In South Florida, which is an area prone to rain large reptiles, it seems appropriate to cruise ‘round in a car that resembles a fishbowl or terrarium. Squint hard enough and it begins to actually resemble the old American Motors Pacer as immortalized in 1992’s “Wayne’s World” movie. Yes, we know it’s a stretch, but stay with us!

Suzuki has taken the platform that forms the basis for their World Rally Championship (WRC) effort and adapted that DNA as the underlying platform for the SX4. Is this an off-road wanna-be, or does the SX4 really have some hair on its chest?

What is it?

The SX4 is, in the words of Suzuki, “admirably frugal.” Available in an All-Wheel-Drive mode, or front-wheel-drive as was the case with our press vehicle, it is the first CUV below $16,000 to include a standard integrated navigation system. Suzuki calls it TRIP for short, which stands for Travel, Real-time Traffic, Information and Play. As tested, it was fairly loaded with the only options being a frugal $169 for floor mats and a cargo net.

Despite all these “frugalities,” the SX4 arrives on the scene with an Italian pedigree. Styled by the famed Italdesign design studio, it features a look that is definitely not mainstream, and that’s where its charm lies. Take for example, the quirky little triangular windows just behind the A-pillars. Or the high roof line. Or how about the dropping belt line, as well as numerous other design cues.

What’s It Up Against?

The Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Honda Fit, and Scion xB all present worthy (and pricier) competition to the SX4. Excepting the Tucson and Kia, chances are the others will price in at thousands of dollars more than the SX4.

Any Breakthroughs?

Suzuki has chosen a clever way of getting past the costs of building a specifically designed navigation system. Working with Garmin, Suzuki designed a housing where an “off-the-shelf” 4.3-inch Nuvi is located within a dash-top cubbyhole, and is connected directly into the SX4’s electronics. It goes a few steps further by incorporating MSNDirect, which features a low price gas finder, movie time finder, as well as news, weather and stocks.

How Does It Look?

Like a big-topped SUV. The SX4 Crossover does look admittedly top-heavy, but in a slightly exaggerated Japanese Anime sort of way. You know how the characters in those films have slightly bigger heads and eyes? It looks as if a couple of Anime artists were turned loose in the Suzuki design studios, and this ride was the result.

Our SX4 Crossover Technology (Navi) package (as it is known in the world of Suzuki) was light on the bling, and instead used black trim to minimize the flash, and make the sides (by way of black rocker panels) appear less pronounced. The added benefit of the SX4’s high roofline is that you are able to wear your ten-gallon Stetson, or other such accouterment without having to take it off. That is, if you still wear a hat. On the other hand, Wayne’s sidekick Garth will feel at home with the extra clearance afforded to his “hair band” coif.

And Inside?

Inside is a mixture of practical and whimsical with a decidedly GM feel to it. This is likely due to sharing of parts and design assistance between Suzuki and GM Daewoo. The interior is definitely of the functional variety, although it has a rather sedate monochrome appearance. A dark grey color holds sway over the entire dash area, and complements the slightly darker seat fabric with tweed inserts. Support is good in the seats and their controls allow for adjustments to accommodate many different body types.

The rear seat easily holds three passengers for around-town jaunts. Long road trips may be another story. The rear seats offer a slight recline rearward for snoozing backseat passengers. They also fold forward in a 60/40 split to expand the cargo area, but do not fold flat into the floor, which would have been a more elegant way of trimming the interior.

But Does It Go?

The SX4 Crossover is powered by Suzuki’s 2-liter inline four-cylinder engine with a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty. With an output of 143 horsepower, and 136 lb-ft of torque, it sits right in the middle of the field of comparable crossovers. Available with a choice of optional four-speed automatic, or, as in our case, a five-speed manual transmission, the SX4 is able to achieve EPA mileage figures of 22 mpg city, and 30 mpg highway with the autobox, while the do-it-yourself version piped in at 22 mpg city and 29 mpg mileage highway. For reference sake, the SX4 splashes in at 2855 pounds wet. While these are not stellar figures, we would term them, for the category, as adequate.

Despite the shortcomings in fuel economy, the Suzuki is a fun ride. Riding on 16-inch all-weather tires, the handling is cause for spirited driving as we whipped wheel through some local twisties on our way to the grocery store. Credit the hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion steering, and the MacPherson struts in front for that. The rear end sports torsion beam suspension bits, which bring to mind old Chrysler corporation ads from the late 1970s. Nothing special by today’s standards, but to old-schoolers, they were the hot ticket. The gearbox is a functional piece with the type of feel you would expect for an economy car. It’s not Ferrari or Porsche-slick, but it does the job and is fun to bang through the gears. On the other side of the equation, the four-wheel discs helped to bring things quickly under control.

Why You Would Buy It

You want to live out your Wayne’s World fantasy of arriving at an Aerosmith show in an updated version of the AMC Pacer. You are so not worthy! Besides, the price is right, and so is the 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Why You Wouldn’t

You don’t like viewing life from inside a fishbowl and wished for better fuel economy from your SUV/Crossover vehicle.

2009 Suzuki SX4 base price, $16,089. As tested, $16,258.
Floor mats, $169.

Words and photos by Mark Elias.

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