mmarshall

The sparse Suzuki automobile dealer network in the U.S. market (those for Suzuki motorcycles are somewhat more plentiful) is something that the company is going to have to address if they want to sell cars. It does little or no good to have good small cars like the Kizashi and SX-4 if you have to drive a hundred miles (or more) just to see one, much less buy one. I've mentioned that sparse network a number of times in CAR CHAT.

Here in the D.C. area, we still have a couple of them left, but very few. Fortunately, one (a small one) is fairly close by in MD just north of D.C. .....right on a Metro subway stop. But in the VA suburbs where I live, two of them in easy-driving range have folded up in the last few years (one was combined with an also-folded Buick shop).

And if they are few and far between in an auto-rich area like this (second only to SoCal), I can just imagine how hard they are to find in out-of-the-way places.

IS-SV

Obviously they will have to focus on the car-rich coastal areas to have any success. The SF bay area only has a few of these dealerships too. I visited the local San Jose dealership that also sells VW and Hyundai vehicles. The out-of-reach areas are not lucrative markets for this kind of car.

Around here in the lucrative Bay Area market, several GMC, Buick and some Chrysler dealers have closed too, not a surprise here.

LexBob2

I just looked online and there are 4 dealers within 24 miles of where I live. More than I thought, but after the one 5 miles from me, the others are all 20+ miles away.

mmarshall

True, but, conversely, a company is not going to grow without outlets....especially one as small as Suzuki. Without more shops, they are likely to STAY small in the Midwest/South. One of the keys to Hyundai's strong growth in recent years (besides better, more-appealing vehicles, of course), is the notable increase in the number of its U.S.-market dealerships.

And, of course, having a small car now as nice as the Kizashi should give them an incentive for more outlets, even away from the coasts...you can't increase demand for the car if people can't see it and test-drive it. Perhaps (?) they could simply enlarge some of the existing Suzuki motorcycle shops, which are somewhat more widespread, to include cars as well.

mmarshall

Do you live in or near Chicago? That's the most likely explanation.

IS-SV

Suzuki will be best served by addressing the biggest markets first. The best thing Suziki is doing to expand their business is provide better products for sale, followed by expansion of dealerships in the highest volume and highest growth markets. And selling cars at motorcycle shops is not a viable solution, the shops are usually located in storefronts not suitable or zoned for car lot operations.

bagwell

looks like its dropped in this pic....

and what's the price? $20s?

LexFather

I wish the Corolla looked like that

Shame people are going to ignore this solid effort from Suzuki. Also good points about the number of dealerships.

GS69

2010 Suzuki Kizashi

For daily-driving needs, the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi feels right-sized in many ways. It's just large enough to carry four adults across town in comfort, yet it's compact enough to fit into a smallish parking space. And it feels quite light and nimble yet tracks with enough heft for reassuring high-speed cruising.

Those impressions mostly agree with the ones we gleaned in our first drive last fall, but recently, in more of a daily-driving routine, we had a week to mull over the Kizashi's traits.

Just as with our first time with the Kizashi, we were thoroughly impressed with the well-bolstered sport seats, the pleasing upholstery, the quality feel of the plastics, and the nice tactile touched like the nubby rubber outer edges of ***** and dials. Legroom is incredible.

About the only complaint remains road noise at highway speeds; on coarse surfaces, although the Kizashi is pretty well insulated, you might wish for a little less humming and thrumming.

During a day of racing around corners and pushing the Kizashi hard at the track last fall, we said that the steering was nicely weighted but a little lifeless on center. But for real-world driving, we stand corrected; it's about perfect, and that heft on center means you won't be making a lot of small adjustments. And the brake pedal felt about perfect, with impressive stopping power that's easy to modulate.

In that first drive—involving plenty of time on curvy mountain roads and on the track—we focused on models with the six-speed manual transmission and had only a short driving opportunity with the continuously variable (CVT) automatic that will be sold in much larger numbers. A follow-up visit with a CVT-equipped Kizashi seemed ideal for a week that involved a lot of dashing across town on various small errands.

