Our 2009 Suzuki SX4 is gone. Read the wrap up and then come back and see our parting shots, and don't forget to add your own!
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 20,174 miles
If the Italians were still doing business in the U.S., the cars would be just like this Suzuki. And I mean that in a good way.
Michael Jordan
Executive Editor, Inside Line
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"Hey Mike, the SX4 has a check engine warning light on."
--Check the gas cap.
"Hey Mike, the SX4 has a brake warning light on."
--Top off the brake fluid.
"Hey Mike, the SX4 has an airbag warning light on."
--That part is on order.
"Hey Mike, the airbag warning light is on again."
--That part is still on order.
"Hey Mike, the SX4 has a headlight warning light on."
--That's because your headlights are on.
"Hey Mike, with all these warning lights, has the SX4 ever broken down or left anybody stranded?"
--Nope.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager
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Techno toys alone can't make a terrible car great, but they can make an otherwise mediocre car much better. Just knowing the SX4 had navigation and hands-free telephone technology made it easy to grab the keys for a weekend.
Karl Brauer, Editor-in-Chief, Edmunds.com
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Am I the only person on staff who liked the Suzuki SX4? It had its issues but I thought it was cute and practical. It had good visibility, a helpful and removable navigation system, clear and easy-to-use climate controls, comfortable cloth seats. It was nice.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
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"If there was ever a car that truly needed another 50 horsepower, our SX4 was it."
Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor
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This was a stout little AWD runabout that seems tailor-made for members of the just-married set who must deal with snow in winter. Well built and functional, the only thing it really lacked was decent power and a full-coverage dealer network. The former has been improved for 2010, but the latter probably limit the SX4's appeal to specific geographic hot-spots.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing
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Voted "Vehicle Interior Most Likely To Retain Fast Food Smell."
Kelly Toepke, News Editor, Inside Line
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"Likeable but not game-changing. That pretty much sums up my feelings on the SX4. It was better than our long-term Ford Focus but not as likeable as our long-term Honda Fit. A 2010 SX4 with a manual transmission, a different color and SportBack suspension tuning would be noticeably more fun to drive I think."
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com
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I didn't fit in it. So I didn't drive it.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com
slickersdrip says:
10:08 PM, 04/ 1/10
Is it just me, or was this car just randomly lost in January? I guess everyone got bored?
lmbvette says:
05:08 AM, 04/ 2/10
It's a neat little car. One could certainly do worse for the money.
bodyblue says:
05:57 AM, 04/ 2/10
I thought it was a neat little rig......
"It was better than our long-term Ford Focus"
How? The Ford had zero issues. got better MPG, had SYNC and was faster........the Suzuki was maybe as good as the Focus but I cant see how it was better.....more likely it was different.
bankerdanny says:
08:09 AM, 04/ 2/10
The SX4 is a prime example of why AWD, a weak engine and a mediocre slushbox are a bad combination. I am on record as in favor of automatics in most cars, but clearly this one needed the MT and front wheel drive, because the 4-speed auto and power sapping AWD did the car no favors.
The Mini, Fiesta, Fit, Civic and Cruze have raised the price of admission to at least 5 speeds if not 6 in your small car automatics. Time for Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia to join the party.
fuhteng says:
08:10 AM, 04/ 2/10
Why were there no parting-shots for the G8 GT?
bankerdanny says:
08:11 AM, 04/ 2/10
Which they are with the CVT, as noted in the wrap up. Although my limited experience with a CVT (a rental Mini) was not particularly impressive.
hybris says:
08:26 AM, 04/ 2/10
+1 bodyblue
If Suzuki was willing to part with a mere handful of MPG and put even a small turbo I think this would have done much better. Also I'm willing to lose a little bit of cargo space for a 20 gal fuel tank.
Beyond that the SX4 was a brief happy memory that won't really stand out in any way shape or form.
audisport says:
08:27 AM, 04/ 2/10
I can not even get past the baby blue paint. I don't care if this thing had 300 hp and handled like it was on rails, because it is baby friggin blue.
technetium99 says:
09:04 AM, 04/ 2/10
Overall, most posts about this car can be summed up with, "Damning with faint praise."
brn says:
09:37 AM, 04/ 2/10
Agree with bodyblue. In what way is this better than the Focus. It's slower. It gets worse mpg. It's no better equipped. It does have awd.
Why take a shot at the Focus?
firstwagon says:
11:12 AM, 04/ 2/10
Wheather or not it's better then the Focus depends what you are loking for in a car. If you have to drive in the snow it's way better. If you need to carry large items it's way better. If you like baby blue it's way better. If you want to stand out from the crowd it's way better.
The only change I would make is to lose the 4 speed auto for a 5 speed. That would go a long way towards fixing the speed, mileage (and thus range) issues. Would make it cheaper and more fun to drive too.
"Overall, most posts about this car can be summed up with, "Damning with faint praise.""
I don't agree. I would say they reluctantly had to admit it was a better car then they thought. I think at first they only looked at the numbers (like most people) and went in with a negative opinion.
The good thing about a long term test is you get to see there is more to a car then test numbers. (same story with the Challenger)
bradyholt says:
05:41 AM, 04/ 3/10
hybris,
I don't think they could have comfortably sacrificed too much more gas mileage. It was already on the low end of small cars.
bc1960 says:
08:16 PM, 04/ 4/10
How would a different color would make it more fun to drive? Ice blue is not my favorite shade, but it's not even close to "baby blue." And black or grey ones go no faster nor handle any better.
awcmtl says:
06:07 AM, 04/ 7/10
The "Read the wrap up" link seems to be broken
papoon says:
04:10 PM, 04/ 9/10
Here is a working link to the wrap up:
http://www.insideline.com/suzuki/sx4/2009/2009-suzuki-sx4-long-term-test.html