Triggerhappy wrote:I've been spoiled by the reliability and how much car you get for your money with the Kizashi. My car is closing in on 100,000 miles. Only had to replaced the battery, tires, filters, fluids, wipers, and bulbs. Still on the original brake pads and rotors. My dad just bought a RAV4 XLE and the interior isn't as nice as the Kizashi. It also doesn't come with power driver's seat and it stickers for $29,000. Many midsized cars have poor interior materials unless you get the top of the line trim. I want my next car to have adaptive cruise control. I was thinking about the Tesla Model 3 but they will build the most expensive ones first before the $7,500 tax credit expires.
The Kizashi was nicely equipped and it's probably why other cars feel a little less feature-packed. Underdog brands like Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi usually try to sway buyers by offering more features standard or for a lower price than bigger names. Having owned my Kizashi Sport GTS, it will be hard to go to a comparable vehicle without getting into a higher level trim. The thing that my Kizashi has especially spoiled me with is the Rockford Fosgate sound system. I know that from now on, I'll really want the top spec audio system in a car given the bar the Kizashi's RF system has set.
I'm interested in the Tesla Model 3 as well, but PHEVs make a lot more sense for me. If a vehicle can give me about 30 to 50 miles of pure EV range, it's all I need to cover my daily commute. I rather have a gas engine on board for long road trips which I occasionally take for both work and pleasure. While I expect a Model 3 to have more performance, I think a Chevy Volt makes a better vehicle for me in practicality. A PHEV SUV with 4x4 is what I really want.
bootymac wrote:
Ironically I think this is the Kizashi's biggest strength. Simple, reliable and tried and tested technology makes the Kizashi a very owner friendly car. It might not be the most fuel efficient but when you end up spending money elsewhere on the car, the savings quickly disappear.
Real Suzukis have always been very reliable cars that don't need too much to keep them going. However, I don't think that newer cars are less reliable. I think it all depends on what kind of technology they are using. Hybrids have proved to be ultra-reliable and are about the only type of car that seems to not be plagued by CVT problems even when equipped with them. I think it's because the electric motor mitigates a lot of the work it has to do at low speeds. Non-hybrids with CVTs seem to fair a lot worse and even the Kizashi's weakest point is the CVT. While not prevalent, it does seem that some people have had CVT failures in their Kizashis at well under 100,000 miles. If we are to talk about the Kizashi's strength in having "tried-and-tested old tech" it really applies to the 6 speed manual models. I think the CVTs are more of a hit-or-miss and I am certain the manual trans models will outlast the CVT models in the years to come. This is largely true of any car when comparing manual vs. auto, but looks certain for CVTs.
I'm also wary of the wide-scale use of turbos from brands that don't have much experience with them. Ford's EcoBoost has a lot of complaints and low reliability despite good performance. Even German cars which have more experience with turbos have spotty reliability. While I think some cars like the WRX, Evo, GTI, etc. are relatively fine, I'm wary of the small displacement turbos appearing on just about anything given I wonder if their components are built to last from the added stress and heat over the course of many years. I simply don't think a Chevy Cruze's Ecotec is overbuilt to last like a Mitsubishi Evolution's engine. However, I think today's normally-aspirated engines are largely fine and probably are no worse than older designs like the Suzuki J24B in our Kizashis. If anything, it's the ultra-low viscosity grade of motor oils being widely used that concerns me. Brands like Subaru and BMW have recently developed oil burning issues and I think these thin oils may have something to do with it. Much like with CVTs and small displacement turbos, automakers have tried to implement questionable practices so their MPGs and HPs can look higher (at least on paper). The down side is that reliability and longevity suffers and it's one of the reasons why I like electrified powertrains; they're the technology that's proving to actually be more efficient and reliable while also not involved in some deceptive scam.
That being said, I agree with everyone that while the Kizashi's fuel economy is rather low (for today's standards), it's an impressive car that drives nicely and is quite drama-free for most people. I've owned my car for about 3.5 years and it currently has about 49,500 miles. The only real problem I had with it was the premature rear shock failure that was fully covered under warranty. I'm quite happy given my Kizashi is neither a garage queen nor a highway cruiser. It's in grueling city traffic on a regular basis in DC. However, it's these conditions that give it a regular average of about 22~23 MPG.