What color is your Kizashi, & do you have paint chips ?
6 speed manual should be significantly quicker. It has a much better 0-60 time.
Hawkzilla........
I agree, VW reliability was horrible in the 90's and about half of the folowing decade. They realized their reliability problems were creating a major image problem. But they have turned things around for the better as of late and as a whole VW is about industry average. The Golf specifically is reliable, and new models have one of the highest predicted reliability in the compact segment. It is really hard to go by the ratings of these organizations though.
Honda is known for reliability and longevity, yet one of their bread and butter vehicles (the current Civic) has a major flaw. Numerous owners are reporting cracked engine blocks inside of 2-3 years of ownership. I know two people personally who this has happened to. One of them had about a month before their warranty was to expire. And the previous and current generation Accord has brake problems that are being addressed.
We all know of Toyota's problems.
Ford's award winning current Fusion has transmissions that break (it is all over edmunds reviews).
Subaru: the new legacy has many complaining about wheel shake/vibration.
I've read about Rust forming on the just released 2011 Sonata. Their current Elantra has problems also, yet is rated high by CR, etc.
Suzuki has an image problem they too are trying to shake, and just like VW, they are proving (most recently) that they can build a reliable, quality made car.
It's a crap-shoot no matter what you buy, but the few problems I've read about pertaining to the Golf are minor. A few years back I'd have never even considered a Suzuki or VW. It takes some research and an open mind to change attitudes about brands. More importantly, specific models from a given brand can differ greatly in many areas. That is more important than the reliability/quality of the entire lineup of vehicles (because I'm only buying 1 vehicle, hehe).
I agree, VW reliability was horrible in the 90's and about half of the folowing decade. They realized their reliability problems were creating a major image problem. But they have turned things around for the better as of late and as a whole VW is about industry average. The Golf specifically is reliable, and new models have one of the highest predicted reliability in the compact segment. It is really hard to go by the ratings of these organizations though.
Honda is known for reliability and longevity, yet one of their bread and butter vehicles (the current Civic) has a major flaw. Numerous owners are reporting cracked engine blocks inside of 2-3 years of ownership. I know two people personally who this has happened to. One of them had about a month before their warranty was to expire. And the previous and current generation Accord has brake problems that are being addressed.
We all know of Toyota's problems.
Ford's award winning current Fusion has transmissions that break (it is all over edmunds reviews).
Subaru: the new legacy has many complaining about wheel shake/vibration.
I've read about Rust forming on the just released 2011 Sonata. Their current Elantra has problems also, yet is rated high by CR, etc.
Suzuki has an image problem they too are trying to shake, and just like VW, they are proving (most recently) that they can build a reliable, quality made car.
It's a crap-shoot no matter what you buy, but the few problems I've read about pertaining to the Golf are minor. A few years back I'd have never even considered a Suzuki or VW. It takes some research and an open mind to change attitudes about brands. More importantly, specific models from a given brand can differ greatly in many areas. That is more important than the reliability/quality of the entire lineup of vehicles (because I'm only buying 1 vehicle, hehe).
avmustang...
I hear you there, but Suzuki's image problem is mainly based on myth. Suzuki has a very solid rep over seas and is the 2nd most successful company in Japan. I think it's just that they are so scarce here in the States.
I hear you there, but Suzuki's image problem is mainly based on myth. Suzuki has a very solid rep over seas and is the 2nd most successful company in Japan. I think it's just that they are so scarce here in the States.
Kizashi SLS CVT Azure Gray Metallic
every car has issues you are right about that do your thing but the kizashi seems to be a good car and the paint issues dont seem to be a deal breaker but to some i understand how it might but you know what ive been checking mine and i have no chips none at all but i didnt want to say anything because i didnt want to seem like im undermining anyones effort but i dont think theres a problem at all any car could chip from rocks maybe with awd some people drive in certain rocky locations or drive hard and get chips but again that may not be true i have no chips in ny brooklyn streets with potholes driving to work everyday nothing so i dont know good luckavmustang wrote:Hawkzilla........
I agree, VW reliability was horrible in the 90's and about half of the folowing decade. They realized their reliability problems were creating a major image problem. But they have turned things around for the better as of late and as a whole VW is about industry average. The Golf specifically is reliable, and new models have one of the highest predicted reliability in the compact segment. It is really hard to go by the ratings of these organizations though.
Honda is known for reliability and longevity, yet one of their bread and butter vehicles (the current Civic) has a major flaw. Numerous owners are reporting cracked engine blocks inside of 2-3 years of ownership. I know two people personally who this has happened to. One of them had about a month before their warranty was to expire. And the previous and current generation Accord has brake problems that are being addressed.
We all know of Toyota's problems.
