Popped in after a few years

[paininthenuts]

My Kizi went July 2015, and I still talk about it to people now. I sold the car after I retired and moved to the coast with my wife. It was my belief that we could get by with one car, so I sold both cars and bought a large convertible in the belief it would be fun and practical. Well, the Vauxhall Cascada was great, quite fast, reasonably well equipped, and being a diesel was good on fuel. Unfortunately one car was wasn't enough, so I ended up buying a Vauxhall Meriva, which I bought at a very cheap price, and is extremely practical. The UK government have decided that after encouraging everyone to buy diesels, they now hate them. In Europe every diesel car has to have a DPF, which means the car has to have a long journey at least every few weeks. This isn't so easy, especially when you live in the country like I do. In fact, I predict that Diesel cars won't even be made for the UK market within 10 years. Already diesel sales are well down on a few years ago, and used prices are plummeting.

I made a decision that it was time to trade the Cascada in before it was worth nothing. I had the car valued at £10,500, which £14k less than it was three years ago, OUCH. It was my intention to buy another practical car, in order I could fit my golf clubs in either vehicle, but my wife still wanted a convertible. My wife went on holiday with a friend, and whilst away I made a decision to buy a car that would be a compromise. A soft top, but one I would enjoy driving myself. I am 60 now, and decided this would be the last time I could make such a decision, so I bought a Fiat 124 Spider. The car is pure fun, and very well equipped. The 1.4 turbo charged engine has a terrific amount of torque and propels the car from 0-60 in 7 secs. That isn't the fasted 0-60 in the world, but it's mid range acceleration is amazing. Whats more, the car goes around corners like it is on rails, and is surprisingly comfortable. I think you will agree that is is visually quite stunning, and looks better than the MX5, which it is based on, and in actual fact is made on the same production line in Japan. It has a sat nav, rear parking camera and sensors, voice recognition system, leather upholstery, and a host of other toys. Here is a youtube link to give you a flavour of the car.

Anyway, hope everyone is well and enjoying their Kizi's, because I know I did !!

[KuroNekko]

Welcome back and good to hear you are doing well. I always enjoy updates from members who once owned Kizashis.
Interesting that you moved on from the Cascada but not surprised to hear why. Diesel is certainly in its swan song for consumer passenger vehicles, even in Europe. The VW TDI scandal made the fuel rather notorious but there's more to it than polluting emissions. Diesels emits carcinogens at a much higher concentration than gasoline exhausts and developments in EVs, PHEVs, and even gasoline combustion have made diesel's advantages less and less competitive. While some newer diesel models are said to be coming to America (like from Mazda), I think it's the last hoorah from companies that have dragged their feet in the inevitable switch to EVs and electrified vehicles. Even for Mazda, it's a conflicting powerplant as they will be releasing their gasoline compression ignition engines soon which basically work like diesels but with cheaper and more widely available gasoline. Furthermore, despite its scandals and poor build quality, Teslas are gaining huge momentum. Living in California, I see the new Model 3's everywhere now and mixed in with the ubiquitous Model S' and Model X's. EVs have come and are here to stay, having convinced many drivers with their convenience and performance.

Your Fiat is indeed nice though I personally prefer the styling of the Mazda variant much more. I really like Mazda's current brand styling which seemed to debut with the MX-5. However, the main reason to get the Fiat version is the engine as it's a turbocharged Fiat engine that's exclusive to the 124 Spider. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. By the way, is the Spider's trunk bigger than the Mazda's? It's always seemed that way to me but I never bothered to compare specs. I just thought of it when you mentioned golf clubs.

Personally, I'm sticking to my Kizashi for a while. I still love it and my only real gripe with it is the fuel economy which isn't even bad for the generation and is on par with many rivals with powertrains from the late 2000's. It actually got the same fuel economy (US 27 MPG) driving cross-country as my girlfriend's 2007 Mazda3 S with the 2.3 liter engine as both cars made the trip across America last summer. I plan to keep the Kizashi for a long time but it will certainly get replaced by some sort of hybrid, PHEV, or EV in the future. Gas prices where I live now in Southern California are about $3.60 at the very cheapest and some parts already have $4+ prices for Regular. Cheaper fuel sources like Costco also always have long lines and I'm getting tired of the climbing prices and the wait to refuel. The idea of plugging in a car and using electricity for short-range commuting and errands sounds wonderful as an alternative. I plan on getting a motorcycle again for motoring enjoyment and superior fuel economy so that will offset some things but the inevitability of electrification in the future has already made itself clear and evident to me. I simply plan to enjoy my Kizashi until that time comes. If by some bad luck I lose my Kizashi sooner than I planned, I'm definitely going to check out the new Honda Insight. Maybe this time, they finally got it right.

