ANCAP crash tests deliver brutal verdict on Suzuki Fronx safety

The Suzuki Fronx has recorded a deeply underwhelming one-star ANCAP safety rating, with independent crash testing revealing poor occupant protection and a rare seatbelt component failure that has prompted warnings for rear-seat passengers.

Suzuki Australia is currently in damage control mode.

Safety authority ANCAP is urging the drivers of approximately 1300 Suzuki Fronx vehicles sold in Australia (and a further 1000 delivered in New Zealand) to stop adult and child passengers travelling in the rear seats until the cause of a seatbelt failure is identified and rectified.

In the full width frontal impact, the rear passenger seatbelt retractor failed, allowing the belt to release uncontrollably.

As a result, the rear dummy became unrestrained and struck the back of the front seat.

ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg said the findings were troubling.

“The seatbelt component failure is rare and serious,” she said in a press statement.

“ANCAP exists to give consumers confidence, and when our tests reveal results of this nature, we will act in their best interest by communicating our findings promptly and transparently.

“What concerns us is that this particular vehicle could have been purchased by an ordinary consumer, and in an on-road crash this failure could have had serious consequences for the person sitting in the back seat,” she added.

ANCAP’s assessment found the Suzuki Fronx only narrowly scraped into one-star territory, delivering poor results across multiple crash scenarios and raising fresh questions about the vehicle’s structural and restraint performance.

The independent safety authority confirmed the Fronx had already scored zero points for the test before the seatbelt failure occurred, meaning the one-star result was not caused by the seatbelt issue alone.

However, the seatbelt incident has been reported to Australian and New Zealand vehicle safety regulators due to its seriousness.

In the full width frontal crash test, excessive chest loads were recorded for the rear passenger and child occupant protection was also found wanting.

Key body regions for both the six-year-old and 10-year-old dummies resulted in zero points due to high head acceleration and excessive neck tension during impacts.

Suzuki’s declaration last year that the Fronx would be ‘a huge seller’ may have hit a roadblock.

In a statement, Suzuki Australia says a “thorough and disciplined investigation” is underway and has reiterated that customer safety is non-negotiable.

Suzuki also points out the Fronx Hybrid meets Australian and New Zealand safety certification requirements and is equipped with a comprehensive suite of active safety technologies. These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

ANCAP is calling on Suzuki to act quickly to investigate the seatbelt failure and implement rectifications across affected vehicles, warning consumers to exercise caution in the meantime.

Suzuki Australia has acknowledged the ANCAP result and says it has elevated the issue to an urgent priority, working directly with Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan, Suzuki New Zealand and regional regulators to fully understand the test outcomes.

For now, the spotlight remains firmly on Suzuki to demonstrate that the underlying issues have been addressed – and to restore confidence in a model that has stumbled at one of the most critical hurdles of all.

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