Ford's award winning current Fusion has transmissions that break (it is all over edmunds reviews).
Subaru: the new legacy has many complaining about wheel shake/vibration.
I've read about Rust forming on the just released 2011 Sonata. Their current Elantra has problems also, yet is rated high by CR, etc.
Suzuki has an image problem they too are trying to shake, and just like VW, they are proving (most recently) that they can build a reliable, quality made car.
It's a crap-shoot no matter what you buy, but the few problems I've read about pertaining to the Golf are minor. A few years back I'd have never even considered a Suzuki or VW. It takes some research and an open mind to change attitudes about brands. More importantly, specific models from a given brand can differ greatly in many areas. That is more important than the reliability/quality of the entire lineup of vehicles (because I'm only buying 1 vehicle, hehe).
I think the 0-15 may be the ECU set not to light it up from stop with the CVT in order to not stress the CVT. The 5 less horsepower and the added weight should not cause it - and as noted, after 15 mph, it moves OK.freeperjim wrote:Hawkzilla wrote: I'm at 1,700 miles, Azure Gray SLS AWD.
I have had zero paint chips (knock on wood) and only one slow start, which I credited to a young engine that was not fully broken in. Other than that and fighting with the stereo volume fluctuating (which I figured out was a feature I needed to turn off), I have not had any issues with my Kizashi.
CONS (on my car)-
Poor acceleration from 0-15mph (after 15mph it has no problem)
Engine noise during acceleration can be annoying
Seats are a bit stiff (but I'm guessing that will improve as they break-in)
PROS -
Style inside and out (it really is a beautiful car)
18" Wheels
Ergonomics are spot on (and I'm 6'2")
Tons of extras (almost too many)
On-the-fly AWD/FWD switch (though make sure your wheels are straight when you do this)
Trunk space
Gas mileage (I got 30mpg at 80mph... impressive)
Fun car to drive (suspension is top-notch and it corners like it's on rails)
All things considered, this has been a great value for the price. No buyers remorse as of yet.
Thanks, Hawkzilla! (quite a screen name, there!)
Re: your CONS:
1. Speed 0-15 I assume is partly due to the lower HP from the CVT and the extra weight of the AWD system? Since I am focused on the FWD 6MT, should I expect acceleration to be noticeably quicker?
Thanks again for your feedback - much appreciated!
If that is the case, then it would be surprising, as my last car (Nissan Morano) had a CVT and it would take off quickly enough from a dead stop with its CVT (which had 130,000 trouble free miles on it when I traded it in).
AvMustang,
Thank you SO much for all the work you did for all of us. I had given up hope they would do anything! Who knows what they will actually do but at least now they can't say they didn't know about it. It's too bad Suzuki didn't address this problem earlier for you because it is a really fun, nice car to drive. But I am glad you're not stuck in the same position I am. I have had a couple new cars with warranties and both vehicles I probably had to take into the dearler around 3 times during the whole warranty period. I now have three separate warranty issues (the paint...the stereo...and my turn signal) in less than three months of ownership. I'm starting to believe I just got the worst Kizashi ever. I give my car pep talks telling it how much I love it and to just stop acting up but it hasn't listened yet....
My husband was against buying Suzuki (besides their motorcycles, we own two) but I convinced him it would be okay...geesh was I wrong.
Mine was manufactured October 09. So hopefully they did just fix the problem with the newly manufactured ones. And to everyone else that thinks I'm just a careless driver or it's where I live....
This isn't acceptable to me. Even if I lived back east on a dirt road and I LOVED to tailgate semis every day this would be excessive. This is just the very front, they're all over the hood...the roof...the rear doors. A clear bra would've prevented some of these but I refuse to spend the money when the rest of the vehicle looks bad too. I got the car a little over 2 months ago, I wonder what it's going to look like in a year. I really hope your vehicles are okay and from the sounds of it, not every vehicle has this problem. I'm just saying for me and the other people in this predicament, it's a real issue and it IS Sukuki's paint quality, not where we live or how we drive.
Thank you SO much for all the work you did for all of us. I had given up hope they would do anything! Who knows what they will actually do but at least now they can't say they didn't know about it. It's too bad Suzuki didn't address this problem earlier for you because it is a really fun, nice car to drive. But I am glad you're not stuck in the same position I am. I have had a couple new cars with warranties and both vehicles I probably had to take into the dearler around 3 times during the whole warranty period. I now have three separate warranty issues (the paint...the stereo...and my turn signal) in less than three months of ownership. I'm starting to believe I just got the worst Kizashi ever. I give my car pep talks telling it how much I love it and to just stop acting up but it hasn't listened yet....
