A seatbelt failure has prompted Australia’s main authority on car crash testing to warn motorists towards travelling within the rear seats of the Suzuki Fronx small SUV, which launched regionally earlier this yr, with the automaker fast to reply.
The 2026 Suzuki Fronx has acquired a one-star crash ranking from the Australasian New Automobile Evaluation Program (ANCAP), one of many lowest scores recorded for a small car – and among the many lowest of any mannequin presently on sale in Australia.
ANCAP mentioned current testing of the Fronx revealed the failure of one of many rear passenger seatbelts, permitting the crash check dummy to turn into utterly unrestrained through the check.
The car had already scored zero factors within the full-width frontal influence check earlier than the seatbelt failure occurred, together with zero factors for each the six-year-old and 10-year-old little one occupant dummies.
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ANCAP mentioned the zero rating was as a result of “excessive head acceleration” and “extreme neck pressure” recorded for the child-sized dummies, contributing to the Fronx’s general one-star ranking.
“The seatbelt element failure is uncommon and severe. ANCAP exists to present customers confidence, and when our exams reveal outcomes of this nature, we’ll act of their greatest curiosity by speaking our findings promptly and transparently,” mentioned ANCAP chief govt officer Carla Hoorweg in a media assertion.
“What issues us is that this specific car may have been bought by an odd shopper, and in an on-road crash this failure may have had severe penalties for the individual sitting within the again seat.
“ANCAP’s view is that grownup and little one passengers shouldn’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 Baby 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.
“An intensive 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 up to now 12 months to obtain a one-star ANCAP ranking, following the Swift small hatch, which acquired the similar star ranking in December 2024.
Whereas the Swift was upgraded in September 2025 with further security gear, enhancing its ranking to 3 stars, Suzuki Australia presently doesn’t supply any five-star ANCAP-rated autos. Fashionable 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-Cross, Vitara and Swift Sport exit native showrooms, although Suzuki Australia managing director Michael Pachota mentioned their departure was because of the pure finish of their mannequin life cycles.
The regulation adjustments additionally resulted in imports of the three-door Suzuki Jimny being paused, with Australian deliveries anticipated to renew in 2026 with an up to date model.
