Kizashi Club

I just came across a few reviews and thought it might be handy reference material for any potential buyers. Feel free to add on further reviews and I'll up this post (and make it a sticky.)

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-re ... ring_auto/
http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-re ... _jetta_118
http://www.suzuki.com.au/http://suzuki. ... -caradvice
http://www.carverdict.com.au/suzuki/kizashi-sedan
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor. ... 1F0003D5FE
http://www.suzuki.com.au/community/news ... dly-choice
http://www.motortrend.com/extra/1012_su ... ewall.html
http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car- ... 2esqh.html
http://performancedrive.com.au/2012-hon ... omparison/

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/new-car- ... 2esqh.html

They favoured the Optima overall which of course I disagreed with, but the Kizashi had the edge in the review when they were testing how they drove (the most important thing!)

I think they should have compared the Optima against the Prestige version myself. It would have taken away the price advantage of the Optima but the Kizashi would still retain "the drivers car" advantage. Personally I think the Kizashi looks better as well but I'm probably biased.
It seems the motoring press in Aus are determined to push Hyundai and Kia for some reason.

Awww! The Optima is soul-less by comparison.......and over designed!

cocos3 wrote:Awww! The Optima is soul-less by comparison.......and over designed!

Agreed! The kizashis one of the few modern cars with a heart in my opinion.

I don't care for the Optima's interior too. Feels cheaper than the Kizashi's and the layout is asymmetrical. Checked it out a few times in auto shows. The one Korean car I like is the Hyundai Azera. The Genesis is nice too. Both are significantly more costly than the Optima and Kizashi.

How could you even think of comparing a Japanese made vehicle with the Korean.
Like many comments made on this Forum the Kizashi has been good to their owners
and also the value. I'm extremely happy with my AWD Sport and would pay a lot more
if I had to. As for the CVT trans. it looks like a lot of manufactures are heading in this
direction Subaru included.

I don't mind the optima's interior so much. I like the driver centric dash, which makes sense for me as I'm usually the only one in the car for 90% of the time. Still, nothing matches the sensible layout of the centre console in the Kizashi. How does the Genesis compare? It's twice the price.

Bulldogjoe wrote:How could you even think of comparing a Japanese made vehicle with the Korean.

Korean quality can be right on par with Japanese and vice-versa. I've seen it in person on a week-long visit to Seoul.