Kizashi puts Suzuki into the vanishing midsize flow
RALEIGH, N.C. — The efficient combination of design, quality, engineering, efficiency, and economy of purchase and operation has thrust Japanese cars to the level of world standard. But it also stirs up a couple of intriguing questions. First question: If Toyota is the largest-selling car marque back in Japan, what brand is second in sales in the homeland? The second question is: Why is Japanese engineer Hidetoshi Kumashiro wearing a ball cap with “Minnesota” emblazoned in script on the front?
For the first question, which would you rank second to Toyota in car sales in Japan: Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, Mazda, or Subaru? If you guessed Honda, you might be judging by U.S. sales, where Honda challenges Toyota. If you said Nissan — as I would have — you would be close, because a decade ago, Nissan was second. Nope, the correct answer is Suzuki.
Suzuki makes numerous subcompact and compact cars in Japan, and they sell well because the company’s uncompromising engineering and enthusiastic leanings makes the cars fun to drive, something U.S. consumers and race fans might know best from Suzuki’s motorcycles. It is time, perhaps, for Suzuki to come of age in the U.S., and the perfect vehicle to take the company to its objective in this country is an all-new car called the Kizashi.
The Kizashi, once test-driven, will be as surprising to U.S. consumers as the news that Suzuki is No. 2 only to Toyota in Japan. The new car lives up to its name, which, loosely translated, means something very good is coming. The Kizashi is very good indeed, regardless of what type of car you’re interested in. It is not a soft, squishy little commuter car, but a bold and aggressive sports sedan that will bring a smile to the face of driving enthusiasts, and will astound drivers of more boring sedans who never will be subtly coaxed into learning how much fun everyday driving can be.
As for the second question, about why Hide Kumashiro is wearing a Minnesota cap, I asked him where it came from. “The airport,” he said, grinning broadly. Kumashiro is the chief engineer on the Kizashi, and as if to validate the new car’s stature as a thoroughbred, the company did its cold-weather testing in Minnesota. Great choice. Just as impressive as the fact Suzuki went to Death Valley, Calif., for hot-weather tests. Maybe Suzuki would have listed all-wheel drive as an option anyway, but after testing in Minnesota winters, there was no question about it, and AWD is a mere $1,250 option on all models with the automatic CVT (continuously variable transmission). Otherwise, the Kizashi is powered by its 2.4-liter 4-cylinder turning the front wheels.
Suzuki has never made a midsize car before, and it knows how ferocious the competition is in that segment. Maybe it was fortunate timing, but Suzuki comes in just as nearly all its midsize rivals seem to be abandoning the segment. Every company has tried to make its midsize cars more fun to drive, but the only ones to have mastered it seem to be BMW, Audi, and maybe Mercedes and certain models of Volkswagen. Gene Brown, Suzuki’s vice president of marketing, said, “Normally, you have to spend some serious money to get a sporty car in that segment. But the dynamic excitement of a German car, the Kizashi has premium handling, premium performance, and premium craftsmanship, without the premium price. We like to say it is a ‘Premium car without the premium.’ ”
I think such mainstream midsize cars as the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Mazda6, all are very good vehicles, brimming with technical excellence and all the newest features, and with enormous amounts of room. It is a measure of achievement that the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu have improved enough to compete with them. But as they all swam upstream from midsize mainstream, I’ve come to appreciate their predecessors more than ever. In the process of growing larger in the last couple of years, to nearly full-size roominess. they left behind the better agility of lighter, leaner vehicles, pretty well abandoning the pursuit of sportiness.
All the better for the Suzuki Kizashi, which fits right in there where those “former” midsize cars were, and will allow all its drivers to be more enthusiastic in a strong, solidly-built 4-door sedan closer to perfect size.
The Kizashi also slides in under those rivals that have gone up over $30,000 in many cases. The Kizashi will start under $20,000 in base form, with a high-strength steel skeleton under its sheet metal, and a potent 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine under its hood. Next up is the SE, with standard continuously-variable automatic transmission and larger 17-inch wheels, for $21,500. Suzuki officials project the SE as the top seller. A sportier GTS with 18-inch wheels is also available. At the top of the line is the SLS, with leather seats and trim, 3-stage heated seats, rear parking assist, and other upgrades, all packaged in for $25,500 — well under the loaded versions of all its competitors.
