Suzuki Terminates Production of The Grand Vitara and Kizashi

Information regarding future changes to the Kizashi. Press releases regarding the car and motorsports related topics go here.
KlutzNinja
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Ronzuki wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:23 am It's good to reminisce? It's nice to hope?
But the guy made a remark about Kuro’s post from years ago, as if that aspect of the conversation, which was already concluded, was still ongoing... Just seemed a little weird coming out of nowhere.
I’ve been noticing some older threads being dug up by people just posting info almost randomly, not really contributing to the thread or any discussion in said thread. Maybe bots? I don’t think that’s quite the case here, though.
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KuroNekko
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I personally don't mind old threads being dug up, especially on a site like this with relatively low activity. It keeps conversations going and allows for updates on a topic.

As for the point on the Grand Vitara now, I agree. It would be a strong contender if Suzuki updated it yet kept true to its original intentions. The offroad and overlanding trend is booming and we see even CUVs like Subarus getting lifted and kitted out. The GV and other Suzuki SUVs would be great for those who want a smaller SUV they can use everyday but actually has the offroad capabilities closer to real 4x4s than CUVs with AWD. I often go on adventures here in the Southern California deserts and mountains and drive out there in my girlfriend's Chevy Equinox AWD. While the car has proved to be quite capable for most of what I need it to do that the Kizashi never could, I often dream of having a real offroader to really get out to the remote places that require a true 4x4 of ideal dimensions. I sometimes look at Suzuki SUVs on the used market but most have way too many miles or were abused/neglected to consider seriously as a purchase.

As for the Nissan Xterra, I think we can be quite hopeful especially since Nissan finally has a new Frontier; which the Xterra was based on. The Japanese brands have been rather snoozing on the overlanding/offroad boom while Jeep released a next gen Wrangler, brought in the Gladiator, and have other newer products and capable trims like the TrailHawk. Ford has done a lot by releasing the all new Bronco and Bronco Sport. Meanwhile, Toyota has basically been selling the same vehicles from years ago but they sell well so I guess there isn't much motivation to change them. The 4Runner still sells well despite the ~15 year old tech with the NA V6 and 5 speed auto. Toyota also has the RAV4 Adventure and TRD but reviews aren't too great on their actual offroad performance over other RAV4s and rank them below Subarus. Subaru seemed to jump on the trend as much as they could but in the end, their vehicles aren't really for the rough stuff. Despite their once-venerable Montero and Montero Sport, I think Mitsubishi is still in a comatose.

So yeah, now would have been an ideal comeback time for Suzuki who really catered to the small but actually capable SUV market. Their new Jimny showed they weren't going to change the formula much but as we know, those aren't available to Americans and Canadians. I still hold hope that Suzuki and Toyota will collaborate on making a small true 4x4 SUV for the global market.
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Ronzuki
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KuroNekko wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:18 pm I still hold hope that Suzuki and Toyota will collaborate on making a small true 4x4 SUV for the global market.
Ditto.

I miss my damn Samurai. Had I not modified it beyond being street legal, I'd still have it, except, the body rot at the tub's frame mounting points behind the seats would have caused it to fail state safety inspection. Jimny would be the perfect replacement.
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KuroNekko
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Ronzuki wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 1:13 am
KuroNekko wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:18 pm I still hold hope that Suzuki and Toyota will collaborate on making a small true 4x4 SUV for the global market.
Ditto.

