For nearly 20,000 miles under our oftentimes heavy feet, our Kizashi has been averaging 23.8 mpg. The EPA estimate for combined driving is 24 mpg, lending credibility to the agency's now more realistic mileage estimates. Yes, that's 3 mpg less than what a four-cylinder Accord with a manual transmission rates, but still not bad overall considering our Suzook spends plenty of time in notorious L.A. traffic.
My dad's in town visiting and escaping the blizzards back east, so tomorrow we're going to hit the road for a day trip up to Santa Barbara. Maybe we'll take a vineyard tour as my girlfriend and I did some time ago (as seen above). On tomorrow's relaxed cruise, I'm hoping to better the EPA's highway estimate of 29 mpg.
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor @ 18,304 miles
mtaylor3 says:
07:31 AM, 02/ 6/11
My CVT-equipped Kizashi routinely gets 29-30mpg in mixed driving, and I've gotten as high as 36mpg on a road trip to Florida. Noticed a significant jump in mpg at around the 7500 mile mark as the engine was beginning to break-in. I realize these are not astounding numbers, but they're completely fine since the rest of the car makes up for any slight mpg disadvantage. Smiles per gallon > miles per gallon.
phantasmic says:
10:11 AM, 02/ 6/11
Why don't I see more of these on the road?
brn says:
01:27 PM, 02/ 6/11
phantasmic, because all the dealers have closed their doors (around here anyway).
firstwagon says:
01:53 PM, 02/ 6/11
None of our dealers closed (and I heard a new one is opening). However I have never seen one either.
I think the reason is simple... ask any non car guy who is in the market for a new car if he likes the Kizashi and he will say... "the what?".
People who shop for a mid sized car are not the most adventurist. Most will look at the Accord, Camry, maybe the Malibu and that's about it. They aren't going to be out looking for something new and different.
Maybe Suzuki should push a bunch of them into the rental fleet. Let people see how good they are.
mtaylor3 says:
02:53 PM, 02/ 6/11
Checked the online inventory of my closest dealer (I have 3 within 30 miles), and they have a decent selection of about 25 Suzuki models, way more than when I bought my Kizashi last March. Maybe if the dealerships look like they're in business, folks might stop to take a look. When I test drove mine, it felt a little like a ghost town, since there were only a handful on the lot. Not confidence inspiring, but maybe Suzuki has turned a corner? Suzukis are selling like hotcakes elsewhere on the planet. Why doesn't the U.S. market give them credit where credit is due?
tigerbangs54 says:
05:17 PM, 02/ 6/11
The Nissan-Suzuki dealer that I bought my car from in Hartford, CT is breaking ground in March on a new dedicated Suzuki dealership. Many Suzuki dealerships are now doubled-up with other makes, and Suzuki seems to be making a concerted effort to move their dealer sales force up a notch. When I went to the dealer in Hartford, mine was the ONLY Suzuki product on the entire lot. I have to believe that they missed a real opportunity to move a few AWD SX4s and AWD Kizashis with the incredible snowfall that we have had in the northeast this year. I would have thought that cheap AWD cars would have sold like cold beer on a hot day in this weather!