Provided you're just easing along with traffic, the CVT does its job in an unobtrusive way, letting revs rise—often toward the 3,500-rpm mark—at first in moderate acceleration with traffic, then they gradually fall as you reach cruising speed. It tends to take full advantage of the flexible nature of the 180-hp engine and brings revs down quickly whenever you back off the gas. Try to hotfoot and take off more quickly at stoplights, and some of the CVT's halo is lost; the CVT seems a little less decisive with more throttle and lets the revs go freely into the upper ranges, then bringing out a bit more boominess than you ever get from the engine with the manual gearbox.

While the SE tester didn't come with steering-wheel paddle-shifters (upscale GTS and SLS models do), it does have a manual shift gate that allows access to six set ratios. The system allows some slip if you try to lock in one of the higher gears at too low a speed, but within reason it locks that ratio in.

The AWD model we drove is rated at 22 mpg city, 29 highway, and we saw about 23 mpg altogether, over a week and about 140 miles of mixed driving. It should be noted that if you want all-wheel drive, you have to get the CVT.

The Kizashi's sound system also proved easy to use. Our test car didn't have satellite radio enabled, so we simply plugged in our iPhone and hit the USB button and we were in business to listen to This American Life episodes and Pandora streaming audio. One note: for media players the sound system attempts to display track information but the dot-matrix-like letters are so huge and limited that it's indecipherable. Sound quality was great, however.

As tested, the 2010 Kizashi SE AWD model was optioned only with floormats and metallic paint, coming to a grand total of just $23,004, including destination. And as we've already reported, the Kizashi comes with all sorts of equipment like cruise control, dual-zone climate control, and steering-wheel audio controls at no extra cost.

This editor had the Kizashi within a week of having a Jetta, and the two vehicles have a very comparable feel. While the Jetta is a bit quieter at speed, we preferred the excellent, buttoned-down ride and handling balance of the Kizashi.

All the buyers who've heard good things about this model but have crossed it off the list because they're not familiar with Suzuki should reconsider. Open up your mind to this longtime second-stage brand, or you're going to miss one of the best new sporty sedans.

GS69

Suzuki Recalls Kizashi Sedan

Suzuki wants to join the big dogs with its Kizashi sedan, so it’s only appropriate that the Japanese automaker has announced a safety recall of the mid-size sports sedan.

According to the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Suzuki is recalling all Kizashi models produced between October 13th, 2009 and May 31st, 2010. The recall is due to a “hinged door of the center lower box located in the front dashboard area” that fails to comply with federal regulations.

In the event of a crash, the door could open, potentially increasing the risk of injury. However, no injuries have been linked to the defect.

Suzuki dealers will fix the problem by replacing the area of the dash in question. The recall – which covers 5,107 models – is scheduled to begin on July 9th.

mmarshall

Or, more likely, because, in many areas, it's just too far to the nearest Suzuki dealership.

However, I agree with the poster who (correctly) pointed out that adding car sales to Suzuki motorcycle shops is not always a viable consideration. If space allows, fine, but bike-shops are often crowded into rather small areas.

mmarshall

All the more reason to wear belts/harnesses and install child-seats correctly. That, and airbags, will help prevent being tossed forward into dash-hazards like that, should they occur.

GS69

2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS Review

Ask anyone on the street to start naming off automakers and you’re not likely to hear Suzuki mentioned in their top 5. Or even their top 15. Most will probably run out of automakers before they reach Suzuki.

This complete and utter lack of brand recognition is, obviously, a major problem for the Japanese automaker best known for its motorcycles and ATVs.

So, even to those of us who live and breathe the auto industry and its many nuances, it came as a major surprise a few years ago to hear that Suzuki was planning to move upmarket with a midsize car for North America: The Kizashi, which apparently means “omen” or “warning” in Japanese.

