2010 Suzuki Kizashi: Wheel Funny

They look like a pain to clean...as much as the ones on my BMW:
http://www.carshine.com.au/Wheels/Wheels%20-%20RONAL%20-%20LS.jpg

@subaru123, I would call them 10-split-spoke (because the spaces between the Vs--or Ys--are deeper toward the hub than those within the Vs), but some manufacturers would call them 20-spoke (e. g., Lincoln calls the machined alloy wheels in the MKZ Sport Package 10-spoke instead of 5-split-spoke).

More important than the wheels is the tire size: 235/45x18. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

That's partly why this car looks so good: meaty rubber on a somewhat small car; always a good visual combination. :)

You're probably right, speeder31!

Thanks for sharing the funny story, Kelly! =Þ She's a keeper!

Kizashi is kind of pleasant to say and rolls nicely off the tongue. I wonder if she gave it the correct pronunciation: ki-za-shEEE, with a strong belly exhale on the last syllable. Now those wheels are pretty ugly, they remind me of 80s plastic hubcaps.

"Kizashi" in Japanese means "sign", as in "signs of (usually good) things to come", so the car is aptly named according to the editors' reviews of it thus far. It's too bad Suzuki couldn't come up with a different (more English-friendly) name for the car in the States, although I guess calling it the "Suzuki Sign" would sound really stupid.

The 18's look good, but I would worry about the ride quality. The tire wall looks to be kinda skinny. I think, 17's could be a good compromise.

I am curious about how this Kizashi will compare to a Jetta/Jetta TDI. This appears to be cheaper - but other factors such as the dealer network and the free maintenance on the VW need to be factored in. I am

Personally, even though the Kizashi looks to be more pleasing to the eye - I am leaning towards the Jetta TDI... in the less ugly, more useful wagon form.

A comparison would be pretty timely. Both cars are about the same size. And not that different in price. There is plenty of Jetta available for around $24K.

Edmunds... are you listening!!

jk243 says:
"It's too bad Suzuki couldn't come up with a different (more English-friendly) name for the car in the States, although I guess calling it the "Suzuki Sign" would sound really stupid."

I disagree. Suzuki is one of the the few (perhaps only?) Asian auto brand that play ups its country's heritage. They're Japanese. They're proud of it. And they're not shy about promoting that aspect. It's not unlike German brands promoting their German ancestry. I think that's good.

britanniarulz says:
"The 18's look good, but I would worry about the ride quality. The tire wall looks to be kinda skinny. I think, 17's could be a good compromise."

18" tires are not the issue, it's the low 45 tire aspect ratio is what causes the harsh ride. If it had 235/50 x18 tires or 235/55x18 tires, the ride would improve.

+1 johnmarco about the unfortunate resemblance to a cheap hub-cap ...

I don't like the way it bulges out like a cheap hub cap. Too bad, otherwise looks sharp.

I like the kizashi name as well.

I like that Suzuki is staying true to it's heritage. At least the name has a meaning, unlike Camry or Corolla, and it's not some seemingly random sequence of letters and numbers like Mazda and Acura use. As for the wheels, in real life they look quite expensive and are not hard to clean at all.

And it does ride hard. I drove Kazashi with both 17inch and 18inch tires. The ride from the 18inch is very hard.

peteb1000 says:
"And it does ride hard. I drove Kazashi with both 17inch and 18inch tires. The ride from the 18inch is very hard."

As I mentioned above: it's the tire's low aspect ratio that causes the hard ride.

The 18" tire is a 235/45x18, whereas the 17" tire is a 215/55x17. It's the 45 vs 55 that causes the ride hardness, not the 18 vs 17.

The thing about big wheels/low profile tires is totally out of hand.

I'm not a big fan of ultra low profile tires on non sporting vehicles. They ride worse, return little if anything in terms of handling at street speeds and are much easier to damage if you hit a pothole.

They are also much more expensive to replace when they wear out.

The overall cost is just too high just to get a look that IMHO is not an improvement.

firstwagon says:
"I'm not a big fan of ultra low profile tires on non sporting vehicles."

Depends on how you define sporting. Judging by what Suzuki has said about the Kizashi, they think it's a sporting vehicle. Plus every road test report I've read about the Kizashi confirms that. The only thing it's lacking is a V6 or turbo option.