Kizashi Club

Hi guys!

Finally, I'm close to buy a Kizashi Sport 2013 'SLS CVT FWD'.

In Chile, the price is nearly USD$ 1,200 more expensive that USA, and lacks the folowing features. I think I can live with it.

- Heated seats
- Bluetooth (I can install a Parrot system, wich is better, or use a Headset for more privacy)
- Heated side mirrors
- The interior mirror with door control

The rest of the equipment is the same, but in fact removing the ugly side lights on the front bumper, adding front parking assistant, water-cleaning lights on the bumper and and black colored rear windows (Don't know if all these features are on the USA SLS FWD version).

I'm assuming the lower MPG in contrast with my present car (a Mitsubishi Lancer), and it's OK, is much better car. Don't interest in speed or 'sport feeling', but confort on low and high speed and of course, the better fuel economy possible.

I have only two questions:

- How does the USB Port work on the iPhone and the iPod Classic? What functions work and don't? Remember that I will not have Bluetooth, so this is my only way to connect an external audio device due to lack of AUX port.
- How do you think that this actual model last before Suzuki launch a facelift or a major re-design of the car? The Kizashi Sport has been on the market since mid-2010, and I'm planning to keep the car for the next two years. I don't want to buy a model that will stay obsolete in the following months.

That's it! Waiting for your answers!

Cheers!

Jorge.

Researching, I've figured out that the car was launched a short time ago in the UK.

http://www.carevos.com/13723/2012-suzuk ... an-for-uk/

In fact, there's an Autocar.co.uk review for it:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/suzuki/kizashi

The review is not that you can call 'positive', but, we all know how is the car, and doesn't say anything that we doesn't know.

So, the real fact is that the current design or specs for the car will not change, at lease in the short time I think.

Jolo.

As far as we know it should basically be the same car until the end of 2013.

Any information on how the USB port works with iPhone, iPod Classic?

Thank you!

If I recall correctly it worked nicely with my old IPhone 4. You just plug it in and you have access to your music through the dash and wheel controls.

I've had the 4S for ten months but have never tried the 4s using the connector because: (a) I put everything I want on cheap memory sticks in .mp3 format which use the same port and leave them in the car, where I don't need to worry about them being stolen or punished by the weather; and (b) Bluetooth off of the 4s works very well (yes, I know you in Chile can't use this). So someone else will check in on that (if I don't see someone post soon I'll go out and verify that it works).

All right - not sure how they do not provide BT in Chile. Here, the BT is integrated with the Rockford Fosgate. If you don't have that with the USB port, then you might have a different result.

As I didn't see any other replies, I went and tested the IPhone 4S on the USB port. Since I first had a BT connection, I had to turn off the BT on the IPhone. The audio then switched to the IPhone connection, not seamlessly but rather with about a ten second delay. Of course, to get the audio from that source I needed to switch the dash control from (CD -that's where the BT comes in) to USB.

But then the Kizashi's controls worked flawlessly to control the IPhone music through the cord connection to the USB port. The controls on both the steering wheel and the panel allow one to go back and forth on tracks and increase or decrease the volume. You can also set the songs to play randomly or sequentially. I did lose the ability to change the music through the connected IPhone itself.

So I would suspect that you will not have problems with the Chilean version, but you should definitely bring your phone along for the test drive if this is important.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you use the USB port to play music off of sticks (recommended), I believe the USB port will read .mp3 formats but will not directly read whatever format the IPhone uses for ITunes. Through the IPhone itself, of course, you can read that IPhone/Itunes type format. I'm not really an audio guy - I just stick with whatever is convenient, and since you have a different version of Kizahshi, you should check this out yourself.

Thank you very much for your help! It's very appreciated!

I'm really close... but, a couple of days ago I heard a very bad showstopper...

Could be that the CVT in Chilean Kizashi only have 5-speed instead of 6 in manual mode with Paddle Shifters?!

I heard this from a friend that tested the car a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't run to 60 MPH (100 Km/H), but he tried to change the gear with the paddle shifters at a lower speed (don't know how), and according to him 5 was the highest.

It is normal that a low speed the gear doesn't go to 6? Or it should be that this version of the CVT only alow 5-gears?

Anyway, tomorrow morning I'll go to the Suzuki official dealer in Chile and I'll test drive the car in a highway near the store.

Cheers!

Jolo.

The CVT doesn't have "speeds" - its continuously variable. Hitting the paddle shift just "resets" it to a certain ratio, and then it's variable from there.

If you want a manual or automatic, buy a different car. If you can keep an open mind and give the CVT a chance based on it being a superior way to run a car (they are banned in F1 for being too fast after all) then get a Kizashi

Jolo wrote: I heard this from a friend that tested the car a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't run to 60 MPH (100 Km/H), but he tried to change the gear with the paddle shifters at a lower speed (don't know how), and according to him 5 was the highest.

It is normal that a low speed the gear doesn't go to 6? Or it should be that this version of the CVT only alow 5-gears?

As mentioned here, those are simulated gears, not real ones.

Regardless, in manual mode the car does not allow changing into 6th when the speed is below 60 km/h (the rpm would be around 1800 at that speed, with the simulated 5th gear, if I remember correctly). The funny thing is that, when kept in D, the rpm does go as low as possible when driving at 50km/h, for instance.

Try this for fun: drive constantly at 50km/h in D, change to M. You'll see the displayed speed as being 6. Downshift to 5 (or 4) and then try to go back up to 6 (while keeping the speed constant). You'll see that 5 is the max in that scenario.

I can only assume that the D mode is programmed for best fuel economy, while the M mode expects the driver to demand quicker reaction when accelerating, thus the reluctance to bring the rpms too low.

babacu wrote:

Jolo wrote: I heard this from a friend that tested the car a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't run to 60 MPH (100 Km/H), but he tried to change the gear with the paddle shifters at a lower speed (don't know how), and according to him 5 was the highest.

It is normal that a low speed the gear doesn't go to 6? Or it should be that this version of the CVT only alow 5-gears?

As mentioned here, those are simulated gears, not real ones.

Regardless, in manual mode the car does not allow changing into 6th when the speed is below 60 km/h (the rpm would be around 1800 at that speed, with the simulated 5th gear, if I remember correctly). The funny thing is that, when kept in D, the rpm does go as low as possible when driving at 50km/h, for instance.

Try this for fun: drive constantly at 50km/h in D, change to M. You'll see the displayed speed as being 6. Downshift to 5 (or 4) and then try to go back up to 6 (while keeping the speed constant). You'll see that 5 is the max in that scenario.

I can only assume that the D mode is programmed for best fuel economy, while the M mode expects the driver to demand quicker reaction when accelerating, thus the reluctance to bring the rpms too low.

Thank you!

I've tested the car an hour ago, and that's it. My friend doesn't know anything about cars.

I loved it! I'm buying the Kizashi Sport SLS FWD in late September!

See you then.