Kizashi Club

On other threads there appears to be some disagreement about how the Kizashi performs. Depending on your expectations, and possibly the country you live, the opinions differ.

I live in the UK, where fuel prices are high, and in general horse power is low. Of course, we have high powered sports cars, M5's, M3's, Evo's, fast super mini's, and BMW's with 3.5 + ltr engines. All these cars either cost a fortune, have next to no refinement, or are the size of a shoe box.

I can only compare the Kizashi's performance based on other cars of similar spec, size and price, as well as a percentage of other cars on the road in the UK. Having a reasonable knowledge of a cars performance, I just walked half a mile or so to the end of my road and estimated how many cars would out perform the Kizi. The answer was 2, an M5 and a Porche Boxter.

The KIzi I have has a CVT gear box, which is a second or so slower than the manual. It's 0-60 isn't that great at around 8 seconds, but also isn't that slow either. The top end is around 130 mph, which means absolutely nothing, unless you are on a race track. Where the car excels is where it matters, and that is mid range acceleration. The Kizi can overtake a car travelling at 40 mph at an alarming rate, and in real life that is all that really matters. Flooring the accelerator at mid speeds creates a great sound, the bonnet lifts and the car kicks me the base of the back.

Needless to say there will be people on this site that have owned high powered cars, but how many of them of offer the same refinement, looks, and individuality, at such a great price.

The Kizi is by no means a super car, but it doesn't hang around either !!

paininthenuts wrote: Needless to say there will be people on this site that have owned high powered cars, but how many of them of offer the same refinement, looks, and individuality, at such a great price.

This is what makes the Kizashi special, especially since 2012. While I wouldn't call it a fast car, it's not disappointingly slow either. It's actually decent in speed and power as a 4 cylinder midsize family sedan.

Like I've wrote before, the thing I love most about my Kizashi is that it's a near-Acura TSX that I paid base Toyota Yaris money for.
The value of this car cannot be beat by much out there if you got a deal like I did.

I have a lot more fun driving slow cars fast than fast cars slow. The Kizashi has enough power to be fun. The same amount of "fun factor" in my GTI would land me in prison very quickly

i also love the not-ricey, more-pricey look of the car. I know it's not fast, and don't pretend it is. Same with my even slower SX4. I do think it is adequate power tho, and it's a lot more fun in the twisties than any other car I've owned. almost 3 years driving Suzukis now and they both still put a smile on my face every time I get in them!

bootymac wrote:I have a lot more fun driving slow cars fast than fast cars slow.

This is very very true. I think the Kizashi is a rocket ship, but I drove slow cars for many years. Four three cylinder Metros, then a four cylinder Metro and Swift, Then an Aerio, which I thought was a race car, now the Kizashi.

400K miles with 55 hp
250K miles with 80 hp
100K miles with 135 hp
10K miles trying to hold on to this 185 hp in the Kizashi.

Woodie wrote:

bootymac wrote:I have a lot more fun driving slow cars fast than fast cars slow.

This is very very true. I think the Kizashi is a rocket ship, but I drove slow cars for many years. Four three cylinder Metros, then a four cylinder Metro and Swift, Then an Aerio, which I thought was a race car, now the Kizashi.

400K miles with 55 hp
250K miles with 80 hp
100K miles with 135 hp
10K miles trying to hold on to this 185 hp in the Kizashi.

Up until the Kizi, the highest horse power motor I had owned was 140, and that was a Merc E Class. I have been used to looking for long strips of road before I could consider overtaking. In the Kizi I need hardly any space, flaw the gas, the bonnet lifts, the engine growls and I am away. Unfortunately the digital display that tells me how much it is costing me in fuel, stops me from doing to much overtaking !!

Like I said in the opening thread, the 0-60 isn't anything to write home about, but the Kizi has power where you need it.