"What kinda car is that?"
"It's a Suzuki Kizashi"
"Suzuki? Like the motorcycles?"
"Yep"
"I figured it was one of those new Korean cars....looks good"
In one form or another this sort of banter happened three times in three days, and included references to the four-wheel-friendly Samurai, and the always expected "They make cars?".
The last Suzuki I was in was a video shoot for the 2008 SX4 Sedan, and this is a giant leap forward.
Last weekend I was lucky to log a little over 700 miles in our 2010 Suzuki Kizashi. My wife and I were set to stay in Big Sur, CA for a couple of nights, and the route was set. Up the grapevine to the 58 west, and eventually Hwy 1 north up the coast.
I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. The clutch felt right, as did the the supportive seats. The iPod interface was easy to learn and control. I had enough headroom and my cooler AMAZINGLY fit in the trunk. It always had enough power to pass, and it handled the curves well. Even though I drove a tad bit aggressively, we managed a 27 mpg average.
Of course we had fun. Anytime away and worry-free is both revered and cherished - and the Monterrey Bay Aquarium was pretty cool, too.
But anyway - back to the car. Twenty miles from home and another banter starts -
"I like this Kizashi"
"I do too, but I wouldn't buy one"
Are questions of Suzuki's future, resale values, and service locations clouding my vision?
John Adolph, Senior Video Specialist
mtaylor3 says:
03:02 PM, 01/31/11
Hate to sound snarky, but haven't we covered Suzuki's future, resale values and lack of dealers in about a bazillion other posts?? Although all three are legitimate concerns, they shouldn't be the only factors in making a decision.
kevinlch says:
03:47 PM, 01/31/11
I always don't get it why people care so much about resale value on at 20-30k car. It's not like an exotic car that loses half of its 100k value in a couple years.
Yea, the next door stupid Camry/ Accord worth a couple hundred (or max out $2K) more when the sell, but so WHAT? I wouldn't trade YEARS of pleasant driving experience with that tiny bit of money
ocramidajzj says:
05:24 PM, 01/31/11
Toyota should just take the Kisashi and rebadge it as the next Corolla. Maybe then Toyota will finally get a worthy subcompact and Suzuki's excellent product will actually get into the hands of some people. Hold it...maybe it's better to euthenize the poor Kizashi rather than give it over to the company were good cars go to die slowly. That's a great angle BTW.
mtaylor3 says:
02:57 PM, 02/ 1/11
Given Toyota's recent problems I'm sure they'd find a way to screw up the Kizashi and make it really ugly and dull (that would be quite a feat). Toyota's resale values are probably gonna take a dive due to all the recalls, and both Toyota and Honda are in desperate need of new design teams. Maybe if a few people actually researched cars (like most of us here), they'd see there are better options than the same old same old that has passed for good from both Toyota and Honda for several years now. My objections to the Sonata's styling have probably been noted, but I'd still pick a Hyundai/Kia over any Honda/Toyota. But in my opinion, the Kizoo tops them all. And for Kevinlch...I agree. Actually liking the car you have, as opposed to owning the car everyone else has, is worth a possible drop in resale value to me.