So why do we remember Suzuki? Aside from dirt bikes and recreational water vehicles, what else is out there? The Sidekick and the Esteem are the only models that come to memory, but what about the mid-size sedan category? Up until now Suzuki did not have a strong presence when it came to offering a product for this class, but times have changed and fortunately so has Suzuki’s prospect toward the mid-size sedan class. Enter the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi SLS, a very competitive mid-size sedan with the proper styling outside and comfort inside. This, much to our delight, is accompanied by a large array of features. At first glance the Kizashi appears more like a European sedan and is a bit smaller than most of the current competition, however, once you get past that you will note that the Kizashi is not only a suitable alternative for most European styled mid-sized sedans, but a great value as well.
Check out the full review on the Kizashi after the jump.
In an attempt to convince you that snowmen are not entirely what you thought they’d be, Suzuki is pitting them against their new Kizashi sedan in a not-so friendly machine versus nature tussle.
The car advertisement, which is actually a follow-up of a prior billboard campaign, features the Kizashi sedan driving along a snowy road when it gets unceremoniously attacked by carrot-nosed, hat-wearing, evil snow men.
In an attempt to rid himself of these snowball-throwing misfits, the driver does his best James Bond impersonation by swerving the car and making the two armies of snowmen collide into each other.
Of course, Suzuki isn’t exactly showing-off the driver’s deft driving skills, but rather the Kizashi’s “best in class standard horsepower” and its” all-wheel drive traction”, which when you put together results in a highly-regarded premium class sedan that can give even the wickedest of weathers a run for their money.
Suzuki announced prices for the 2010 Kizashi sedan which will go on sale in December 2009. Prices will start from $18,999 for a well-equipped entry-level Kizashi S and from $21,749 for AWD version.
The Kizashi SE FWD will range from $21,499 to $22,749 and the GTS version from $22,499. The prices for the SLS will range from $24,399 for FWD M/T to $26,749 for AWD CVT. The top of the line, the CTS AWD CVT will be priced at $24,849.
Standard options will include: leather seats, power passenger seat, heated front seats, auto dimming rear view mirror with Homelink®3 Universal garage door opener, heated outside mirrors, automatic rain sensing wipers, automatic headlamps and rear proximity sensors.
The Japanese automaker Suzuki has recently come out with the Kizashi compact sedan, and what better way to show off what the all new four door can be then to bring four highly modified examples to the world’s greatest aftermarket car show SEMA. The new Kizashi should feel right at home amongst a sea of modified Camaros and Challengers, not to mention a few Mustangs among others. Due to the new Suzuki’s affordable entry price, appeal towards the youth market and visually appealing design make the Kizashi the next great candidate to take over tuner duties from the Honda Civic.
The first modified Kiashi will come from engine tuners Road Race Motorsport and will feature a set of Carbontrix custom bumpers as well as an integrated rear diffuser. The body features a blacked out roof while hidden underneath the skin is a full racing suspension and a set of equally as capable high performance brake setup to complete the road racing theme. The second Kizashi scheduled to appear at the Las Vegas Convention Center comes from Delta Tech Engineering, who added a few bolt ons in order to extract a few more horse power. Their creation comes complete with an RK Sport body kit on the outside with a mix of LED and HID lighting while the interior is made up of Katzkin covered seats and a custom Kenwood stereo system.
Westside Auto Group is coming out with a Suzuki Hayabusa inspired model, complete with numerous distinct touches to emphasize the Kizashi’s sporting lineage. The car is covered in a custom two tone paint scheme consisting of Napa Merlot and Bronzed Amber laid on top of the new body kit as well as shaved and smoothed sheet metal. The speed theme continues with a GT Super Car wing and a Yoshimura exhaust while the Westside Kizashi rolls around on a set of R-Worx 7-spoke wheels. Last but not least, Import Tuner will also be at the show with a hot rod Kizashi with a few high performance enhancements under the hood as well as a few cosmetic upgrades to complete Import Tuner’s own editorial visualization of the new four door sport compact.
After three distinct concept that came before, the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi made its world debut today. The Kizashi is the Japanese car company’s first premium midsize sedan and will go on sale in North America this winter, where it will compete with other import models like the Mazda6.
As expeced the Suzuki’s design is inspired by the three concept vehicles with its bold and aggressive appearance that is accentuated by the 18 inch alloy wheels and integrated dual sport exhaust. For the interior, Suzuki fitted a set of sport seats as standard equipment, an elegantly illuminated instrument panel, leather wrapped surfaces as well as iPod connectivity and optional streaming audio via Bluetooth.
Under the hood, Suzuki placed a 2.4 Liter DOHC inline four cylinder engine as standard equipment that is mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or optional continuously variable transmission. The fun to drive Korean automaker is also working on a few other possible power train combinations that will be offered sometime in the future.
