Kizashi Club

Howdy. Just bought a 2012 Kizashi SE last weekend. What a great car! Also have a 2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. Yes I will have to admit my Spec V is quicker and handles the turns better, but wow the Kizashi rides amazing. Such a smooth ride, and is still quick enough. The way the Kizashi looks and rides just seems so classy to me. Will post pics later

Hey bigjim, welcome. Glad you like your Kizashi...a lot of passionate owners here, so send those pics.....

Welcome to the Kizashi family.

Welcome.

I know what you are talking about with the SE-R Spec V as that is the top performance trim of the Sentra. I came from a 2.3 liter Mazda3 so I can relate to the fact that a car like the Mazda3 and Sentra SE-R would be a bit more nimble and faster, but that is mainly due to lighter weight. In comparison, the Kizashi is much heavier, but due to the materials that add refinement.

While cars like the SE-R and Mazda3 would be more fun and go-kart-like compared to the Kizashi, the problem is also that they are more go-kart-like. The Kizashi is far more refined in both noise insulation and ride quality compared to the Mazda3 and I imagine it would be the same for the SE-R. The comfort of the seats and suspension dampening is also a huge difference with the Kizashi being leagues better.

While the Kizashi is slower and heavier, it is not that slow and definitely is one of the best handling family midsize sedans out there. I completely agree that the Kizashi has classy looks which can't be said for cars like the Mazda3 and Sentra, IMO.

Welcome.

An upgraded rear sway bar (and decent tyres) make a huge difference to the lower spec Kizashi's handling. Like night and day difference for very little outlay.... Then see how the Kizashi compares.

Thanks for all the welcomes. What I really like about this car is I hardly ever see one. And I spend my entire day out on the roads. Also I drive a tow truck for the toll road authority here, and I have never towed a Kizashi, so that says something about reliability. Sure there arent a lot of them out there, but there isnt a bunch of lambos, Ferraris, or Bentleys out there either.....but i have towed a few of them broke down. Hell I tow atleast one range rover a week. Doing my job you quickly learn what cars are dependable and which arent.

upgraded rear sway bar? You mean the higher specced US versions come with a better rear sway bar? any idea how much it costs and whether I can get it here in India?

IshaanIan wrote:upgraded rear sway bar? You mean the higher specced US versions come with a better rear sway bar? any idea how much it costs and whether I can get it here in India?

Murcod is in Australia and I believe he has the Whiteline rear sway bar. Whiteline is from Australia.

In the US, the GTS and SLS received the Sport trimming in 2011 and got a 10mm suspension drop. This has helped the handling. Not sure if Suzuki did anything to the rear sway bar though for the Sport models.

bigjim350 wrote:Thanks for all the welcomes. What I really like about this car is I hardly ever see one. And I spend my entire day out on the roads. Also I drive a tow truck for the toll road authority here, and I have never towed a Kizashi, so that says something about reliability. Sure there arent a lot of them out there, but there isnt a bunch of lambos, Ferraris, or Bentleys out there either.....but i have towed a few of them broke down. Hell I tow atleast one range rover a week. Doing my job you quickly learn what cars are dependable and which arent.

Yeah, European cars are the least reliable, especially luxury and exotics. It was well known that before VAG obtained Lamborghini, the cars barely ran properly. You basically needed an Italian mechanic to come with the purchase of the car. When Audi bought them, they instilled German standards to the Italian brand.

British cars are beautiful, but known to be unreliable.
Land Rovers are a joke in terms of reliability. They consistently rank among the poorest in reliability and they aren't cheap either. While their offroad prowess is commendable, Toyota basically took over when they introduced the Land Cruiser and the Hilux. These Toyotas have both amazing offroad ability and stellar reliability.

KuroNekko wrote:

IshaanIan wrote:upgraded rear sway bar? You mean the higher specced US versions come with a better rear sway bar? any idea how much it costs and whether I can get it here in India?

Murcod is in Australia and I believe he has the Whiteline rear sway bar. Whiteline is from Australia.

In the US, the GTS and SLS received the Sport trimming in 2011 and got a 10mm suspension drop. This has helped the handling. Not sure if Suzuki did anything to the rear sway bar though for the Sport models.

Yes, mine is Whiteline; Road Race also make an upgraded rear bar.

I've been wondering if the "Sport" suspension package includes an upgraded bar? Anyone care to crawl underneath and measure it with some vernier calipers?