Ask anyone on the street to start naming off automakers and you’re not likely to hear Suzuki mentioned in their top five. 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 one engine mated to a pair of transmissions (CVT and six-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 two-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 knob moves with utmost precision. Even Audi could learn a thing or two 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 four-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 six-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 first 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 four-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 smart ly, building momentum and hardly suffering during two-lane passing or freeway on-ramp merging – as long as the six-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).
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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 one 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 four-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 one of two 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.