I miss my damn Samurai. Had I not modified it beyond being street legal, I'd still have it, except, the body rot at the tub's frame mounting points behind the seats would have caused it to fail state safety inspection. Jimny would be the perfect replacement.
You don't think the Jimny is a bit small for the USDM, crash test performance aside? I'm hoping for something bigger than the Jimny but still small, simple, and powered by a 4 banger, but making more power than the Jimny's mill. The main reason being that the Jimny isn't suited to run well on America's extensive highway/freeway system at higher speeds. I also want to see it spec'ed basic so people can build up or keep it low-key. A manual trans option is also highly desirable for this kind of offroader (hence the Wrangler, Bronco, and Tacoma are all offered with 3 pedals). I'm hoping Suzuki and Toyota collaborate for something to be a new FJ/Grand Vitara replacement vehicle given the void for both makers.
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KlutzNinja
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The Car & Driver hands-on impression of the Jimny from the other year is pretty damning as to why it wouldn’t cut it in the US these days. It’s a great off-roader, has tons of personality and charm, and looks awesome on the outside, but that’s literally it. On-road performance/comfort, overall chintzy cabin, fuel economy, a fairly high price for what it is, emissions, safety, and 0-60 MPH in ~12 seconds (not good for highways, as Kuro mentioned) means it’s absolutely unfit for the American auto market and what’s allowed to be on sale. And I’m saying this as someone who likes the Jimny. It’s just realistically not cut out for mainstream American sales. Maybe for park ranger duties, off-road courses, or zoo safari vehicles and the like, lol, but that’s it. It would have been fine a long time ago, I’ll admit.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a3 ... mny-drive/

I, too, hope Suzuki and Toyota actually put their heads together to develop something like what Kuro said, because so far it seems like they’re just rebadging each other’s vehicles and calling it a day. Kind of a waste of potential at this point. The Suzuki versions of Toyotas have been selling in dismal numbers; not sure about the Toyota versions of Suzukis, though. At least when Subaru and Toyota collaborate, there’s some shared engineering in the BRZ/FR-S/GT86 and slightly different looks. The upcoming Subaru Solterra, which from what I understand is Toyota-developed, at least will look (marginally) different (probably) than the Toyota bZ4X that was officially revealed in all its “glory” yesterday. The name is weird, but it stands for “beyond zero,” for anyone wondering, and more such vehicles will soon join it. The Suzuki Swace, meanwhile, is literally just a Toyota with a Suzuki badge. The Across, Suzuki’s version of the RAV4 PHEV (a solid vehicle, BTW), has a unique front fascia, and that’s it. I’m reading that it’s pretty expensive and the warranty isn’t as good as Toyota’s lol.
Last edited by KlutzNinja on Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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KlutzNinja
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Ok so I meant to edit my previous comment and accidentally quote-replied to myself :lol:. Whoops. Maybe that’s karma for being a little too harsh on Suzuki here. I wouldn’t be surprised if some here thought I’m being a Suzuki hater with some of my posts, but the truth is I want them to succeed and am disappointed that they don’t seem to try very hard. The Kizashi was a great attempt with the budget Suzuki had, but everything else has felt like they’re shooting for being decent, not great. They’re definitely not the only automaker guilty of this, of course. And to clarify how I feel about the Jimny, it has a lot of things going against it, but what it does well, it does exceptionally so.

What I was going to add was that I wish the Swift was also brought back, but I suspect it would also fail crash tests. It’s pretty lightweight, from what I recall, which usually means it crashes poorly nowadays. And that’s not even considering the sub-compact market in the US has been dying for years. A shame Suzuki didn’t sell it when they were still over here.
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The thing about Suzuki is that they never really made vehicles intended for North America unlike most other Japanese car companies. The closest thing was the Kizashi but even then, it was a global vehicle sized on the smaller side of the midsize family sedan segment than most USDM rivals. The XL-7 was their biggest vehicle was that was heavily reliant on General Motors so I don't consider it a real Suzuki like the Swift, Jimny, Kizashi, etc. When the Kizashi failed to succeed in North America (and really, everywhere), Suzuki doubled-down on small cars mostly intended for the JDM that they could sell in other Asian countries with minimal adaptation and costs for market compliance. This is the main reason I am almost certain Suzuki will never return to the United States. They simply don't make cars really suited for here anymore.

