Suzuki is getting in on the free gas bandwagon that Hyundai kicked off this year by launching a "Free Gas for Summer" promotion on all SX4s sold between now and August 31st. Of course, it pays to read the fine print – what the purchaser really gets is a pre-paid credit card loaded up with $270 for the SX4 Sedan or $290 for the slightly less fuel efficient SX4 Crossover.

Whether or not this incentive is really "free gas for summer" depends on how much you plan to drive over the next three months or so. Still, it's a relatively pain-free way for Suzuki to advertise "Free Gas!" and it's still a few hundred bucks off the running costs of the car.

Along with the aforementioned sales promotion, Suzuki has also announced that it's offering $2,000 in customer cash off the price of any SX4 sold with a manual transmission, which we found to be a willing partner in eking out the most performance from the little runabout and much more desirable than the four-speed slushbox when we tested it last year.



Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

For the 2009 model year, Suzuki will begin offering navigation as standard equipment on all SX4 Sport models. Starting at a buck under 16K, the new 'Zook is the cheapest car in America so equipped, and that news was very well received by the media and car shoppers alike. In fact, so positive was the response, the decision was made to begin offering the GPS navigation about six months early as part of the TRIP package. We were intrigued by the idea of a low-cost commuter car coming standard with such a desirable feature, so we decided to procure one such TRIP-equipped 2008.5 SX4 Sport for testing. Is the navigation nothing more than a gimmick to get you into a sub-standard car, or does the SX4 have more going for it than just being well equipped? Read on to find out.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

As previously reported, Suzuki has decided to include navigation on its SX4 Sport and Crossover before you make the first mark on the options list. That will make the $15,999 car the lowest priced car in America to come standard with talking maps. And now they're set to arrive in the SX4 Special Editions that arrive in Suzuki showrooms this month.

To recap, the nav system is called TRIP -- Travel, Real-time traffic, Information, and Play -- and incorporates several Microsoft features. Drivers can get traffic info, weather reports, headline news, stock quotes, movie listings, the lowest priced gas in the area, and directions to 500 nationwide Suzuki dealerships. If buyers go for the expansion module, they'll also get Fodor guide reviews of eateries and nightlife spots. It sounds like an awful lot to do in such a little car, but that's the march of progress.

[Source: Suzuki]

It's been two weeks since our last podcast -- we tried to do one last week, but technical difficulties scuttled the effort. With that in mind, we packed some extra content into Autoblog Podcast #93. It's the usual rollicking good time where we discuss our current Autoblog Garage occupants, hit a few news items like the neo-M1 concept from BMW, Suzuki's content addition to the SX4, and the unveiling of the new Mazda6. Most importantly, we burn a healthy amount of minutes on the new Knight Rider suckfest. We also take a few emails from our podcast at autoblog dot com address. Thanks for your hour and seven minutes!

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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.