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With American once Suzuki's largest market being wiped out (Suzuki America declared bankrupty in 2012), sales for this (almost) large sedan dwindled as even in markets like Australia and the UK it was overpriced and underspecced compared to its rivals like the Honda Accord and the Mazda 6. The Suzuki Kizashi is also a tad undersized if compared to the current crop of Japanese mid-sized / full sized sedans. If you compare its size it is closer to cars like the seventh generation Honda Accord (2003-2007) instead of the larger eighth and ninth generation Accords that we're familiar with. You add competition like the huge Toyota Camry and Nissan Teana to the picture and you can see why Suzuki isn't really selling any Kizashis even here in Malaysia. But we've driven it and we like how it drives as well as how it looks. The car looks squat with a wheel at each corner. Very athletic looking and taut.
The thing about Suzuki is that they made their name in small cars. They are famous for small cars everywhere with the Suzuki Swift being the best supermini in its class. In India the Suzuki Alto 800 has been on sale since Rajnikanth still had his real hair and Abhishek Bachchan was still in his diapers. Suzuki was renowned for good affordable small cars and basically with the Kizashi, they wanted something that small Suzuki buyers can climb into once they move on to cars larger than the SX4. But somehow this had not caught on.
The Suzuki Kizashi sold in Malaysia comes fully imported in two specs - the 2.4L CVT SDLX at RM147,888 (with insurance) and the 2.4L CVT Sports at RM158,188 (with insurance). You will get
1. 6 SRS Airbags
2. Traction Control, Electronic Stability Program (ESP®)
3. Leather seats (original from Japan)
4. Electric Adjustable Seat (10-way for Driver with 3 position memory)
5. Auto Cruise, Paddle Shift, Keyless Entry + Push Start Button
6. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) + Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) with Brake Assist (BA) + Hill Assist
Control
7. Radio, CD / MP3 player with USB + Steering Wheel Audio Switches with 8-Speaker system
8. Auto Folding Side Mirrors
9. Parking Sensors (Front & Rear)
10. Alarm System with Immobilizer
11. HID Headlight with Auto Leveling + Washer, Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror
12. 17" Alloy Wheels (18" for SPORT)
Quite alot of kit isn't it? But note that you could get the same gadgetry in the Honda Accord, Nissan Teana and Toyota Camry too. And actually you could get more in these other cars. An example would be the media system in the Kizashi. It's small LED screen looks like it is still stuck in 2009 even when we test drove the car recently - it's 2013 remember? You get a lot more kit in the other cars. And do note that these other cars are bigger than the Kizashi. In the RM150,000 price range, size matters. The Kizashi may not be small inside (it fits chubby me pretty well and sits four comfortably) but with this sort of competition, it loses out here big time. This could explain basically why a lot of people buy something else.
But when you comparing driving dynamics against the Honda Accord, Nissan Teana, Toyota Camry and even the Mazda 6 the car rides and drives well. Steering feels good with enough feedback for an enthusiast to be happy with. The CVT gearbox and 2.4liter engine (185hp / 230Nm) torque works very well together. I think you need over 200Nm of torque to get rid of the dreaded rubber band effect in a CVT transmission and the Kizashi's CVT does this well.
The car picks up speed at a decent pace (8.8secs to 100km/h, 205km/h) and corners well too. As stated above, the steering has feel to it and the car is very agile through most tight bends. Very unlike all its supposed RM150,000 class competitors. It is smaller and it corners like a much nimbler car too. Suzuki's technical knowledge in making cars handle shine through in the Kizashi and you actually wish you had at least a good 40 more horses under the bonnet (Suzuki even said that if the car had done well, there would have been a turbocharged version). Like its smaller sibling, the Swift it corners with aplomb and mid corner bumps seldom upset its posture. It is not just the front end helping the car in turns but like the best front-wheel drive cars, the rear is also involved in the cornering process as you would feel it swinging around mid-corner. So the downside to such a chassis is the lack of power in the normally aspirated 2.4liter engine. But note that the car is actually faster than any of the other three Japanese cars mentioned herein. So then again.....
Oh, the car feels rock solid with pretty good (if slightly outdated) plastics. It feels very end 2000s instead of a car of this decade. Of course, it was launched in 2009 and the car we managed to grab hold of for about five to ten minutes per person was from 2011. Suzuki Malaysia can't seem to move them out of the showrooms. There is a RM10,000 discount for the Kizashi is you want one. But only RM10,000 for a 2011 car? Suzuki needs to do more.
So there you have it. A splendid mid-sized car to drive but really bad value for money if you wanted to show people you're a senior manager somewhere. But if you're in the market for something larger than a Honda Civic, a Mitsubishi Lancer or a Mazda 3 but still don't like driving corporate barges, then this is the only car as it is slightly larger but not as large as what we're expecting from a RM150,000 car. It's a niche thing, the Kizashi. Sometime niches can be very, very hard to sell. But you can tell by the facial expression below that the car is actually pretty good. Or that the driver had too much sugar in his coffee earlier that day.
Conclusion: Good mid-sized car, smaller than a Camry, Accord, Teana yet as pricey, fun to drive but needs more poke due to it having a nice chassis. Recommended if you can stand slightly outdated media system, and its smaller size.
