Cars & Coffee: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi gets shown off
2010 Suzuki Kizashi - Click above for high-res image gallery
Another week, another "debut" of sorts at Irvine's Cars & Coffee show. Last week we brought you pics of the Ford Ka and the Dunkel Brothers' luxury 4X4 RV, but this week it was Suzuki's turn to show off something new. Folks from the nearby Suzuki facility brought over an perfectly adequate SX4 and the car we were hoping to see in person, the all-new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi. The lighting was pretty harsh, but hopefully you can see what we saw while there: namely, one handsome sedan.
It could easily wear a VW badge on that grille, but the car we heard it compared to more often was the Saturn Aura, itself a smart-looking four-door. While the Kizashi doesn't seem as big as the Saturn, it's being pitched as an alternative to the even larger Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, VW Passat and Ford Fusion. The fit and finish looked good on this pre-production car, and the Suzuki's interior looked pretty well turned-out. Glancing inside, we might have mistaken it for a 2010 Mazda3. Nice materials and textures, with simple, straightforward controls and gauges.
Although Suzuki has targeted the Accord and Camry with this new segment-stretcher, the Kizashi seems closer in size to the Civic and Corolla in the flesh. It's perhaps a bit bigger than those benchmarks, but at least in this color and in this setting it didn't seem like the large midsize vehicle the class leaders are. At any rate, the Suzuki Kizashi is a good-looking sedan that should drive pretty well if reports are to be believed. It ought to be a bargain, too, with prices starting in the low-to-mid 20s. Hopefully, it won't be a case of too little too late if Suzuki can't draw more customers into its dealerships.
Gallery: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi at Cars & Coffee
Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Rhawb 8:30PM (9/05/2009)
Hey, stop scaring the Suzuki - that thing looks like it just saw the Boogeyman's ghost.
All jokes aside, it's not a bad looking car - I don't think I would pin it as a Suzuki if one passed me on the road.
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cool_ozzyfromkalush 11:12PM (9/05/2009)
I think it looks great, and whats even better is that you wouldn't say its a Suziki strait away... but, why give it such a horrid name... can you see yourself trying to pull a girl by saying "I drive a Suzuki Kizashi." ?
cpiasminc 12:27PM (9/06/2009)
@cool_ozzyfromkalush :
In Japanese, the word "kizashi" means something along the lines of portent, signs, foreshadowing, omens, etc. Presumably, they mean to imply that this car signifies the new direction they're taking. Well, every company says that from time to time, and it'll be a few years before we really get to see if there's any truth to that.
daleam 2:01AM (9/08/2009)
I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks good.
Craig 8:35PM (9/05/2009)
I can't think of a time I've been more disappointed with a production vehicle after getting so excited by the concept it was derived from. It looks like a cheap Jetta. And that's saying something.
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VW GTi 8:46PM (9/05/2009)
If they followed the concept, it would look much better. Kizashi Concept 3 looked a lot better and less upright. It had a better appeal. The production version still doesn't look bad, it just could have looked better.
Yaroukh 9:03PM (9/05/2009)
+1
when they shown the production version I had to check again "what was name of the concept Suzuki presented recently?", I couldn't believe this is the result :(
Jimbo 9:12PM (9/05/2009)
I'd argue that the concept Volt vs. production Volt was much more of a disappointing transition.
Tinu 10:03PM (9/05/2009)
So now we have 3 cars that look like each other.
1) VW Jetta
2) Toyota Corolla
3) Suzuki Kizashi
So now when I see one of these triplets coming, I will have to wait until I can clearly see the logo to determine which one of them is it.
Jimbo 12:49AM (9/06/2009)
Tinu: maybe that's why they made the "S" badge so big.
Mike7 8:35PM (9/05/2009)
It does look nice and less melted-down-Jetta-like in these pictures. I'm not sure I'd buy it over a Mazda6, but it does seem like a good, solid effort from Suzuki. In the profile shot, it does look a bit too upright and conservative for my taste. I think they should have been a bit more risky and gone with a slim and sleeker design.
One more thing, the "metallic" trim on the dash. It looks nicer than the typical silver plastic, or is it just the lighting?
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VW GTi 8:46PM (9/05/2009)
I like the car until I get to the trunk lid. It reminds me of the BMW 7 Series. Other than that it looks like it could be a winner.
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RB26rox 8:37PM (9/05/2009)
This car doesn't seem "suzuki" to me but damn this car does look good.
Aside from its looks, i hope the performance is enough to match the looks. Can't wait to test drive this when it hits the dealerships
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Paul 8:40PM (9/05/2009)
in the side shot, it looks very "buff" (if thats the word) for being a small car.
i agree though, it could easily be mistaken for a vw or mazda. suzuki is finally getting on the path to making better cars. hopefully it'll be reliable to boot.
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pentachrism 11:35PM (9/07/2009)
While I like the car overall, upon looking at the side profile shot particularly around the c-pillar I think it seems to resemble a Sebring.
Jason G. 8:41PM (9/05/2009)
Although Kizashi's styling is nothing original or stand-out, it's a very handsome sedan. The proportions, creases, and seams are very well done, from all angles.
Still, it is duly noted that Suzuki is brave to bring a new vehicle into an over-crowded segment... during an industry low point. So I'm guessing this car has some knock-out performance or price advantage that will wow critics & reviewers and lure buyers away from every other $20K-ish competitor.
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PJ 10:01PM (9/05/2009)
With a 2.4-liter Four as the only engine choice, and pricing in the low to mid $20Ks, I'm guessing not. In any case, the US market doesn't respond well to "'tweener" compact midsize sedans; that's what sunk the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique and the first two Nissan Altimas, among others.
I love the mini-Passat interior, definitely Suzuki's best to date, and this car will probably do well in the Euro and Asian markets (where this size of sedan is its own segment).
Jimbo 12:06AM (9/06/2009)
A 3.6 L V6 (shared with GM like the 2.4 L I4) will arrive just after launch and a hybrid model (probably using GM's next-gen BAS) will arrive about a year later. The V6 in a tweener-sized vehicle like this with optional AWD would be very sporty.
Patrick 11:17AM (9/06/2009)
It has the advantages of maintaining reasonable roof height as far back as the rear passengers' heads, as well as being closer in size to the Ford Fusion than the Camry or Accord.
I believe there's a market niche there.
Jimbo 1:05AM (9/07/2009)
Size-wise, it is nearly spot-on with the Acura TSX. Unlike the TSX, the Kizashi offers AWD (and looks better IMHO). If it can capture a fraction of TSX shoppers, Suzuki will be happy.