[paininthenuts]

Surprised you think the MX5 looks nicer, as one of the reasons I spent a little more on the Fiat is because I thought it looked prettier. The car also a better every day user than Mazda, as it's suspension is easier to live with. Different strokes I suppose. The Fiat is 5" longer, and the trunk is ten litres bigger than the Mazda, but it won't take golf clubs. I have to use the Meriva for that. Agree with you about the change in fuel policy and may well consider a hybrid in the future. We are paying over ten dollars a gallon here, albeit our gallon is about twenty percent larger, so in reality it's about eight dollars. Our perception of economy and power is quite different here. What you would consider economical we would consider thirsty. My Spider has a 140 bhp engine, whereas in the US exactly the same engine produces an additional twenty bhp. I presume this is because of mpg. The Spider will return an average of about 40mpg and is considerably quicker than my Kizi was, which only produced 24mpg. I loved the Kizashi, but hated the rate it drunk fuel. Unfortunately the manual version never hit our shores, as I am sure it would have been even better to drive.

[Woodie]

Good to hear from you paininthenuts. Gorgeous car, I'm very jealous.

It has a sat nav, rear parking camera and sensors, voice recognition system, leather upholstery, and a host of other toys.

Every word in that sentence is something I specifically do not want in a car. It's fascinating how people's tastes differ.

[paininthenuts]

Good to hear from you paininthenuts. Gorgeous car, I'm very jealous.

It has a sat nav, rear parking camera and sensors, voice recognition system, leather upholstery, and a host of other toys.

Every word in that sentence is something I specifically do not want in a car. It's fascinating how people's tastes differ.

That's strange, because my Kizashi was the best equipped car I have owned. Electric folding mirrors, parking sensors front and rear, voice activation, leather upholstery, electric seats, key-less entry & start, and auto lights etc etc etc. Other than a sat nav, it had almost everything.

[KuroNekko]

That's strange, because my Kizashi was the best equipped car I have owned. Electric folding mirrors, parking sensors front and rear, voice activation, leather upholstery, electric seats, key-less entry & start, and auto lights etc etc etc. Other than a sat nav, it had almost everything.

I think Suzuki wanted the Kizashi to represent different things in different markets.
In the US, the Kizashi was going to be their serious entry into the midsize car segment. This meant that they had to offer a wide range of options and trims ranging from rather basic to near entry-luxury. Hence, they offered everything from the base S with a manual transmission to the SLS with nav, leather, AWD, parking sensors, etc. The car was supposed to be the alternative to the stalwarts like the Accord and Camry to put Suzuki on the list for Americans. I think they were hoping for the kind of success the Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata got in the last ten years.

In the UK, Suzuki vehicles were already better known, especially with their smaller and cheaper models that weren't sold in the US. Hence, I think Suzuki wanted the Kizashi to be an exclusively top-tier vehicle and spec'ed it like an entry-luxury car. Basically a flagship model. It got features not even the top-spec American Sport SLS got like folding mirrors, front parking sensors, HIDs with headlight washers, etc. which are only found in luxury vehicles in the US. The UK Kizashi was apparently also only available as an AWD vehicle which made the base price higher.

Unfortunately from bad packaging, bad timing, and bad luck, the Kizashi failed to catch on anywhere despite being technically praised as one of the best vehicles in the segment to drive. It was such a blow to Suzuki in the US and Canada that they pulled out from these markets in 2012/2013. The Kizashi was supposed to be the car that turned things around and hinted at Suzuki's move upmarket. Kizashi even means "harbinger" in Japanese and it was deliberately named for its purpose to Suzuki. However, it more filled the role of the other meaning; "omen". Suzuki took the Kizashi's failure as an omen of their bleak future in the US and Canada and returned to focusing on small cars in Asia as their primary market. The Kizashi has since been phased out globally given it was really designed for the North American market in mind. This is why it never got a diesel engine.

