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2002 Suzuki Aerio SX

Aerio has become the car du jour at Suzuki, the Japanese automaker and alliance partner of General Motors.

Suzuki dropped the Swift last year and will drop the Esteem sedan and wagon at the end of the ’02 model year so its car lineup will comprise only the new for ’02 Aerio.

Aerio comes in two versions, a four-door sedan in S or GS trim and a four-door crossover SX in GS trim only. Suzuki uses the term crossover to suggest Aerio is a cross between a sedan and a sport-ute, though the crossover looks strikingly similar to a four-door station wagon.

Perhaps Suzuki calls it a crossover because beginning in September, the SX will begin offering all-wheel-drive for the ’03 model year. But then it will offer AWD in the sedan, too. Go figure?

Suzuki is counting on selling 20,000 copies of the Aerio for ’02, an ambitious target considering it sold about 13,000 Esteems last year.

We tested the SX wagon . . . oops, SX crossover, a cute little hatchback with very good cabin room considering its small exterior dimensions–a 97.6-inch wheelbase and 166.5-inch overall length (the Aerio sedan is longer at 171.3 inches).

Aerio competes in a segment filled with well recognized names–Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, Nissan Sentra and Mazda Protege5. Vibe and Matrix, developed jointly by GM and Toyota, are the only others offering AWD.

The Aerio SX tested is powered by a 2-liter, 141-h.p. 4-cylinder with 4-speed automatic that was more alert than expected. Good response and good mileage–26 m.p.g. city/31 m.p.g. highway.

It’s not the looks, the hatchback or the mileage that’s the attraction. What it comes down to is price. The SX we tested starts at $15,999. Only option added was $75 for floor mats.

Standard equipment includes automatic, air conditioning, ABS, AM/FM stereo with CD player and six speakers, power windows/locks/mirrors, tilt steering, cruise control, underseat storage tray, split folding/reclining rear seats, 15-inch all-season radials mounted on alloy wheels, remote keyless entry, fog lamps, rear window washer/wiper/defroster and daytime running lamps.

There’s also a nifty little hidden storage area in back. Lift the load floor and expose a compartment to secure items out of sight.

Aerio is for those looking for a little, low-price, high-mileage commuter, though for all-season security, we’d probably wait for the AWD SX or sedan this fall.

Suzuki’s lineup now includes Esteem, Aerio and three sport-utes, the XL-7 and Grand Vitara built in Japan and the Vitara built with General Motors at a plant in Canada that produces a version called the Tracker for Chevrolet.

There has been widespread speculation that Tracker and Vitara will disappear after ’03 and that the plant will switch to a new truck/SUV crossover vehicle along the lines of the Chevy Traverse concept of a few years ago.

UAW ranks increase

Despite cuts in auto industry payrolls, the United Auto Workers posted a membership gain of 4.5 percent last year as the union’s roster rose by about 30,000 members even as automaker restructuring moves cut hourly union employment.

The UAW ended 2001 with 701,818 active members, up from 671,853 a year earlier, according to the union’s annual financial report filed with the Department of Labor.

The gain bucks two decades of losses for the union, which in 1979 had 1.5 million members. Labor experts credit strong recruiting efforts outside the auto and manufacturing sector for the increase in UAW membership.

“It does seem to be a positive sign,” said Sean McAlinden, auto economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. “Because they are also losing members to retirement, a gain of 30,000 would mean they would have to actually organize 60,000 new workers.”