The Kizashi was introduced first to the automotive media at a test-drive session that started in Raleigh-Durham, and continued as we drove to Virginia International Raceway, and then back. While at VIR, we took the Kizashis out on the road-racing course and ran them through some comparison tests for handling and emergency maneuvers against such cars as the Accord, Camry, Altima, Subaru, and even an Acura TSX, Volkswagen Passat, and an Audi A4.
In every case, the Kizashi handled itself with smooth precision. Or, rather, we handled the Kizashi and were universally impressed with how precise its steering and handling was, and how well it outperformed the other cars. Granted, those weren’t the highest-performance models of the competitors, but the point is, even the base Kizashi is built for high-performance handling, without ever compromising its comfort. Swerving through a slalom of cones, cutting sharply in a sustained-speed lane-change, and going through altered cone-lined sections of the race track all made the Kizashi stand out.
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When we were finished, they cleared the cones off the racetrack and we went out on the track and drove some hot laps as though we were out of our helmeted heads. At 3,250 pounds, the Kizashi’s KYB shocks and multilink rear suspension coupled with the car’s very firm torsional rigidity from use of high-tensile-strength steel, made it stay flat and easily controlled in every race track corner, just as it had in the slaloms and lane-change exercises.
In the U.S., Suzuki motorcycles stand out from road cruiser to off-road, motocross and road-racing jewels of mechanical excellence. Suzuki also builds exemplary outboard motors. Most U.S. consumers barely knew Suzuki even made cars, and if it hadn’t been for its alliance with General Motors, for whom it produced the Geo Metro and the Tracker, almost nobody would know it.
Never mind that Suzuki made and sold its subcompact Sprint in the U.S., even while the Metro was selling at the Chevy dealer down the block. While Suzuki made its 3-cylinder Metro as the best high-mileage car ever sold by GM, the Sprint had a 4-cylinder, high-performance model that car was a blast to drive, and still got fantastic fuel economy.
The only exceptions to Suzuki’s enthusiast heritage might be the rebranded — and fortunately short-lived — Korean-built Daewoos that General Motors allowed Suzuki to sell as the Verona and Forenza for a few years. My favorite Suzuki in recent years is the SX-4, a little 4-door hatchback with all-wheel drive that is the perfect challenger to the harshest winter foul-weather driving, and costs well under $20,000.
Hide Kumashiro, the chief engineer, noted that Suzuki had built a very strong 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine for the SX4, and redesigned it for more power for the Grand Vitara compact SUV a year ago. That 2.4 is refined again for the Kizashi, with variable valve-timing on both intake and exhaust valves, a counter-balancing system to eliminate vibration, a redline of 6,800 RPMs, and 185 horsepower in 6-speed manual form, or 180 horses with the CVT and its steering-wheel-mounted remote paddle-shift levers.
The 3,250-pound front-drive version has EPA estimates of 23 miles per gallon city and 31 highway, with the AWD models at 22/30. Befitting a car Suzuki officials say is the most important in the company’s history, the Kizashi comes with a 100,000-mile warranty, and has a unique all-wheel-drive system with an electronic clutch pack that shifts the power to the axle with the best traction before traction is compromised, operating by computer combined throttle input, steering angle, and the integrated stability control.
Kizashi meets 2014 crash-test standards, with eight airbags, antilock brakes, and electronic stability control, and its durability is enhanced by an anti-corrosion zinc alloy steel underbody, plus a resin cover under the sidesills and door panels. Additional attention to minimize road and wind noise has gotten the Kizashi rankings better than such stalwarts as the Acura TSX and Mazda6, and along with soft-touch paneling and sound-proofing, occupants are treated to premium leather options, backlit instruments, and 3-stage dual climate control. That makes it nice and quiet, so you can converse easily, or listen to brilliantly sharp sounds from the optional 425-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system.
From a design standpoint, first glance at the well-styled Kizashi is remindful of a Nissan Maxima or Altima, only curving in a more compact version. Suzuki officials take great pride in the Kizashi being voted to the final listing for 2010 North American Car of the Year, and they anticipate it will be surprisingly competitive for anyone wanting an elite performance sedan at a comparative bargain price. Suzuki put an unbadged Kizashi on display in a blind public survey, and many observers guessed that it was built by Audi or Acura or some other premium manufacturer. But no, it was built by the car-maker that is “only” No. 2 in Japan’s market, and which hopes to ride in swift comfort onto serious inroads in the U.S. midsize market.
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About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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