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Integrated nav systems are cash cows for the automakers. We've discussed this here before. While you can run to the local Target and buy a perfectly useful portable unit for around two-hundred bucks, clicking the nav checkbox on a car or truck's option sheet will probably run you ten times as much. That's painful. For the 2009 model year, however, Suzuki's looking to give shoppers some relief by making touchscreen nav standard equipment in the four-door SX4 Sport and front-wheel-drive SX4 crossover (the enclosed PR makes no mention of the 4WD crossover, but we're assuming that it also benefits from this). This makes Suzuki the first automaker to offer the feature as standard equipment in a sub-$16,000 vehicle. What a novel concept: using desirable equipment as the carrot instead of the stick.

The flip-up unit, supplied by Garmin and dubbed "T.R.I.P", also delivers Bluetooth connectivity, features live traffic info, helps locate the lowest gas prices, and is pre-loaded with a number of points of interest. The automaker is even launching a social networking-type website where owners can upload and share their favorite routes and places to go. Will standard nav help Suzuki win over new customers? It sure isn't going to hurt. Given that the technology has dropped in price so precipitously, it's probably not even costing Suzuki too much in the grand scheme of things. And if the presence of that nav unit gets some fence-sitting new car shoppers to write out a check for at least $16,000, it's probably worth whatever it cost to integrate it into the base package. Maybe Suzuki's onto something.

[Source: Suzuki]

Click above for a high-res gallery fo the Suzuki SX4t.

When Suzuki launched the SX4, we couldn't help thinking that the oddly shaped hatch had some aftermarket potential. Suzuki seemed to think the same thing and tapped Road Race Motorsports, the renowned SoCal tuning firm, to create a one-off concept for the Chicago Auto Show. Road Race decided that it could do better than just some wheels, brakes, a body kit and a few engine mods, so its created the SX4t, a turbocharged version of the all-wheel-drive hatch that could mark the beginning of Suzuki's ascendancy into the aftermarket.

Road Race fitted a Mitsubishi 16G GT3 turbocharger onto the 2.0-liter four-pot, which delivers seven pounds of boost and increases output to 221 hp and 208 lb.-ft. of torque, a substantial bump over the stock mill's 143 hp and 136 lb.-ft. of torque. According to Suzuki, that should drop 0-60 times to under seven seconds when equipped with the five-speed manual.

More impressive, however, is that Suzuki is giving Road Race its blessing and that could mean that the turbo upgrade, along with plenty of other go-fast bits, could be available from your local Suzuki dealership. The cost of the turbo kit, with all the necessary plumbing, will come in at relatively steep $5,400 when it goes on sale this June. Suzuki estimates that the installation would run between $1,100 and $1,200 at the dealership, but wouldn't say if fitting the kit would affect the seven-year/100,000 factory warranty on the powertrain. While dropping close to $10-grand on an SX4 for wheels, brakes and engine mods might be a tough pill to swallow, it will have to suffice for Suzuki enthusiasts hoping that the automaker would release a rally-inspired SX4.

Hit the jump for the full press release from Suzuki.

Click above image for high-res gallery of the Suzuki SX4 Makai concept

Suzuki was obviously trying to tap into the So. Cal. culture of the LA Auto Show when it tasked Andry Specialty Vehicles to create the SX4-based Makai concept. After lopping off the roof, shaving the door handles and adding a NACA-like duct in the hood, they sprayed down the sedan in orange paint and accented it with the silver rollover hoop that provides another mounting point to attach a set of surfboards. LED running lights add some subtle flavor and 19-inch CEC wheels fill the widened wheel arches that frame four-wheel disc brakes with Rotora calipers.

Although the exterior appointments are cool enough, our favorite feature is inside. Instead of fitting the concept seats – normally an ergonomic disaster – it looks like Suzuki made a trek to their corporate pool, plucked the chairs from around the frosted glass table and welded them inside. The results are equal parts style and functionality that give soaking surfers a place to rest without mucking up the standard cloth seats. It certainly won't score any points in the safety department (nor will the lack of seatbelts), but we'll give them a 6.2 for originality.

***Update: Live pics from Las Vegas added to gallery***

Click image for high-res gallery including new live shots from SEMA by Frank Filipponio

Suzuki's trotting out a new concept for SEMA, and it's based on the new SX4 Sport. Why the SX4 sedan gets the sport moniker over the 5-door will never make sense to us, but we digress. The SXForce is a real driver that's underpinned by a new sport suspension and powered by a 255-horsepower turbo four mated to a 5-speed manual.That's a significant step up from the 143 HP stock unit, which is not at all exciting by comparison. Wild bodywork intended to tie the car into Suzuki's sportbike heritage adorns the SXForce, and while motorcycles don't immediately leap to mind upon seeing it, we won't argue that it's certainly different-looking. In this regard, we don't think the SX4 sedan's notchback look does the concept any favors, as that NASCAR Car of Tomorrow rear end looks somewhat ungainly compared to the profoundly aggressive nose. Orange-trimmed black Enkei wheels fill the cutouts, and an adjustable rear spoiler hangs off the trunklid.

Follow the jump for more, plus the official press release.

