Suzuki has taken another rung up the safety ladder with universal fitment of electronic stability control on all its new passenger car models sold in New Zealand.

The technology, commonly known as ESP, is now standard across the Suzuki range, from the least costly Alto hatchback to the most expensive Kizashi executive sedan.

“We are delighted this potentially life-saving feature is included in all our new cars,” said Tom Peck, General Manager of Marketing for Suzuki New Zealand.

“ESP is the most important step forward in motor vehicle occupant safety since the seat belt and we have made it our mantra for it to be available to more New Zealand motorists,” he said.

Arrival of the all-new sixth generation Suzuki Swift with standard ESP on each variant has completed the availability of the safety technology on all passenger models marketed by the brand.

According to several international safety agencies, one-third of fatal road accidents could have been prevented by ESP.

From September this year, ESP will be mandatory on all new cars sold in the United States. It will also be a requirement in Australia by November 2013, and in Europe by 2014.

Put simply, the computerised safety aid improves the safety of a vehicle’s stability by detecting and minimising skids. In such an event it instantly brakes the appropriate wheel and if necessary reduces engine output to stabilise the car.

However, even though the system helps to minimise loss of control, it does not improve a car’s cornering ability.

The technology features a series of sens ors mounted at each wheel, on the steering wheels and in the centre of the car. These sensors constantly measure information at the rate of 50 times a second.

When understeer or oversteer is detected, ESP reduces engine torque and applies hydraulic pressure at the target wheel to ensure smooth, safe driving.

ESP also incorporates a traction control system (TCS) that reduces engine torque and applies hydraulic pressure to the driving wheels according to the state of wheel slip during take-off or acceleration.

The Bosch system, as fitted to the Suzuki Kizashi, is the world’s first ESP with integrated sensors for yaw-rate measurements and lateral acceleration in the electronic control unit.

This saves space and assembly effort compared to separately installed sensors, allowing a wider fitment of the life-saving system. The ESP for the Kizashi was developed by Bosch’s chassis systems control division in Japan, the supplier’s largest engineering base for braking systems outside Germany.

Further safety upgrades have been implemented for the Kizashi which now gets knee airbags on all versions sold in New Zealand.

The Kizashi Ltd sedan also benefits from integrated bluetooth which was previously only available on the Kizashi Sport AWD model.

Entry level Suzuki SX4 hatchbacks which now have ESP as standard for the first time have also been upgraded from two air bags to six.

ENDS

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