Say the name “Suzuki” and the first thought for most people will be motorcycles. Quick, agile and sporting, the bikes have been everything the company’s cars have not. The Kizashi is a concerted effort to bring the cars closer to Suzuki’s motorcycles, and extend their appeal to riders who often look elsewhere when they need to ditch the helmet in favor of a roof and four doors.
Prime Numbers
- Price: $22,499. As Tested: $22,499
- Engine: 2.4-liter inline four with four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing on the intake valves.
- Horsepower: 185 @ 6,500 rpm
- Torque: 170 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm
- Drivetrain: Transverse front-drive with six-speed manual transmission
- Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts with coil springs and anti-roll bar/Independent multi-link with anti-roll bar
- Length: 183.1-in.
- Width: 71.7-in.
- Height: 58.3-in.
- Wheelbase: 106.3-in.
- Weight: 3,241 lbs.
This is the car for you if:
- The idea of a handsome, economical sport sedan for less that $25,000 is appealing.
- Value for the money is high on your list of imperatives.
- You don’t mind correcting people when they mispronounce the car’s name (“Kee Zah-Shee”) or what it means (“something great is coming”).
This car is NOT for you if:
- The term “sport sedan” conjures up driving dynamics equal to Audi and BMW, and not available features.
- You are constantly reminded of Superman every time you see the oversize “S” on the grille and steering wheel.
- Suzuki automobiles are irretrievably associated in your mind with sub-prime car buyers stuck between buying a used or new vehicle.
Alternatives to Consider
Nissan Altima: Somewhat sportier than either the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, the Altima has yet to break into the upper echelon of the mid-size sedan segment for most buyers. It is the third Asian choice in a field of two.
Mazda6: How do you translate “Zoom-Zoom” to the family sedan segment? You don’t if you are the new Mazda6. Less overtly sporty than its predecessor, the Mazda6 is softer, more serene and has a Japanese elegance still at odds with this conservative segment of the market, which makes it an appealing choice for someone not satisfied with the status quo.
Ford Fusion: Dynamically superior to most if not all of the competition, the Fusion is the only car other than the Kizashi to offer the option of all-wheel-drive. It has an engine lineup the Suzuki can’t match — a four-cylinder and two V6s — the option of a hybrid powertrain (Kizashi won’t have one until the 2011 models arrive), but only wishes it could offer so much for so little.
SUZUKI IS BEST KNOWN FOR ITS MOTORCYCLES, but its car and truck offerings have erred on the side of economy and stealthy blandness. This, in turn, has attracted sub-prime buyers stretching to get a new car. With the Kizashi, Suzuki hopes to set a new direction for the company, without totally abandoning its current customer base. Thus it has created a sport sedan with premium features at a very affordable price.
Engine, Transmission, Drivetrain
Suzuki builds its own engines and transmissions for its motorcycles and with the exception of the available CVT automatic gearbox, it does the same for the Kizashi. The manual transmission works well with the engine, there never being a large gap between gears. If the gearbox has one failing, it’s the cable-operated gear selector mechanism, which could be quieter. Though reasonably notchy, you hear the gear changes more than feel them.
The remarkable quiet of the Kizashi interior is pierced only when holding a higher gear at lower speeds. That’s because, unlike a motorcycle engine that operates in a narrow power band, the Kizashi’s 2.4-liter engine can be lugged to low revs in higher gears with little protest, making it easy to bring it into the lower end of the power band. So while this broad torque band makes the powertrain very flexible by reducing the need to downshift in order to get decent acceleration, it comes at a price. While increased sound deadening might help, at the cost of increased weight, the best answer is to treat the Kizashi’s flexible four cylinder more like a motorcycle engine and rev it.
An all-wheel-drive version of the Kizashi is available, but only with the automatic transmission as Suzuki says the cost of certifying the manual transmission/all-wheel-drive powertrain isn’t justified for such a low-volume powertrain combination. That thinking, though financially prudent, does nothing to make the Kizashi stand out from its more prosaic competitors or burnish Suzuki’s image.
Suspension, Steering, Brakes
If you are going to claim to have a sport sedan, you have to get the suspension, steering and brakes perfect. While Suzuki has done a nice job with the Kizashi, it’s apparent that the company could use the steady hand of an experienced automotive ride-and-handling engineer to help it move from claiming sport sedan status to reaching it. Since it hasn’t built cars of this caliber before, and is best known for designing and engineering motorcycles, this isn’t an indictment as much as an observation of some of the talents the car side of the company currently lacks.
