Suzuki is one of the world’s largest car makers, with sales of over two million vehicles ever year. It's also one of the most successful, actually making a profit during the GFC when other car makers were making headlines based on losses that stagger the mind.
The Japanese marque’s strength has been in small cars, small to medium 4WDs and light commercials. Now it has made an interesting move into medium size cars. This new model, called the Suzuki Kizashi is, believe it or not, the largest car ever made by Suzuki.
Kizashi is aimed at a multitude of competitors; Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord Euro, Mazda6, Subaru Liberty. Naturally the Suzuki designers and engineers looked very closely at these cars during the early stages of the design program. But they also took the smart decision to also benchmark cars like the Alfa Romeo 159, Audi A4 and BMW 5 Series. Not that they anticipate buyers of upmarket European cars to be looking at $30,000 to $40,000 Japanese cars, but because Suzuki likes to set hard challenges for itself.
Styling of the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi is relatively conservative as befits entrants in a market segment where buyers tend to shy away from radical designs. Yet the stylists have managed to create a car with a powerful look that should appeal to a lot of potential buyers.
There are hints of the shape of the hugely successful Suzuki Swift in the area of the bonnet and grilles. The rear end is distinguished by the use of built-in exhaust tips of the type normally seen only in sports and exotic cars.
Inside, there's a real feeling of luxury, with high class materials and a design that could have come from a much more expensive car.
Cabin space is very good. The body is relatively tall, which makes it look narrower than it really is, so there's much better than average legroom in the back seat. Four adults can be carried on a daily basis with room for all of them to get comfortable. Three children across the rear seat works neatly.
Headroom is fine in the standard models, the Kizashi XL, but the sunroof in the upmarket Kizashi XLS robs a fair bit of height from the back seat. I'm longer in the body than average and found that I could just fit. As always, try to take along all probable occupants during our own road test.
Interior stowage space is good, with decent sized door pockets and various other areas about the cabin to hold all the little nick nacks that seem to travel everywhere with us.
Boot space is impressive thanks to the tall-tail design and the opening is reasonably wide. You may find it difficult to get some really bulky items in, but the Kizashi is hardly alone in this era of stubby-tail designs.
On the road is where the new Suzuki Kizashi really impresses. It feels almost European in the way it rides and handles, with precise turn in and the ability to send messages to the driver through the steering wheel. Ride comfort remains good even on rough roads and tyre/road noise are generally well subdued.
Suzuki is very keen for the Kizashi to be a success in Australia by appealing not only to people who have had a lot of satisfaction with previous models from the company, but also with anyone shopping for a car in this class. So it's spending a lot of money on a major multimedia marketing campaign.
Indeed, it is even taking the bold step of asking people to test drive the Suzuki – and will give them a worthwhile present if they then buy a car from a competitor. Conditions apply so ask a Suzuki dealer about them.
Those who want the build quality of a Japanese vehicle and the dynamics of a European one should have this new Suzuki Kizashi sitting high on their short list. It's well priced, being around five to ten per cent cheaper than most of its Asian competitors and comes with high levels of equipment.
The 2010 Suzuki Kizashi range, with prices (excluding government and dealer charges) is:
Kizashi XL 2.4-litre petrol four-door sedan: $27,990 (manual), $30,490 (automatic)
Kizashi XLS 2.4-litre petrol four-door sedan: $34,990 (manual), $36,990 (automatic)
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