Suzuki SX4 hatchback (2006-2014) - Reliability & safety

Despite Suzuki’s reputation for building small, tough SUVs, its buyers aren’t a particularly satisfied bunch. And the Suzuki SX4's middling safety credentials reveal the car’s age.

Suzuki SX4 reliability

The Suzuki SX4 didn’t feature in our Driver Power 2014 customer satisfaction survey because of its relative rarity. But the survey wasn’t a good one for Suzuki. As a manufacturer, it slipped from 29th position in the 2013 survey to 33rd – and last – in the 2014 rankings.

It was rated poorly in most respects – particularly for the way its cars drive. However, its best result was for reliability, where it finished 12th overall. That means that while you might not get much joy from your Suzuki, it shouldn’t let you down too often, either.

Suzuki SX4 safety

When the SX4 was crash-tested by Euro NCAP back in 2006, it achieved a four-star rating. It’s worth remembering that the safety organisation raises its standards every year, so its possible the same car might not score as well if it was tested today.

Back in 2006 though, Euro NCAP found the SX4 was able to provide plenty of protection in a side impact and offered a reasonable level of protection for adult occupants. There’s no way of deactivating the front passenger airbag, though, so any child seats carried must be installed in the rear seats only.

Both the SZ3 and SZ5 models feature the same amount of safety equipment. Standard kit includes anti-lock brakes with a system that distributes braking force correctly to bring the car to a controlled stop. Other kit includes driver, passenger and side airbags incorporated into the front seats; as well as curtain airbags. ISOFIX child-seat mountings and three-point seatbelts for the rear seats also feature on all models.

It’s worth noting that no SX4 offers automatic emergency braking or similar hi-tech features that are becoming more and more common these days.