What car are you coming from?

Non-Suzuki related topics. Anything can go here.
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Galileo
Posts: 62
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:13 pm
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

My last car was a 2007 Saturn Aura XE. Great car but the lease was up and I decided not to buy it. I test drove an '07 Acura TL, the new Buick Regal, and the Chevy Cruze before deciding on the Kizashi. It was the most engaging car of the group to drive and I knew it was the right fit for me. The Kizashi is my 8th car and my first import.
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2010 Kizashi GTS
6-Speed Manual
Vivid Red
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Kind of an old thread, but I am new here so here it goes.
I am coming from a 2005 Mazda Mazda3 S Sport. It's got the 2.3 liter with a 5 speed manual. Bought it used back in Nov. of 2008.
I still have it as I need time to prep it for sale. I also need to register the Kizashi.
The main reason I decided to get the Kizashi was because the Mazda3 is just not that comfortable overall. The seats are rather firm and not well padded (I have the leather seats). The ride is also very much on the firm side and road noise is excessive. It's a car where the emphasis was on the handling more than comfort. Most cars struggle with the ideal balance between handling and comfort. I read an article on the Kizashi in a Top Gear magazine where the author stated that the Kizashi was rare in that it nailed down the comfort/handling balance which was usually a sacrifice one way in a car at its price point. I personally agree. The seats in the Kizashi are a world of difference from the Mazda3. The ride is composed and comfortable, yet the car handles very well.
Overall, the Mazda3 is probably sportier. Its got a punchy 2.3 liter engine and also weighs less. It's fun to drive, but I wanted to step up into something that was more refined. I guess that's the best way I could describe it. The Kizashi is much more refined in every way without giving up much in terms of the sporty nature.
The newer Mazda6s are more like Camrys than ever and the Legacy is also following suit. They got bigger and more clumsy. I really wanted something that drove sporty, yet was comfortable and wasn't excessively bigger than it needed to be. The Kizashi has been criticized for its small midsize body, but it was a selling point to me. A car shouldn't be bigger than it needs to be if the goal is to be sporty and handle well.
I feel you, Moto, about the direct injection, but all my research showed me that it may be a while. With the VW fallout, the engine development appeared to be stalled. It did not look like Suzuki was going to update the car too soon either. Turbos and a redesign seemed a few years off too. In the end, I ended up finding a deal on this Kizashi that was jaw-droppingly good. I jumped on it and ended up with a car perfectly spec'd the way I wanted it even down to the aftermarket HIDs. I can't believe I found one used exactly the way I wanted it. I had even told myself not to get a 2012 GTS as they deleted the moonroof and power driver's seat. I did not want a SLS as I preferred cloth seats. I did not want a 2010 because I wanted the sport fascia and lowered suspension.
I basically went from lurking around autotrader just to lust after the car to actually buying one in a matter of days.
I will miss my Mazda3 as I am going to part with it rather suddenly, but I am far more excited for my future with the Kizashi. I am actually proud to drive such a rare car and display why it's the cure for the common Camry.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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NiteRider
Posts: 179
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:22 pm
Location: State College, PA

Never saw this thread! My first car was crap then got sporty, then rugged, then refined. :)

First Car (Highschool) - '88 Mazda 323. Bought at an auction, beat the crap out of it for a year and sold it for more.

'88 RX7 Turbo - Loved this car and the way the rotary engine sounded. No back seats but managed to squeeze someone back there. Such a fun car to drive until I wreaked it!

'90 Porsche 944 Turbo - Another great car to drive, that baby turned on a dime! But it was high-maintenance and was putting some serious dents in this college boy's pocket. Had to sell it.

'89 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo - Had all the bells and whistles. But that was it's weakness as that car consistently had so many electrical issues.

'04 Jetta Lease - Nothing special about it. Solid car but boring too.

