Kizashi Club

Just to add my two cents, my 2011 SLS did not come with the navigation head unit. Just that same RF that was in the GTS. I can't recall if anyone mentioned auto-headlights as it's one of my favorite features. Also, I thought that heated seats only came in leather.

Also, I believe that the Kizashi was marketed as a very nicely equipped sedan, even in the base model, with things like cruise, power windows and door locks standard.

KlutzNinja wrote:I’ll Suzuki’s reputation wasn’t great considering a lot of its cars were ho-hum rebadged Daewoos and not true Suzuki-engineered vehicles like the Kizashi.

Yes its a shame but this
This was only in US (and 1.. or 2 models for Canada. In the meanwhile there were like 30 models of suzuki that other brands have sold with their own badge. About 20 off those are Suzuki badged Mazda cars but also Mitsubishi.. Toyota? and other brands.

I’m 5’9” or about 176cm in height and for some reason I have to sit pretty far back in the driver’s seat. It may be the pedals being somewhat far forward. I also have to have the steering wheel all the way extended out. The seat isn’t all the way back but it’s enough that I can hardly sit behind my driver’s seat. Do I just have a weird seating preference or something? Lol.
But I digress, the Kizashi’s trunk/boot space has been decent for all my needs, but on paper it’s not up there with something like the American Accord or Sonata from the 2010-2013 age.

I’d like to think the Kizashi was one of the first affordable cars to offer a bunch of niceties standard. Nowadays more cars are doing it, but there’s an unspoken expectation for cars to be nicer these days. Sure, value has been the Korean brands’ specialty, but I don’t know if they offered the same level of nice equipment standard like the Kizashi did. Like I’m pretty sure most mainstream cars did not, and may still not, offer glove boxes that are dampened, felt-lined, and illuminated; it’s usually a combination of two of those features, not all three. Not even all luxury brand cars offer that trifecta. The fact that the rear doors of the Kizashi feature the same amount of soft-touch plastics and fabric/vinyl (I’m pretty sure it’s not leather on the doors - it’s way too thin) as the front doors, whereas some modern midsize cars have hard plastic rear doors, is pretty impressive. The Lexus UX has hard plastic rear doors, oddly enough. Certain areas of the Kizashi hold up well in today’s age; it’s just missing a soft-touch dashboard.

Keep in mind that the Kizashi was intended as a global car. The USDM midsize dimensions are rather bloated compared to European and Japanese dimensions. While the Kizashi straddled the size between compact and midsize in the US, it was comparable to sedans designed in and for other markets like the same-era VW Jetta, Acura TSX (Honda Accord Euro), BMW 3 Series, etc. Even vehicles like the first gen Mazda6 were along the Kizashi's size, which was intended to be a bit more compact and dynamic. Suzuki didn't want to build another longer wheel base family sedan with sedated handling. They wanted a sedan with more compact dimensions, superior handling, and more in touch with sports sedans in driving experience. Unfortunately, many consumers in the US missed that intension or weren't interested in that from Suzuki. Fortunately for us Kizashi owners, we have a rather unique sedan that handles the curves well like a smaller sports sedan while feeling more refined and composed on long highway drives at higher speeds unlike smaller compacts. I personally think this in-between characteristic of the Kizashi is a boon having driven larger midsizes and smaller compacts that really offered one or the other.

Well, I think that what KuroNekko wrote is the best possible description and explanation of Kizashi that I ever read. A bigger compact size sedan that offers great handling, amazing refinement and sound isolation on a motorway with many luxury features at a very affordable price. The most sad thing is that this car is surely something the best that Suzuki until today made, should have been the best selling model and proud of Suzuki and instead happened just the opposite in sales.

Last night I had a nightmare that I sold my Kizashi to a friend of mine for a lower price than I payed it. He didn't have the cash right away so I told him it isn't big deal and that he can pay me when he gets the money.
So anyway I was standning on the street and suddenly I see my friend in my Kizashi driving by, and I just stayed out there wondering why the hell did I sell my Kizzy, and I now I don't have my car that I love so much und I don't have the money either. And I suddenly woke up...

Boy I was glad it was just a stupid dream!

Snow report:
Had to pull the Kiz out of winter storage and actually use it ..in snow..
Wow! Can you say confidence inspiring!? AWD is a dream in this stuff! Just locks on a rail!

Love affair continues with my Kiz!

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KiZoo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:24 pm Snow report:
Had to pull the Kiz out of winter storage and actually use it ..in snow..
Wow! Can you say confidence inspiring!? AWD is a dream in this stuff! Just locks on a rail!

Love affair continues with my Kiz!

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Sorry if you mentioned this earlier, but what make/model tires does your Kizashi have? Are they winter rubber or all-seasons?

I will have to check the model, but they are Yokohama. / 18" wheels
I will check size spec.

My car seems to be a special order vehicle. With leather interior, power seats with 4 memory settings, heated as well plus a few other gizmos.
My SE also came with factory 18" wheels.
The car handles like a BMW. Solid, surefooted and smmmmoooooth.

A smile in every mile.
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KiZoo wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 2:00 pm I will have to check the model, but they are Yokohama. / 18" wheels
I will check size spec.

My car seems to be a special order vehicle. With leather interior, power seats with 4 memory settings, heated as well plus a few other gizmos.
My SE also came with factory 18" wheels.
The car handles like a BMW. Solid, surefooted and smmmmoooooth.

A smile in every mile.
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Some SEs like yours (later model years?) had an available upgrade option. I have a 2012 Kizashi brochure I picked up at a Suzuki dealership and recall seeing this optional package for the SE.

Makes sense.

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