A seatbelt failure has prompted Australia’s main authority on automobile crash testing to warn motorists in opposition to travelling within the rear seats of the Suzuki Fronx small SUV, which launched domestically earlier this 12 months, with the automaker fast to reply.
The 2026 Suzuki Fronx has acquired a one-star crash ranking from the Australasian New Automotive Evaluation Program (ANCAP), one of many lowest scores recorded for a small automobile – and among the many lowest of any mannequin at the moment on sale in Australia.
ANCAP stated latest testing of the Fronx revealed the failure of one of many rear passenger seatbelts, permitting the crash check dummy to turn out to be fully unrestrained through the check.
The automobile had already scored zero factors within the full-width frontal affect check earlier than the seatbelt failure occurred, together with zero factors for each the six-year-old and 10-year-old youngster occupant dummies.
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ANCAP stated the zero rating was as a consequence of “excessive head acceleration” and “extreme neck stress” recorded for the child-sized dummies, contributing to the Fronx’s general one-star ranking.
“The seatbelt part failure is uncommon and critical. ANCAP exists to provide customers confidence, and when our assessments reveal outcomes of this nature, we’ll act of their finest curiosity by speaking our findings promptly and transparently,” stated ANCAP chief govt officer Carla Hoorweg in a media assertion.
“What issues us is that this specific automobile might have been bought by an abnormal client, and in an on-road crash this failure might have had critical penalties for the individual sitting within the again seat.
“ANCAP’s view is that grownup and youngster passengers mustn’t journey within the rear seats of the Suzuki Fronx till the rationale for the failure has been decided and related rectifications have been carried out.”
The Fronx scored 65 per cent for Weak Street Consumer Safety, 55 per cent for Security Help, 48 per cent for Grownup Occupant Safety and 40 per cent for Little one Occupant Safety.
The automaker issued a press release in reply following ANCAP’s publication of the outcomes, saying it’s proactive on security.
“Suzuki Australia has elevated the overview of this evaluation to a matter of speedy focus and is working immediately with Suzuki Motor Company in Hamamatsu, Japan, and Suzuki New Zealand to completely perceive the ANCAP testing outcomes. This overview is being progressed with urgency and on the highest ranges of the organisation.
“A radical and disciplined investigation is underway, and Suzuki will take any actions required to uphold our security requirements and the belief our clients place in our model.”
It’s the second Suzuki mannequin previously 12 months to obtain a one-star ANCAP ranking, following the Swift small hatch, which acquired the identical star ranking in December 2024.
Whereas the Swift was upgraded in September 2025 with extra security gear, enhancing its ranking to 3 starsSuzuki Australia at the moment doesn’t provide any five-star ANCAP-rated autos. Well-liked fashions together with the Jimny and present Vitara SUVs are formally unrated.
Suzuki Australia dropped a number of fashions from its native lineup in early 2025 following the introduction of recent laws mandating autonomous emergency braking (AEB).
This noticed the Ignis, S-CrossVitara and Swift Sport exit native showrooms, although Suzuki Australia managing director Michael Pachota stated their departure was because of the pure finish of their mannequin life cycles.
The regulation modifications additionally resulted in imports of the three-door Suzuki Jimny being pausedwith Australian deliveries anticipated to renew in 2026 with an up to date model.
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