Suzuki wants other automakers to be scared – but it’s a bad “omen” when your new car’s name sort of sounds like a sneeze (no offense meant to the Japanese – we know how ridiculous some of our English words might sound).

What is it?
Enter the Kizashi. An essentially wholly-developed Suzuki midsize sedan designed to take on the likes of the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Mazda Mazda6.

Despite its VW-inspired looks and Suzuki’s recent tie-up with the German carmaker, the Kizashi was developed in-house. Instead, the smaller-than-average midsizer rides on its own platform, boasts its own engine and transmission and uses little to no shared switchgear.

For Suzuki, it was a massive undertaking that likely represents the brand’s future in what is still the world’s most important new car market, North America. If it fails, Suzuki probably won’t try again. If it succeeds, well, Suzuki can write its own story.

What’s it up against?
At just over 183 inches in overall length, the Suzuki is a small midsizer. But it’s a big compact sedan, so we feel more comfortable comparing it to cars like the (upsized for 2011) Volkswagen Jetta, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Hyundai Sonata.

Any breakthroughs?
Its mere existence is enough of a breakthrough. Suzuki has never successfully offered a more premium vehicle in North America (some might argue that Suzuki has never successfully offered any vehicle in North America).

The basic package isn’t really groundbreaking on its own, boasting just 1 engine mated to a pair of transmissions (CVT and 6-speed manual) and a choice of front or all-wheel-drive (the 4×4 system is derived from the plucky SX4). Yet just a minute behind the wheel is enough to convince you that Suzuki’s engineers and designers are hugely talented.

How does it look?
Comparisons to the outgoing Jetta are obvious thanks to the 2-tiered front grille arrangement that looks like it could lose its jagged ‘S’ for the stylized ‘VW’ we’ve come to know so well.

From other angles, we see a bit of the Chrysler Sebring – check out those C-pillars – and a little of the Infiniti G37′s bulbous tail. As the Kizashi proves, imitation can be flattering. It’s not a striking design, by any measure, but the Kizashi is well-weighted, cohesive and wholly attractive, especially its million dollar-looking alloy wheels. And, for the record, it looks a heck of a lot better than the Sebring.

Our uplevel GTS tester featured classy touches like exposed and integrated tailpipe finishers, a nifty trunklid-mounted third brake lamp and those aforementioned 18-inch alloy wheels. About the only kvetches we could kvetch were the bright orange reflectors slapped just forward of each front wheel. No doubt the reflectors are there to satisfy regulators, but they sure do look like an afterthought. Visions of grey-market 1980s European cars with ugly reflectors tacked on came into our heads each time we looked at the Kizashi’s front fenders.

And on the inside?
Like the Kizashi’s exterior, its interior draws heavily from themes already presented by other automaker. Its clear and simple gauges, with a blue central screen, could have been plucked right out of a Mercedes-Benz or and Audi. The deeply set speedometer and tachometer look like they’re out of a Mazda. The intuitive, elegant audio controls – which lack radio data display capability – are very 2005-era Mercedes-Benz. And settle back into the seat and you’ll swear you’re sitting on Volkswagen cloth.

Everything is familiar – yet nothing is just what you’d expect. Like the exterior, Suzuki cribbed some of the best details from rivals and pricier cars to create a harmonious and comfortable cabin.

The dashboard is low and the three-spoke steering wheel always seems close, but nice and upright, giving the Kizashi an admirable driving position that foreshadows the experience once the ignition is turned. We had no problem getting comfortable in the supportive front seats, while those in back had little reason to complain. The Kizashi is notably airier inside than its relatively pert dimensions might suggest.

To top it all off, Kizashi’s materials and assembly execution are among the best in the business, regardless of price. The dashboard is made up of soft-touch, low sheen surfaces, while every switch and **** moves with utmost precision. Even Audi could learn a thing or 2 with this cabin.

But does it go?
Kizashis come in a handful of flavors, all of which are powered by the same 2.4-liter 4-cylinder that cranks out 185 horsepower and 170 lb-ft. of torque, figures that are fairly impressive for the class.