The other reason is becoming more apparent in the recent years: electrification of vehicles. It's quite clear that in the next decade or two, personal vehicles will transition to mostly electric vehicles or at least mostly hybrids that will largely use an ICE as a generator. Suzuki and other makers like Mazda and Subaru know they can't go about the future on their own so are partnering up with one of the big 3 (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) for the inevitable future of producing electrified vehicles. However, while the consumer demand in Europe, Japan, China, North American, etc. will inevitably shift, other less affluent and developing nations will rely on ICE longer, I think. These nations are also the ones in which smaller and cheaper vehicles like Suzukis are popular. I think Toyota is interested in a partnership with Suzuki for this reason and Suzuki likely needs Toyota for its future in developed nations that will certainly transition out of ICE soon. My hope is that Suzuki and Toyota collaborate on a 4x4 for the global market (including the US and Canada) before such vehicles become obsolete in the next decade or so. I really think now is the time with the SUV craze but the Japanese companies have been moving so slowly to offer new SUVs and trucks.
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Ronzuki
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KuroNekko wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 6:52 pm
You don't think the Jimny is a bit small for the USDM, crash test performance aside? I'm hoping for something bigger than the Jimny but still small, simple, and powered by a 4 banger, but making more power than the Jimny's mill.
Nope. All I'd need. And hopefully with a price tag that would lend towards buying two. One stocker for DDing, and one to replace my Off-Roader with. When we purchased or very first Samurai Hartop in 1986, I heard all of that crap about tiny this and small that back then as well. Whatever. I wasn't paying a fortune to own dependable reliable 4WD transportation that yielded 30mpg running a carb. It was the only vehicle my wife and I had for 2+ years. Was never in a grage for anything other than inspections and to have the Cat replaced under warranty. We went everywhere and anywhere in it. And I mean anywhere. And, in ANY weather or road conditions. While others were sitting on the snow and car choked 'highways' in King of Prussia and Norristown one lovely evening, taking hours (as in 6-8 or more) to make an hour commute to get home, peeing in soda bottles, I was driving along the unmolested shoulders, plodding along steadily to pick up my wife and continue the journey home. The wise-cracks started to trail off after its capabilities were becoming recognized. It was plenty fast enough to be in the right lane on the highway. Besides, who's driving 'fast' anywhere these days? Congestion, traffic lights, cops., brain-dead idiots waiting for their devices to tell them what to do next. Having 140mph speedometers in modern day vehicles is frigging hilarious to me.
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Ronzuki, your experiences with your Samurai remind me a lot of my first vehicle: the Suzuki Sidekick JX. While it was rather austere and slow, it really just went anywhere anytime and had no major issues. It was the Suzuki experience that had me all about the Kizashi when I learned of it despite being such a different type of vehicle. However, the core values of true Suzukis are evident in both: Dependable and capable while keeping things rather simple and low cost to provide an excellent ownership value. I see this in the two Suzuki motorcycles I've owned too.
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KuroNekko wrote: Mon Nov 08, 2021 7:16 pm Ronzuki, your experiences with your Samurai remind me a lot of my first vehicle: the Suzuki Sidekick JX. While it was rather austere and slow, it really just went anywhere anytime and had no major issues. It was the Suzuki experience that had me all about the Kizashi when I learned of it despite being such a different type of vehicle. However, the core values of true Suzukis are evident in both: Dependable and capable while keeping things rather simple and low cost to provide an excellent ownership value. I see this in the two Suzuki motorcycles I've owned too.
The above ONLY applies to the vehicles w/ Japanese VIN plates on them in IMHO. Traded that first Samurai in on a loaded 4-door Sidekick in 92. And yes, it was rather austere and slow, but gave no trouble, went everywhere, anytime, and never cost me anything other than basic maintenance. After that, a very long hiatus until the SX4s came along. Wife liked them, so we went and had a look at a black one she saw. I opened the door, saw where it was built, and bought her first SX4 in 2008. The Kizsashi was a huge departure from typical zuk, but they did it justice.

Again, we can only hope some Toyota collaboration brings them back to the U.S. in some form. I'm a Toyota guy as well, so that would work for me.
Ron

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2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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