My husband was against buying Suzuki (besides their motorcycles, we own two) but I convinced him it would be okay...geesh was I wrong.Mine was manufactured October 09. So hopefully they did just fix the problem with the newly manufactured ones. And to everyone else that thinks I'm just a careless driver or it's where I live....
This isn't acceptable to me. Even if I lived back east on a dirt road and I LOVED to tailgate semis every day this would be excessive. This is just the very front, they're all over the hood...the roof...the rear doors. A clear bra would've prevented some of these but I refuse to spend the money when the rest of the vehicle looks bad too. I got the car a little over 2 months ago, I wonder what it's going to look like in a year. I really hope your vehicles are okay and from the sounds of it, not every vehicle has this problem. I'm just saying for me and the other people in this predicament, it's a real issue and it IS Sukuki's paint quality, not where we live or how we drive.
To your point Hawk, Suzuki's bad reputation for cars was due to cars like the Verona and Forenza. Those cars were NOT Suzuki manufactured products. They were Korean made and rebadged as Suzuki. (Daewoo/GM actually made them). The cars were....well, bad. Suzuki's quality ratings for cars actually produced by the company in Japan, like the SX4, are very good. Overseas, absolutely wonderful reputation. They have been the top selling car in Japan for years.Hawkzilla wrote:avmustang...
I hear you there, but Suzuki's image problem is mainly based on myth. Suzuki has a very solid rep over seas and is the 2nd most successful company in Japan. I think it's just that they are so scarce here in the States.
mine was manufactured in oct 09 as well...we shall see what Suzuki decides to do...
I was at a dealership in California yesterday for oil change, and they were so frustrated over the sales of the Kizashi. The latest sales figures from April were something like 1400-1500 units sold to this date, a far cry from their stated goal of 1000 units per month.
If i wasn't so successful in gaining new interest in the car, I'd make sure to at least keep the owners who have already invested into the company satisfied.
I was at a dealership in California yesterday for oil change, and they were so frustrated over the sales of the Kizashi. The latest sales figures from April were something like 1400-1500 units sold to this date, a far cry from their stated goal of 1000 units per month.
If i wasn't so successful in gaining new interest in the car, I'd make sure to at least keep the owners who have already invested into the company satisfied.
aragon20 wrote:AvMustang,
Thank you SO much for all the work you did for all of us. I had given up hope they would do anything! Who knows what they will actually do but at least now they can't say they didn't know about it. It's too bad Suzuki didn't address this problem earlier for you because it is a really fun, nice car to drive. But I am glad you're not stuck in the same position I am. I have had a couple new cars with warranties and both vehicles I probably had to take into the dearler around 3 times during the whole warranty period. I now have three separate warranty issues (the paint...the stereo...and my turn signal) in less than three months of ownership. I'm starting to believe I just got the worst Kizashi ever. I give my car pep talks telling it how much I love it and to just stop acting up but it hasn't listened yet....
Mine was manufactured October 09. So hopefully they did just fix the problem with the newly manufactured ones. And to everyone else that thinks I'm just a careless driver or it's where I live....
This isn't acceptable to me. Even if I lived back east on a dirt road and I LOVED to tailgate semis every day this would be excessive. This is just the very front, they're all over the hood...the roof...the rear doors. A clear bra would've prevented some of these but I refuse to spend the money when the rest of the vehicle looks bad too. I got the car a little over 2 months ago, I wonder what it's going to look like in a year. I really hope your vehicles are okay and from the sounds of it, not every vehicle has this problem. I'm just saying for me and the other people in this predicament, it's a real issue and it IS Sukuki's paint quality, not where we live or how we drive.
Senegal wrote:mine was manufactured in oct 09 as well...we shall see what Suzuki decides to do...
I was at a dealership in California yesterday for oil change, and they were so frustrated over the sales of the Kizashi. The latest sales figures from April were something like 1400-1500 units sold to this date, a far cry from their stated goal of 1000 units per month.
If i wasn't so successful in gaining new interest in the car, I'd make sure to at least keep the owners who have already invested into the company satisfied.
It will take a while to get to 1,000 per month if they don't do some advertising. The magazines are doing a great job of getting the word out, but there is no marketing campaign. The numbers, according to Automotive News, are around 800 units combined for March and April. With so few dealers and no marketing budget, it's going to be a challenge.
Suzuki has finally begun advertising. They had a ad in Road & Track and I saw there first commercial while watching a Phillis game last week. They also have made a "sport" version (yes, I'm already jealous) that they are releasing in August (check out the link below). I think with the killer reviews and the award it just won, you can bet demand for the Zashi is building quickly!
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/18/firs ... iginal-re/
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http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/18/firs ... iginal-re/
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Kizashi SLS CVT Azure Gray Metallic