[paininthenuts]

That's strange, because my Kizashi was the best equipped car I have owned. Electric folding mirrors, parking sensors front and rear, voice activation, leather upholstery, electric seats, key-less entry & start, and auto lights etc etc etc. Other than a sat nav, it had almost everything.

I think Suzuki wanted the Kizashi to represent different things in different markets.
In the US, the Kizashi was going to be their serious entry into the midsize car segment. This meant that they had to offer a wide range of options and trims ranging from rather basic to near entry-luxury. Hence, they offered everything from the base S with a manual transmission to the SLS with nav, leather, AWD, parking sensors, etc. The car was supposed to be the alternative to the stalwarts like the Accord and Camry to put Suzuki on the list for Americans. I think they were hoping for the kind of success the Kia Optima and Hyundai Sonata got in the last ten years.

In the UK, Suzuki vehicles were already better known, especially with their smaller and cheaper models that weren't sold in the US. Hence, I think Suzuki wanted the Kizashi to be an exclusively top-tier vehicle and spec'ed it like an entry-luxury car. Basically a flagship model. It got features not even the top-spec American Sport SLS got like folding mirrors, front parking sensors, HIDs with headlight washers, etc. which are only found in luxury vehicles in the US. The UK Kizashi was apparently also only available as an AWD vehicle which made the base price higher.

Unfortunately from bad packaging, bad timing, and bad luck, the Kizashi failed to catch on anywhere despite being technically praised as one of the best vehicles in the segment to drive. It was such a blow to Suzuki in the US and Canada that they pulled out from these markets in 2012/2013. The Kizashi was supposed to be the car that turned things around and hinted at Suzuki's move upmarket. Kizashi even means "harbinger" in Japanese and it was deliberately named for its purpose to Suzuki. However, it more filled the role of the other meaning; "omen". Suzuki took the Kizashi's failure as an omen of their bleak future in the US and Canada and returned to focusing on small cars in Asia as their primary market. The Kizashi has since been phased out globally given it was really designed for the North American market in mind. This is why it never got a diesel engine.

Amazing how a company so large and employing a media machine can get things so wrong. If nothing else their Vitara , Swift, and Celerio appear to do well in the UK.

[paininthenuts]

Recently purchased a third car I thought people may want to see. Strictly speaking Josephine (my new car) is an investment, although I have already spent the first years profits attempting to get her right. New carpets, new door seals, new water pump, new shock absorber, and a total new new front brake rebuild. She has previously undergone a partial restoration, with a total respray, engine rebuild, and new wheels. I am learning more about her as I go along. The Austin A30 Seven was the first car I ever drove, and to this day I still believe it is the prettiest car ever made. An 804cc engine that produces 28 bhp, in a car that was registered in 1954. What more can a man ask for

[Ronzuki]

Nice little project/investment. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about British automobiles. What does an Austin 804cc engine look like? More pics please. I had some exposure to a TR250 and a GT6, I believe it was, back in my high school days. A H.S. buddy's older brother was unsuccessfully attempting a resto of the badly rotted TR250. And a college friend had the GT6 that he drove cross country to PA from CA and then DD'd it (when it ran) while attending. He began a resto on it after obtaining gainful post graduating employment. Both fun cars to tool around in.

[paininthenuts]

Nice little project/investment. Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about British automobiles. What does an Austin 804cc engine look like? More pics please. I had some exposure to a TR250 and a GT6, I believe it was, back in my high school days. A H.S. buddy's older brother was unsuccessfully attempting a resto of the badly rotted TR250. And a college friend had the GT6 that he drove cross country to PA from CA and then DD'd it (when it ran) while attending. He began a resto on it after obtaining gainful post graduating employment. Both fun cars to tool around in.

The cars you have named couldn't be any different to my Austin A30 seven. The A30 was one of the first cars designed to be inexpensive, reliable, and cheap to run. Although the photos don't depict it, Josephine is tiny, in fact no bigger than the classic Mini. The engine is the first "A" series engine, which is a side valve, and has a Zenith carburettor. The A30 has never been a car that likes to start much, and takes a few cranks to get her going. She has a dynamo rather than an alternator, so battery tends to go flat quite easily. All the brakes are drums, with the rears powered by cable only. Where Josephine stands out is her heater. A heater when she was made cost an additional £9 ($13).