Kizashi Club

formerreda3 wrote: Best attributes--handles very well for a sedan, quiet, well put together, terrific stereo,
Worst attribute--not enough sensation of speed allowing one to drive too fast
Great gas mileage with regular--30 mpg over first 600 miles driving 65% highways; 35% city streets/country roads.

Agreed. The stereo is excellent, although the USB iPod controls are terrible. The connection puts the iPod into some kind of sync mode so you can't select songs directly from it, you have to use the radio controls which have about a 3-5 second delay between tracks.

Handling is good. I took it up to my folks place which is up a winding mountain road. With AWD on icy/packed snow roads going uphill it felt like the road was almost dry. That day alone made me happy with my decision to buy the car. Coming down was easy as well - paddle shifters helped keep the car in the correct gear to kept me from going flying off the edge of the mountain.

formerreda3 nailed it on the "slow" feeling. My wife and I were on the highway doing 65 and passing traffic, but it still felt like I could get out and walk faster. Between the going faster than it feels and the CVT not "shifting" its pretty easy to hit 80 MPH on an on-ramp and not even realize you're going that fast. Speeding tickets might be a problem if you have a lead foot.

formerreda3 wrote:Having owned the six speed manual GTS for only two weeks, I can only give you my initial impression.
First, the car is rock solid; second, it handles beautifully; third, it is quiet; fourth, the Rockford Fosgate system is terrific; fifth, the heat comes on unbelievably quick which is no mean feat in New England; sixth, vision is great all around; seventh, power vs. gas mileage is more than adequate; eighth, plenty of room front and back; ninth, the best ideas from Audi were incorporated into the car (lane change turn signal causes the blinker to stay on for three blinks; individual heat controls for passenger and driver).

1st: Agreed. Rock Solid is a good description. No rattles, squeaks or anything like that. Its quiet (for the most part) and just a solid, comfortable ride. Not what you expect from a Suzuki.

2nd: agreed so far - I haven't really taken it out and beat it up yet. Its only got 400 miles on it, but the AWD system handled twisty, icy roads like a champ. Best drive I've had up that mountain yet.

4th: Minus the iPod controls. BT to my iPhone for music is also quiet and gets confused a bit - losing sound. Sound however I can't complain about!

6th: The huge mirrors and huge pillars make winding mountain roads at night a little tough. Visibility around left hand corners from the drivers seat was rough when you're keeping an eye out for deer in the dark.

More to come....

Great info guys.

I wish my dealer would get one so I could go drive it. I'll probably have to hold off on buying one for awhile right now though... I'm not 100% sure my job is stable at the moment.

Sure would be nice to have something with AWD. Last weeks blizzard kicked my car's ass, and it still isn't good around town. With my luck I might get to buy one sooner than later if I get nailed in an intersection because my tires won't grab.

They pushed the snow up 7 or more feet at every corner so it is impossible to see what is coming until the nose of your car is in the road.

Anyway keep the info coming it defiantly good stuff. Thanks for sticking around.

Moto wrote:I hadn't seen anything about VW trying to pull suzuki from the US. Would you mind posting the link? VWs are a bit expensive for my taste. I thought they only had like 20% share? If Suzuki pulls out it will more likely be that their sales numbers are just too low.

Here it is...I read it from the AutoObserver site posted by Michelle Krebs of Edmunds Inside Line.

"The story in the U.S. is vastly different, however. In fact, a VW takeover could mean an end to Suzuki auto sales in the U.S., as VW doesn't need any more small-car competitors in the U.S. market, even one tracking to move less than 40,000 vehicles this year. Volkswagen might choose to take over any Suzuki showrooms in desirable retail locations and fold the struggling auto-sales operations."

http://www.autoobserver.com/2009/12/vw- ... stake.html

Thank You.
Hopefully they will wait a few years to totally pull out of the market. I expect we could even see a few re-badged VWs with suzuki guts out of this deal.

I hope this is just pure speculation...so far, it's just a single analysis I found anywhere by an auto journo (Ms. Krebs)...hope she's dead wrong, really.

The way I see it, VWAG would let Suzuki (just like Skoda in EU, etc) continue selling cars in the USDM alongside itself (VW, Audi, etc)...and would be slotted below that of VW.

Also, I would somewhat see the Kizashi possibly be positioned/sandwiched price point-wise between the Jetta (and the planned lower priced NCS/Jetta) which is above it, and below that of the Passat (also for the lower priced NMS/Passat).

The SX4 on the other hand is already priced/positioned below that of the new Golf...the upcoming next gen Swift would be slotted below that of the SX4. The planned mini VW Up possibly below that of the Swift...

And where would the planned USDM Mk V Polo 4dr sedan be...well, production won't commence until 2012 in Puebla, Mex., a good two years away. Who knows if that car would even materialize for the US since that announcement (Car & Driver) was made in 7/09...months before the Suzuki purchase.

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09 ... n-car_news

Heck, it might even be canceled and instead the next gen SX4 hatch/sedan would probably take it's place, using it's (Mk V Polo) platform...

My 2 cts..

I have attached the Autoweek article on the Kizashi if you missed it. It finalized my decision to buy the car when they said "[a]t the end of the day, we walked away thinking that the Kizashi is the best handling and most composed FWD sedan we've driven." Certainly high praise from my favorite American car magazine!
Copy and paste it at: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009101 ... /910169992

I know we are not the first in the nation but the first in Kansas to purchase this amazing sedan! I had taken my 08 Grand Vitara in for service and while I waited I test drove the SE model and much like the other post it sold itself! We bought it this evening (dec 29th) and couldnt be happier! It rides so smooth, it is roomy inside and just awesome to look at! Suzuki got it right with this one!!

Great, You'll have to let us know what you think after a few weeks of driving.

What part of the country do you live in? I haven't been able to find one within 500 miles of here.

Man I really like these. went to my suzuki dealer for an oil change and they didnt have any on the lot but had one in the back that they just got in. they let me look all in it and stuff but couldnt test drive it yet.
man they look good.

Just parked our new Azure Grey Kizashi SLS AWD in the driveway about 45 minutes ago, 10pm.

Traded in a down payment and our beloved 2007 Nissan Frontier CC LE which only had 18.2K miles on it, A.K.A. equity, which made our deal pretty sweet at the Suzuki dealership in Olathe, Kansas.

Apparently, Kinji Saito was in our car for a ride to lunch and back just hours before we came down and bought it.