This is another interesting car that has recently been put for sale recently over at mudah.my, the favourite place for Yours Truly to trawl the want ads and dream a little. This is a gem of a car, the original Suzuki Swift GTI. Also known as the Suzuki Cultus GTI (as it is called in Japan), it is one of those cars that garnered a reputation for those of us who started dabbling with cars from the mid-1980s and throughout the 1990s. 



In those days, circa 1992-1995, when most of us were running around in our modified Proton Saga (the Wira just came on the scene), Honda Civic VTEC SiRs and Si series from the 1980s up till the then latest EG series models as well as the Mazda/Ford Familia Turbos. These were the cars that most of us were playing with at the point of time. Suzuki had a minor presence in Malaysia and their car line-up consisted of the Jimny and the 1.0liter Swift. But as usual, there were the private imports. And some brought in the Swift Cultus GTI. A veritable pocket rocket compared to the totally dull and boring, not so swift, Swift 1.0. I know it wasn't that swift because I was in college at the time and a course mate had one. It was actually the opposite of swift. My old at the time 1981 Honda Civic 1.3 SA series hatchback was miles faster. But Suzuki had a GTI version of it - the Suzuki Swift GTI or Cultus GTI.

Anyway, the higher powered Cultus/Swift GTi had an improved 1.3liter G13B engine. Now whilst it did not have variable valve timing and other Japanese witchdoctor magic thrown into it like a Honda VTEC, it was (in the 1990s) a technological marvel of small engine engineering. The engine featured hollow camshafts (for reduced intertia), stronger web casting on the engine block (for a very high compression cylinder head to be fitted), a better flowing intake manifold (the prior generation intake manifold had its shape compromised to fit into the engine bay), and its ECU now had electronic control over ignition timing. It was still a tuning marvel. Normally aspirated tuning straight from the factory. It produced approximately 100 hp (113hp according to JDM spec minus the catalytic convertor) at 6500 rpm / 112Nm at 5000 rpm. Redline is set at a high 7400-7600 rpm . The GTi also featured all wheel disc brakes.

You may think that 100hp/113hp is nothing much. But the darn thing weighed 810kg unladen. 810kg. That's lighter than even the lightest urban roundabout these days. This gave the Swift Cultus GTI a power to weight ratio of a minimum of 140hp per ton. This meant the GTI could easily hit the Japanese speed limited of 180kmh and have a 0-100kmh time in the high 7secs. It was fast at the time. The Honda Civic SiR EG6 model had about the same 0-100kmh time. So this car was on par with the boy racer chaps who ran the VTEC Civics at the time.

I remember seeing one being belted through the old road from Pusat Bandar Damansara to Taman Tun Dr Ismail just prior to the construction work of the SPRINT highway. It was so fast and nimble through the sweeping corners and damn, it was fast. And did I mention it was nimble? It danced through the corners. It was a sight to behold. A small two door hatch, narrower than a Civic EG at the time dancing for me to see. For something from the early 1990s, it was fast. And a cult car to have.

So we now have one on sale. Here is the link as well as it being posted below (as it will eventually be removed). Another JDM classic to get your hands on, folks.

Seller Says

Read more at http://www.mudah.my/1989+Suzuki+Swift+M+GTi+Cultus+2+doors-34133771.htm#tdFxaO46uWmkrvld.99

Now over in India Maruti Suzuki, the India subsidiary of Suzuki has officially launched the Maruti Celerio Diesel. Now Maruti have basically a whopping 37% share of the passenger car market in India and the Celerio is a big thing to them. Something like a Proton Saga over here. Or Perodua Myvi. Or vice versa.

 The diesel is powered by a new (Indian designed) 793 cc twin cylinder diesel engine. It delivers maximum power of 47 hp and 125 Nm torque. The claimed mileage figure stands at 27.62 km/l thus making Celerio diesel as the most fuel efficient car on offer in India. It is priced from Rs4.65lakhs - 5.71lakhs or RM27,278.44 to RM33,496.76.  Cheap eh? You do get a lot of hard plastics inside but looks well equipped and decently comfortable. The styling outside is nothing to shout about as it looks like an uglier looking Suzuki Alto (or A-Star in India) due to more space utilisation and that it is specced and built to a low down price - note that even the seats have a one piece, fixed headrest design to save cost.



But this is not the cheapest car that Maruti has for the Indian market. This Celerio is just the latest car that Maruti Suzuki has in the Indian market. This diesel is the most probably the most efficient one sold over there now but the cheapest belongs to the Maruti Alto 800 - RS2.86lakhs or RM16,802. Of course, this is a car at its most 'primitive' or base level. It is not the Suzuki Alto that we see on our roads but something more basic that that. The Alto we get here is called the A-star over there. What may be acceptable for India would not be acceptable for Malaysia. A simple example would be the Toyota Avanza. Not many people actually buy that made for third world country MPV do they. A decade ago Malaysians went for the Avanza like a duck to water. But these days, you try ask any Toyota salesman. It isn't something we want anymore.


We usually end up buying cars that look decently good looks (with the exception of those buying the Nissan Almera who seem to buy a car based on the biggest butt, I mean boot in its class). This is why I think the Myvi outsells the Proton Saga as in base spec, the Saga looks like crap.I just hope the upcoming Saga replacement does not have that slightly dumpy looks of the current model.

And we also buy cars with some level of equipment. Seatbelts and airbags are mandatory but if you noticed, Malaysians do not bother buckling up so this isn't high on their list. What they want more are LED Daytime lights outside, a badge that says 'Honda', 'Toyota' or 'Perodua' and they are willing to buy it (with the exception of the Toyota Avanza I suppose). The price is the most important thing aside from Resale Value. It has to be affordable and has high RV. So they say. Buy the cheapest, most status giving badge with the highest resale value. They may as well as for free entrance to heaven also. But that's just Malaysians. So even the cheapest Perodua Axia at around RM24,437.16 onwards. Actually a bloody good car for the given price and equipment compared to what the Alto 800 has inside it (which to most of us is actually close to nothing).

Those over in India get RM16,000 cars to buy but get really shitty road conditions, ridiculous traffic, opposite way drivers, livestock on the roads, pushcarts, people crossing the roads everywhere, cows, elephants, bullock carts etc, pollution, overpopulation and a whole lot more stuff. We get a RM24,000+ car and look at our lifestyle. Whaddya think?  Is life fair or not?

According to a report by drive.com.au the Suzuki Kizashi is unlikely to have a replacement in the future. It is likely to soldier on for a while longer and may fade out into the annals of automotive history. The reason is that reception to this mid-sized car has been pretty cold. In the report, the MD for Suzuki Australia said that even at launch, the Kizashi was compromised by the American financial crisis in 2009.

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.

The car above is the Suzuki Swift S Concept which was recently shown at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. This is how the upcoming Suzuki Swift Sport will look like. As some of you readers know, the Swift Sport is my favourite affordable supermini. I totally adore this little car because of its agility, handling and its honest to goodness nature. Not to mention if you love trail braking into a corner this is the car for you. The tail swings round to 'meet' you where you want it to.

 In the article I stated that if it ain't broke, why fix it. This sums up what Suzuki has done to the Swift. A little stretch, a little pull, a little nip here and some added girth there but it still looks pretty much like the earlier car.

Click here to read more about the S Concept