The new model Kizashi has lots of standard equipment and is being hailed as the flagship model from Suzuki.
Suzuki has produced the all new Kizashi which has four wheel drive and is a great fun car. There is only one engine available and that is the 2.4 litre petrol engine with automatic transmission. Suzuki has limited the units in Britain to just 500 and although the price is steep it has a lot of equipment fitted as standard.
This car is not the best drive and fast acceleration makes it very noisy. Using the steering wheel paddles to change gear is a better option than relying on the auto gears to do the job. The model will go from 0 to 62 mph in 8.8 seconds. It corners well with excellent grip and it is good fun to drive.
Suzuki has concentrated on handling as opposed to comfort and the ride is firm but it copes well with pot holes and bumps in the road. The spacious cabin has good head and leg room so tall passengers will be comfortable whether in the front or the rear of the car. Suzuki has made great inroads in reliability and is slowly crawling up the surveys, now lying at 29th out of 35 in the 2013 Driver Power list.
No faults have yet been reported from the Kizashi and there are a host of safety features fitted to the model. The boot is practical with 461 litres of luggage capacity and this can be increased when the seats are folded flat.
This limited run car is only offered in the most expensive edition. But, the equipment included is impressive. Leather heated seats, cruise control, electric windows all round, Bluetooth connectivity and a sun roof are all included in the package. There is an optional extra to buy satellite navigation which has to be ordered and fitted at the factory.
Running costs for the Kizashi are high as there is no diesel option and the petrol engine is thirsty. The model will give 34 mpg which is pretty poor by today’s standards and emissions are also high at 191g/km. This means road tax is also expensive costing £245 each year.
Residual values are not expected to be great. So, if economy is your concern you would be better off looking at what else is around. Yes, the standard equipment level is high and the car handles well and is fun to drive. But, the high running costs may be a step too far for many people.
The fun to drive Suzuki Kizashi has a noisy engine but this can be countered if you buy a set of car mats which will help to reduce the sound both from the engine and from the road. Alternatively, you could always just stick your loudest rock album on full blast whilst driving!
All in all, the Kizashi is a decent vehicle – and certainly one of the better models produced by Suzuki. A little shopping around at other brands and some better cars could be found though.
Written by Arthur Wilson, freelance auto journalist for My Car Mats. You can follow him on Twitter @Ayup_Arthur.
