extra cup- and bottle-holders. Suzuki says the Celerio's boot is 10 per cent bigger than that of the Mirage (235L) and 50 per cent larger than the Spark's 170-litre unit.

The Japanese brand says the Celerio's tailgate opening makes un/loading easier while optimised sound insulation materials reduces noise, vibration and harshness. Turning circle is a tight 9.4 metres and the steel wheels are 14-inch with 165/65 tyres, including a space-saver spare.

New standard features include power windows for all four doors, power mirrors and remote central locking. There's also an upgraded four-speaker CD/MP3/AM/FM sound system with integrated Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming and a USB input.

Like the Alto, the Celerio's electric power-assisted steering wheel is adjustable only for rake and rear braking remains via drums.

2015 Suzuki Celerio pricing:
Manual – $12,990 drive-away
Auto – $13,990 drive-away