'06 Jeep Liberty Renegade w/ All terrain gear. - I called it the beast cause it would go through just about anything you could throw at it.
'12 Kizzy GTS - Azure Gray
'10 Jeep Liberty
Northernstar
Posts: 590
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:49 am
Location: Surrey Canada

Came from a 04 Camry V6, kinda missed the V6 power and comfort in the Camry lol
Atlas
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:07 am
Location: Kentucky

I came from a 2000 Nissan Altima. The car was garbage but it was my first car, so naturally I loved it. The timing chain on it jumped and destroyed the engine though, at 158xxx. :(

After that, I inherited my moms 2000 Toyota Avalon (She graduated to a 2011 Ford Taurus). That car was almost painful to drive. It was essentially numb. Floaty ride, effortless steering, giant cabin... perfect for the geriatrics.
vanclot
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:17 am

comng from a cadilac catera sport
tbogan
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 9:22 pm
Location: Bangor, ME

I know this thread has been dead a little while but I like the topic so maybe we'll get it going again.


1989 Olds Cutlas Sierra Int'l Edition - My first car, was my Grampy's and I loved it. Velvet seats with bench front and back. Chrome luggage rack on the trunk. Had computer chip issues that took it out of commission from time to time and it eventually saved my life when I got merged into a guardrail by and 18 wheeler on I-95 by a careless driver.

1984 Honda Prelude - Great car, just under 250K when I moved to DC from Maine and my Dad said it never started again after I left. Fun to drive and once even folded a group of five friends into it dding home from an out of town nightclub. Never needed more than general maintenance. Had a distributor cap gap at one point that would cause it to stall randomly. Had to run red lights all the way back to campus one day with my buddy, that was interesting. His girlfriend wouldn't ride in it!

1998 Ford Taurus SE - First car I ever bought myself. Big ol girl who looked real good all cleaned up. You either loved or hated this body style. Made some long trips up the east coast for holidays. Comfortable and reliable and being fresh out of school and broke I didn't maintain it nearly well enough.

2005 Ford Focus ZX3 SE - Bought when Ford was doing family pricing. Great little commuter and fun to drive in the way a go kart is. The "Red Frog" as we call it has been my wife's little commuter after about a year (she had to give back her racing orange VW GTI, now that was a little rocket). Super reliable, has never needed more than basic maintenance. IMO they've gone a little too far away from what made the focus a great little car.

2006 Honda Accord EX-L - Practical buy to replace the Taurus. Was finally making a few bucks and bought this new holdover as my buddy was a Honda F&I guy and told me what I could really buy it for. Had a strange issue where the wiring from the transmission to the computer was coated in a soy based material that rats in baltimore mistook for food. Had to pay for replacement twice and also enjoy the sight of a dead rat on my tranny. Very nice car but dull. Wrapped it around a tree during a bad snow storm shortly after moving back to Maine. Didn't feel too bad about it interestingly enough.

2004 BMW 330XI - Loved driving this car. Tested it and fell in love. As far as driving dynamics it's just hard to beat a BMW. Planned to have a long time (at least to 250k). Took great care of it proactively replacing problem parts and maintaining it meticulously. In the end it was like a bad girlfriend who was amazing in bed. It was costing me a fortune and I just didn't want to put up with it anymore. Still miss that low end torque and the orient blue metallic paint job.

2012 Kizashi SLS Sport - Probably the only car I could find to make me let the BMW go. For under $30k getting AWD, a near luxury interior with the best seats I've ever experienced, great looks, sporty handling, something few people drive, and low maintenance cost is fantastic. Really enjoying the car and what I've given up in HP I've gotten back in a larger trunk, a more comfortable ride, and less worry.
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Apostol
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:44 am

2009 Toyota Corolla, Sold it and got the Kizashi as my second car. Best buy that I have ever made, I love my Kizzy
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Speed_Racer
Posts: 383
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 7:58 pm
Location: Salt Lake City

I bought an '86 MR2 in 2004 to replace my first car ('91 Escort GT). I drove it thru HS and college, and it came with me when I moved from NH to UT to NV (first real job) and about 26 states in between. The t-belt went this summer '12. Faced with an expensive repair and it's first emissions testing (NH has none, NV has strict ones), I let it go for an '86 Trooper II.

That was a quirky, super useful ride but dangerously slow (0-60 in probably 20 seconds with the wind at my back). It kept breaking parts and rode the tow truck twice in six months. After probably $1000 in repairs (remember, 6 months and less than 4,000 miles), it decided to blow a transmission bearing and destroy itself.

I love old cars, but not as a primary vehicle. So that's when I bought the Kizashi. Finally...something reliable with a warranty!

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'12 Kizashi,'03 SV650,'04 DL1000
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Moto
Site Admin
Posts: 1299
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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Neat cars, but expensive to fix...
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