Suzuki engineers tuned the Kizashi on European and American roads, and took the car to Germany’s famed Nurburgring race track. Thankfully, they didn’t return with a car whose suspension is too stiff or lacking the compliance to handle day-to-day driving. Neither did they return with a car absolutely certain of its mission. At times the Kizashi is unsure of what its reaction should be, and defaults to a more “family sedan” response. The engineers have the spring rates right, but left too much of the shock absorber damping for the middle of the suspension stroke. This leaves the car feeling a tad light on its feet when a more solid feel is needed. On the other hand, my test car had 18-in. wheels and tires (lesser Kizashis ride on 16- and 17-in wheels and tires), and while they didn’t always feel as planted as I would have liked, they also didn’t ruin the ride. Still, the car falls short of the magical balance between ride and sport sedan handling.
The engineers also must do some more work on the steering, especially just off-center. Initial response from the electric power steering makes it feel like the front tires are traveling across a micro-sized ice patch no matter whether the roads are wet or dry. Tuning an electric power steering system isn’t easy, especially as there is no hydraulic fluid in the system to provide a level of both damping and feel. These characteristics have to be provided by the engineer programming the system. And in this one, a few ones and zeroes feel like they have slipped out of position.
The four-wheel disc brakes had a light but firm pedal feel, and pulled the car down from highway speeds (and above) without problem. Akebono, the company that makes the brakes for Japan’s bullet train, supplies the pieces, and the system includes electronic brake-force distribution (it sends the optimum pressure to each wheel), anti-lock, brake assist (this increases braking pressure in emergency brake applications), and standard electronic stability control. One pleasant surprise was the Kizashi’s brake and accelerator pedals, which make heel-and-toe downshifts easy. It’s one hallmark of a sport sedan the engineers got right.
Body, Design, Quality
Another hallmark is a strong body structure. Again, there are compliments for the engineers. Not only is the Kizashi’s body stiff and therefore free of squeaks and rattles, it meets proposed 2014 side-impact standards, as well as European pedestrian crash standards. Foam is placed in the A-pillars to reduce noise, and there are covers on the underfloor and in front of the rear bumper to reduce both aerodynamic drag and noise intrusion. As noted earlier, the Kizashi is quiet.
Though a lower hood line might have given the car sleeker styling, by keeping the nose a bit higher they were able to protect those pesky European pedestrians who seem intent on throwing themselves in front of cars. This also gives the Kizashi a higher beltline that, when combined with the roof shape and trim front and rear overhangs, makes the Kizashi look substantial.
There were a couple of niggling quality items, the most annoying being a slight rattle emanating from the headliner near the leading edge of the sunroof. However, as this was an early production car that had gone straight from the vehicle’s launch in North Carolina to the test fleet, I’m willing to consider it an anomaly.
Interior, Ergonomics
Once you open the door, any misgivings about Suzuki’s ability to design and engineer world-class interiors disappears. Not only is the Kizashi blessed with a full complement of standard features, the materials, design and functionality of the interior are on par with much more expensive vehicles.
The instrument panel features a hard upper surface and a soft vertical surface, but it is impossible to tell which is which without rapping your fingers on them. Not only is the grain match nearly perfect, but they separated the two with a broad V-shape swath of metallic trim. Nice. The designers even placed a sliding cover over the USB port so crumbs and other junk wouldn’t get inside. That’s attention to detail! In addition, the controls for the dual-zone climate control have knurled edges, which feel great and looks expensive.
The tallest drivers will find the standard sunroof impinging slightly on headroom, and some will wish that they could bring the tilt/telescope steering wheel just a bit closer. Those are the only real faults I could find with the Kizashi’s ergonomics. The back seat is reasonably roomy, and rear seat passengers have good sightlines forward, which helps reduce motion sickness.
The rear seats are split 60/40 and fold to increase the already generous cargo capacity, plus there is a center pass-through that can accommodate skis. As with any vehicle today, there are multiple cup and bottle holders (4 each), a sunglass holder in the overhead console, a two-tier center console, and a 12-volt outlet.
Audio, Video, Navigation
The GTS has a standard 425-watt, 10-speaker Rockford-Fosgate premium AM/FM/CD/XM audio system with MP3 playback. It is easy to program, has logically arrayed controls, and is supported by redundant controls on the steering wheel. Though not fitted to the test vehicle, navigation is an option on the GTS, and is of the touchscreen variety.
Conclusion
DESPITE SUZUKI’S CLAIMS THAT the Kizashi compares favorably to vehicles from Acura, Audi and other automakers farther down the alphabet, it’s no match in terms of either vehicle dynamics or image. With an experienced hand tuning the suspension and steering, the Kizashi could become a strong contender in the affordable sport sedan market by offering athletic styling, great value, quietness and comfort paired with sporty dynamics. When it does so, there will be any number of larger, more established automakers looking over their shoulders.
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