Our tester eschewed the more popular optional CVT for a traditional row-it-yourself 6-speed manual. Its clutch was light, but featured a positive engagement point. We weren’t as impressed with the ropey shifter, which wasn’t as precise as we expected given Suzuki’s experience building powertrains.

From a stop in 1st gear, the Kizashi is momentarily gutless before it quickly gathers steam. The engine is smooth and refined up until the far reaches of the tachometer, at which point it becomes a bit raucous; but by naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder standards, its refinements make it practically a sewing machine.

At right around 3,200 lbs., the Kizashi is among the lighter in its class, meaning what power it might give up to more powerful cars like the 200-horsepower Sonata is mostly forgiven by the lack of lard. As such, it moves smartly, building momentum and hardly suffering during 2-lane passing or freeway on-ramp merging – as long as the 6-speed is rowed to the appropriate gear.

Fuel economy figures aren’t great with the stick – 20 mpg in urban driving and 29 mpg on the open road. Our findings mirrored those of the EPA. Fuel misers might want to look into the CVT-equipped Kizashi S base model, which rides on low rolling resistance tires and is rated at 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.

In the handling department, the Kizashi is positively sublime. Our front-drive tester exhibited nothing resembling torque steer, so we had all of its ample road feel to play with. The steering is terrifically weighted and can count only some occasional straight-line high speed wandering as its only demerit. Riding on 18-inch alloy wheels, the Kizashi carved its way through the best roads we could find, hardly feeling like the front-wheel-drive family sedan that it is.

Yet perhaps its biggest coup is its ride quality. Nary a surface could unsettle the well-planted Kizashi; its ingot-solid structure should be studied by Fort Knox, while its ability to smother the worst we could throw its way would impress a Humvee. To top it all off, the cabin is pleasantly quiet.

Throw down the anchor and the Kizashi’s Akebono-sourced brake pads bring things to a halt with a quickness.

Without a doubt, the Kizashi is one of the most dynamically capable, balanced cars we’ve ever driven – at any price. It’s the kind of car we would absolutely park in our own garage.

Why you would buy it:
You’re willing to look beyond the nameplate (or you are happy to peel off the letters).

Why you wouldn’t:
Your driveway needs an established brand in order to impress your neighbors.

Leftlane’s bottom line
We didn’t see this one coming. Suzuki has positively knocked one out of the ballpark with the 2010 Kizashi sedan. Its humble, yet inoffensive style hides 1 of the most well developed chassis in the business.

The sad thing is that Suzuki doesn’t have the dealership network, the brand loyalty or the marketing might to sell a lot of these impressive 4-doors. Too many years spent marketing to the lowest common denominator in North America has punished a brand that has flourished in Japan for entirely different reasons.

If Suzuki wants to get serious about the Kizashi, it needs to do 1 of 2 things: Funnel some of those Japanese profits into a thorough North American reinvention – dealers, marketing and all – or it needs to license out the Kizashi to someone else. We hear Saab is looking for a new 9-3; slap on a turbo, add in some Nordic style, move the ignition key and you’ve suddenly got a Scandinavian sensation. Chrysler needs something to replace the Sebring; Fiat and Suzuki already have a relationship – how about rekindling that old flame?

This car is too good to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS base price, $22,599. As tested, $23,589.
Destination, $735.

Words and photos by Andrew Ganz. Some photos courtesy Suzuki.

mmarshall

It's marketed and described as a "mid-size", but, on the outside, is actually more of a compact than a typical mid-sizer these days. It is much smaller on the outside, for example, than a new Camry or Accord. Of course, the legal description of "compact", "mid-size", "sub-compact:, etc... is done by the EPA, based on interior volume, not exterior size. The small Prius, for example, is classed by the EPA as a "mid-size" car.

IS-SV

Or in short and simply stated, the Kizashi is classified by EPA as "compact car". It is smaller inside and out when compared to Sonata/Accord/Camry/Fusion of course.