[Source: Suzuki]

A number of rumors began circulating the Web yesterday that contend Suzuki is in the process of building a homologation special out of its SX4 AWD hatch to take on the WRXs of the world. The idea was that Suzuki would enlist some of the technology derived from its WRC contender and it would form the basis of an "SX4 Sport," likely packing a 200+ HP turbocharged motor, along with upgraded brakes and a suspension tuned by rally savant Nobuhiro Tajima.

We took all this with a grain of salt when it originally swirled around the 'Net, and after some leg work by our friends over at Winding Road it turns out that the "Sport" is purely vaporware. According to a Suzuki spokesperson, the fact that the SX4 is already in production negates the need for a homologation version since the five-door hatch already satisfies the requirements for competition.

That all said, we'd still love to see Suzuki combine some of its rally-inspired tech with its motorcycle background, and with the new Subaru WRX and the rumored Ralliart version of the Mitsubishi Lancer coming to market, it would face some stiff competition for the hearts and minds of enthusiasts.

[Source: Winding Road]

Click the image above for high-res shots of Suzuki's WRC contender.

Suzuki's newest entrant into the WRC may never grace the gravel if changes in car regulations take place earlier than anticipated. Originally, the new vehicle regulations changes were to take effect in 2012 under the World Rallies Commission's "Vision for 2012" plan. That's up in the air, however, as a competing plan targeted at 2009 would make WRC incorporate modified Super 2000 regs that retain turbocharging and 4WD, while still embracing simplified technology. (The standard S2K regs prohibit electronic driving aids in cars.) Using a revised flavor of Super 2000 might be very attractive to the WRC teams, as the simpler tech could potentially lower operating costs.

Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, head of Suzuki Sport, recently sat down with the automaker's senior execs to mull over the possibility of nixing the SX4's planned entry in October's Corsica rally. According to Autoweek, Tajima even questioned the development of a new car at all "when it will be quite useless in two years time."

[Source: Autoweek]

It's not easy these days to find a brand new car for less than $15,000, and if you're looking for all-wheel drive with that budget, your choices are severely limited. In fact, Suzuki says the 2007 SX4 is the least expensive all-wheel-drive vehicle for sale in the U.S., coming in a buck less than $15,000 with a manual transmission. That's the good news.

Bad news? Suzuki wants you to think of this as a competitor to Honda's Fit and Nissan's Versa, but it ain't quite there yet. Honda's interior quality and handling easily trump the Suzuki's four-wheel power. The Honda and Nissan both win on fuel economy and base price. But then, you still don't have the SX4's all-wheel pull.

Click through to continue reading our take on the SX4.

In memoriam: the Suzuki Forenza and its brother, the Reno, will shuffle off this mortal coil after 2008. Oh, how we barely knew thee – but we're not surprised.

Both vehicles have seen a dip in sales this year, and with the SX4's numbers up over 35-percent for 2007, and a sedan version due out in October, Suzuki obviously had too many vehicles vying for the same buyers.

According to an un-named source quoted by Automotive News, the SX4's market share will continue to expand, with the aforementioned sedan as well as a hatchback model supposedly due in 2009. As for Suzuki's sub-compact offering, we can still expect the Swift to arrive on U.S. shores in 2010, packing a more performance-oriented punch than the SX4, with a convertible version due out sometime afterwards.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

click above image to view a high-res gallery of thew new Suzuki SX4 sedan

Suzuki has been undergoing a revival of sorts lately, and the company rolled out a four-door version of its SX4 today as the first of four new product introductions that are intended to keep the momentum building.

It's not usual to hear a multi-disipline "motor company" invoking the name of other products when talking about their automotive line-ups, but Suzuki was fearless in claiming that it's churning out cars that are the equal of the ferocious Hayabusa and GSX-R1000. We're not quite sure that's the case, as the 2.0L inline-four in the SX4 makes a couple dozen fewer ponies than the aforementioned two-wheelers, but indeed the new compact sedan seems to have been injected with a bit of sportbike DNA. Seventeen inch wheels are standard, as is a 10mm drop in ride height (as compared to its crossover brethern). Dampers from KYB - a name that should be familiar to motorcyclists - are fitted at each corner, and Suzuki claims that the SX4 sedan has handling metrics equal to or better than the highly-acclaimed European Swift.

Suzuki acknowledged that it will not be all things to all people; the good news is that young enthusiasts seem to be its target audience.

Hit up the gallery for live and stock shots of Suzuki's newest family member, the press release is after the jump, and don't forget that there's a lot more New York Auto Show coverage where that came from.

Click image for a gallery of Suzuki's offerings at Geneva

Geneva was a quiet show for Suzuki, as the most impactful vehicle on display, the SX4 sedan, is something we've all seen already. Still, we have to say that as hatchbacks-turned-notchbacks go, we like the way the 4-door looks with its new protruding booty. The SX4 sedan gets the same powerplant as its hatchback brother, but will be offered in a front-wheel-drive config as well. Generally, sedan versions of hatchbacks don't fare so well in the looks department (see Nissan Versa), but between this new Suzuki and the recently-introduced Astra four-door, there's reason to be optimistic that the days of the ugly small sedan are waning. We'll wait and see.

Among the vehicles joining the SX4-door on the stand was the WRC Concept version of the hatch, a Swift Group N rally car, and the Lambo-doored Swift Sport seen above.