![]() ![]() Those moving up from compacts will revel in the extra room for their knees, while mid-size buyers will ask the front-seat passengers if they wouldn’t mind moving their seats ahead a bit more. It’s a well-done interior, by design, materials and fit-and-finish standards, its only jarring note a so-last-century dot-matrix readout on the stereo.įront legroom is ample space in the rear seats is relative to what you’re comparing. Inside, the sporty seats are well-bolstered and are very comfortable, and the instrument panel and centre stack are laid out intelligently for ease of use. Outside, Kizashi isn’t a standout, but it is handsome, and the twin tailpipes look pretty cool the tall trunk steals some visibility, and so the parking sensors are appreciated in parking lots. You can order add-on accessories, such as roof racks and/or a cargo net, but that’s all factory options such as navigation are not available. GROWLY NOTES AUTOMATIC TEXT REPLACEMENT BLUETOOTHThe all-inclusive single trim offers a lot of bang for 30 thousand bucks: dual-zone climate control, killer Rockford-Fosgate stereo with USB input, three-stage heated leather chairs with 10-way power driver’s seat and memory, 18-inch wheels, rear parking sensors, keyless entry, Bluetooth (but be smart and drive, not talk), auto-dimming mirror, sunroof, electronic stability control, eight airbags (including side bags for front and rear seats), and rain-sensing wipers which, if you hate ’em as much as I do (they never work right in drizzle, no matter who makes them), can be switched to regular variable intermittent by the dealer. Cross-shopping it isn’t easy, as it spans a number of competitors. It’s an odd size, falling halfway between most competitors’ compact and mid-size offerings: bigger than Honda Civic, smaller than Accord, as well as Toyota Corolla/Camry, Chevrolet Cobalt/Malibu, and so on. It feels more European than Japanese, especially in the smooth, flat way it handles hard curves. Kizashi is a well-buttoned-down machine, with a taut chassis, responsive handling, nice weight to the steering, and an overall impression of good balance. Suzuki definitely got the dynamics right. Turn it off, and it’s strictly front-wheel-drive turn it on, and it’s a system that will run in front-wheel under normal conditions, but transfer torque to the rear axle when needed, such as on slippery surfaces or during acceleration. The all-wheel system is driver-selectable via a button on the dash. That makes it a little better, but nowhere near enough to give BMW or Acura any sleepless nights. ![]() ![]() The best we can do in Canada is a set of paddle shifters on the steering wheel that toggle between pre-set points in the CVT’s range. GROWLY NOTES AUTOMATIC TEXT REPLACEMENT MANUALmarket, it comes in 11 variations of front-wheel, all-wheel drive and trim levels, including three with a six-speed manual transmission that many American writers say turns it into a far sportier and fun driving experience (I’ve not had the chance to try it). Much of the problem is that Suzuki is a relatively minor player in Canada, and so there is only one model available, a fully-loaded all-wheel-drive with CVT, at $29,995. It’s certainly possible to produce a decent CVT, as companies such as Nissan have demonstrated, but this isn’t one of them: it moans and groans its way up and down the tachometer, just like the early rubber-band units that initially gave the CVT a bad name. of torque - not spectacular by sports-sedan benchmarks, but more than sufficient for the majority of drivers.īut the engine is hooked solely to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), an automatic unit that uses pulleys and belts instead of gears. It uses a 2.4 L four-cylinder engine that produces 180 hp and 170 lb.-ft. Overall, it’s a very nice car that’s spoiled by its transmission. Suzuki is marketing it as a sports sedan, but unfortunately, it falls short on that. It now returns with the low-key introduction of its newest sedan, launched in Canada in March. The company hasn’t been in the mid-size sedan market since 2006, when it offered the Verona, a rebadged version of the Korean-built Chevrolet Epica. If you’ve never heard of the Suzuki Kizashi, you’re not alone. ![]()
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