Learn me: Suzuki Aerio

Specifically, what engines fit? I'm not trying to build a killer Suzuki race car, just repair a broken stock, 2006-model & engines are pricey! Do other Suzuki engines, like Esteem, Kazaki or whatever fit?

I've been sort of interested in these orphaned people movers recently too.

Displacement seems to be all over the map, I think the Aerios came with 2L engines and the Esteems with 1.6/1.8Ls. The Verona is definitely out since that came with a transverse inline six (yes, really).

I know that guys have swapped the Aerio 2L (J20?) engine into 1.6/1.8L Esteems to get that displacement and power bump, but I have no idea what happens with engine management or wiring. A quick google says to keep using the stock harness and sensors of the J18 Esteem when you install a J20 Aerio engine, so I assume the same goes for the other way.

It looks like the J18 started around MY98 on the Esteem and prior to that the 1.8L was actually a low-cost version of the Mazda BP. That said, information about what engines were in what car in North America is kind of thin on the ground.

A G13/G16 swap into an Aerio is probably more complex.

I've been thinking of an '04 and newer AWD Aerio as a possible ice racer,small and relatively light they are powered by a big block(for a Suzuki) 2.3 ltr.

I doubt anything else is an easy swap into one.

I'd ideally put a 1.8L Esteem engine in it, because I've found an entire, running car for $200. Wikipedia says they're the same engine family, but I'd never embark on a big project based on anything I read on Wikipedia

And if that 1.8L is Mazda BP based (though this is the first that I've heard of such, and I worked in a dealership that handled kia, Mazda and Suzuki about a dozen years ago) that would mean that a BPT swap could, in theory, be done into an awd aerio.

Quick reading confirms the above is not the case, early on the esteem switched over to the J series suzuki motors. The 2.3L J series is the luke warm ticket.

LS swap: seems like as good of a place to put a junkyard 5.3 as anything else..

The 2.0L's were severely overrated by the factory. They claimed 140 hp but manual transmission cars pulled only about 100 hp on the dyno and automatics even less (I personally saw an automatic with intake and exhaust pull a whopping 97 hp on a dyno). Eventually I believe there was a class action lawsuit and that's why the 2.3L appeared.

I test drove a 2.0L 2WD Aerio and according to the butt dyno, it wasn't much slower than my sister's 2.0L Zetec Focus. It did have a cool digital dash.

Verdict: They're mediocre orphaned cars with no enthusiast community and no aftermarket and don't share parts with anything better.

I like the way the SX version looks. I have to wonder how much the jack/tow point covers are though, since everyone I see is missing these pieces.

Scored dead last against a PT cruiser if that tells you anything.

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/suzuki-aerio-sx-page-2