Should I buy a Kizashi? General Q's

tigerbangs54 · Wed May 18, 2011 9:41 pm

A few thoughts on trading up from a Civic to a Kizashi: The Kizashi is a MUCH bigger car, and the difference in seating comfort, handling, and power is considerable. The Kizashi sort of slots-in between the Civic and the Accord in size, but is actually a bit more powerful than the Accord, so it definitely feels more luxurious than the Civic, and it's interior materials equal or exceed the quality of what you'll find in an Accord; also, IMHO, the Kizashi has FAR more comfortable seats than any Honda I have ever driven.

You would be moving from a 1.8 liter 4 to a 2.4 liter 4 when moving the the Kizashi from the Civic. Yes, it will consume more fuel, about what you'd get from a 4 CYL Accord. Most Kizashi owners seem to average between 25-27 MPG in an average mix of city-highway driving. Admittedly, not as thrifty as the Civic, but FAR more comfortable. I have also found the the access to the interior through the Civic doors and low roofline is particularly difficult, while the access to the front seat in the Kizashi is quite easy, especially for the tall and fat, like me.

The lag issue seems to vary according to your expectations, and is only an issue with the CVT automatic, not the manual. My personal experience is that the CVT Kizashi is a bit laggy when brand new, but they break in nicely, and the lag has become a non-issue for me at 8,000 miles. There is no question that the CVT's power delivery differs from a conventional automatic transmission, but once you get used to it, it is smooth and responsive, and never jerks when you call for passing power. And believe me, it has passing power! On the freeway, just about any passing maneuver that you try will be accomplished by the slightest push of the accelerator: passing becomes almost TOO easy! There is one fellow on here who complains of lag, but he came out of a Mustang GT...LOL, well, compare a 4 door $23,000 sedan's acceleration to a V8 sports car, and almost anything will feel like it lags, but, if you compare it to the Civic or 4 CYL Accord, it will be deceptively quick and quiet.

The real test is in the driving, though, and I suggest that you drive a car that has accumulated at least 5000 miles before you judge it. The car is amazingly tight, and it performs maneuvers gracefully that would have the Accord floundering into it's bump-stops. The tight, well-engineered suspension and the car's large, high-performance tires take all the slop out of the steering, and driving becomes almost surgical in it's precision. The brakes are also amazing, with terrific stopping power and fade-free operation. In any event, you won't regret your decision.

beastykato · Wed May 18, 2011 10:54 pm

Thanks you have all been very helpful. I'm going to go test drive one this Saturday.

I have a dealer right by me in town and I have actually seen about four or five kizashis in my area.

WESHOOT2 · Thu May 19, 2011 4:10 pm

Don't ignore the new 2012 Civic sedan; it is much nicer than your older one.

AlexRuiz · Thu May 19, 2011 4:34 pm

WESHOOT2 wrote:Don't ignore the new 2012 Civic sedan; it is much nicer than your older one.

The interior is not

Honda (and VW) went cheaper on their interiors.

As the others folks have suggested, take a test drive in the Kizashi.
I think you will love it.

beastykato · Thu May 19, 2011 10:51 pm

If I were to buy a new small car I would probably go with the focus since I get xplan pricing and have 1250 rebate offered to me as well. The new civic doesn't appeal to me at all and I think my gen looks better. Not to mention the powertrain is largely unchanged.

I did sit in a kizzy a while back, which I think I mentioned it felt much more expensive on the inside that any other car I've sat in at the 20-25k price point. That was a major selling point for me

As for VW I like the GTI but I am scared of VW reliablility. Dropping a 2.0T in the kizashi sounds pretty appealing though

.

alohr · Fri May 20, 2011 2:16 am

its all in what you want. i have a 2011 GTS and i love it. Gas mileage is about what everyone else says. I am getting 27 mpg and i too drive about 30 miles one way to work. there is that "lag" on start but I found if I really keep the gas pedal down it doesn't lag as much. it is a nice looking car and has a lot of bells and whistles. Price wise.... mine was 27K and the SLS which is a step above is more. However, the AWD is nice, i live in PA as well and winters are killer! I have not experienced any of the other issues (paint chipping) that were mentioned but one thing I will say is, if you plan on putting XM in your car( i think the only model that comes with it factory is the SLS) I have major reception problems. the antenna is inside the car, which, as I have read on this forum may be the problem. BUT, it was installed by a suzuki dealer and they supposedly called suzuki to see where to put it. 3 trips back to the dealer and it still doesnt sound good. All in all it is very roomy, my 7 year old loves it. I do think it is a good quality car, seems like it is well made, doesnt seem cheaply made. If you haven't bought one yet, good luck.

KIZAWDinKC · Fri May 20, 2011 3:51 pm

I have a GTS AWD CVT. For supposedly having a 185+ HP 4 cyl engine, it does seem a little sluggish. But if a car can't tear concrete up, then I don't care about whether one car is more peppier over another. The gas mileage is "ok". I do 50/50 highway and city driving, and get approx. 24.1 mpg lately. But I'm very light on the accelerator as well. Being that the car is an AWD, it's going to get about 1-2 mpg less than maybe the FWD will. (I'm guessing)

What i like best about the car is that nothing about it feels cheap. It's got a solid ride. It's got the interior bells and whistles that you'd normally have to pay $$$ for extra on other cars. Other than seeing the "S" on my steering wheel to remind me, I feel like i'm going down the road in a small mercedes/bmw/audi coupe.

My only complaint about the car is that I wish it got a few more mpg better because gas prices are almost $4.

tigerbangs54 · Sat May 21, 2011 5:12 pm

I find that my gas mileage is very dependent on my driving style. On a previous trip to Boston on the Mass Pike, I ran like a demon: 85+ mph all the way (90 miles) I managed only about 23.5 MPG on that trip. Yesterday, I made the same trip with the cruise control set at 70 MPH, and managed 29 MPG in a round trip, so, a lot depends on your driving style as to what kind of gas mileage you'll get. The big problem for me is that the Kizashi wants to 'run' on the highway, and you'll never hold it down to 70 MPH without using the cruise control! Even when I am being prudent, the speed creeps up so quickly and quietly that 85 MPH seems to be a reasonable cruising speed: not good for my driving license in MASS, where the speed limit is 65 MPH

chazyouwin · Mon May 23, 2011 4:53 pm

I certainly have test driven and rented a number of recent vintage cars with short travel acceleration pedals and high hp 6-cylinder engines. Frankly, I was very encouraged to avoid them. Neck-snapping and dizziness is just not for me. Some of them are impossible to drive gently. Add grippy 4-wheel disk brakes, a plushy suspension, and a extra weight from all the luxuries, and such a car is like a carnival ride. Back and forth, back and forth. Pull over to puke.

4-cylinder Kizashi with the featured lag is a wonderful counterpoint to all of that.

tigerbangs54 · Mon May 30, 2011 12:23 am

One thing about a Kizashi CVT is that it is impossibly to drive any way but smoothly from a stop: it NEVER jerks, and it's very easy to modulate the throttle.