A new one from Germany

[Firefly]

when you up to a BMW 3, Audi A4 or Mercedes C you will have a complete other feeling of driving and quality but for almost 50% more money. So in my oppinion the Kizashi ist the best car you can get for less than 30.000€ in it's class.
For shure there is alsways a level up, but you have to pay it.

Totally agree. I've had BMW 3-series sedans for the six years before I got the Kizashi. While there is no sedan that equals the handling of a 3-series, for my budget, I had non-perforated vinyl seats which made my backside sweat, and a rearview mirror I had to flip myself, no Bluetooth, no iPod connection, no backup sensor/camera, no folding rear seatbacks on the awd version, and hard-riding RFT tires on 17" wheels. Fuel economy was about 10% worse and required premium gas. That was for a 50% higher sticker price.

[Manu]

Hi,
i am 29 years old and also from germany. Bastian/EightRocks is (like me) an active user in respective german suzuki forums. So we go back a long way (hi EightRocks )

I`m an owner of a Kizashi 2WD (manual gearbox) since August 2011.
And it´s also not my first Suzuki:
1.Swift 1.3 (92HP)
2.Swift Sport 1.6 (125HP)
...and now the Kizashi

I am also very happy with this car, because "what you pay and what you get" is unbeatable at the moment (in comparision with other brands) in germany.

Here in germany, the Kizashi is only deliverable in one edition: It`s called the "Sport" Edition with full features (like you can see it at EightRocks pictures or my ones for example). The only option is to choose between manual (2WD) and CVT (4WD)...and you are able to choose the touchscreen navigation device.
Editions like the "Rockford Fosgate" or features like the TMPS are not available in germany.

With the manual gearbox i reached a maximum speed of 230 km/h (by speedometer) which equals nearly 143 mph.

In my opinion, the Kizashi is also very "rare" here in germany. Suzuki has a "compact-car image" in germany and the Kizashi (the first mid-range car) is too...let`s call it "unknown" and the germans trust in brands like VW,BMW and so on.
The other problem is (the primary problem in my eyes), that diesel engines are the favourites of german mid-range car buyers because in most cases they are driving many miles a year.
And a car with a 2.4 gasoline engine is mostly seen as a non economic vehicle.
Gas is a "little bit" more expensive here^^
Today round about 1,52 Euros per litre (equals today 2,08$)

And at the moment (thats my personal problem)....here in germany there are not really any tuning-parts for the Kizashi on the market.
Sure, you can buy different springs or suspensions but no optical tuning parts.

And importing parts from other countries is in most cases too expensive (additional customs duty,...)

My modifications at the moment:
-Replaced the sub with a Hertz Energy EB 200
-Wind deflectors darkly tinted

Regards,
Manu

[OzzieKizzy]

G'Day Manu!

The car looks great man! Nicely played.

How did you go fitting the sub? Was it hard to extract and replace? Is it the same size as the original and did you notice much difference in sound/bass?

[~tc~]

The other problem is (the primary problem in my eyes), that diesel engines are the favourites of german mid-range car buyers because in most cases they are driving many miles a year.
And a car with a 2.4 gasoline engine is mostly seen as a non economic vehicle.
Gas is a "little bit" more expensive here^^
Today round about 1,52 Euros per litre (equals today 2,08$)

This is about $8/gal compared to $3.25 or so here in Houston!

Suzuki definitely needs to develop a diesel! Perhaps with their new partnership with VW, they can drop in a TDI drivetrain.

[Trailboss]

Nice ride Manu, the black looks really sleek and slippery great color choice. Here in the desert southwest, black seems to be a hard color to keep clean with the dust we get...

[Manu]

How did you go fitting the sub? Was it hard to extract and replace? Is it the same size as the original and did you notice much difference in sound/bass?

I`ll try to explain it and excuse me if some or several sentences are not written in "correct english"
And i am talking about the stock sound system, not the "Rockford Fosgate" system.

First you have to choose the "right" sub-woofer. The stock amplifier supplies enough power to a subwoofer with up to 200W RMS.8" is the needed size.
Look out for a sub-woofer which can be used in "Free-Air" mode. "Free Air" woofers doesn`t need a calculated chassis...the car trunk is the chassis. Otherwise a regular chassis sub-woofer should do the same job as well, maybe with some losses which a "non audiophile" should not recognize.

Now my solution:

Normally you have to unplug the rear shelf, but without the exact knowledge it`s - in my opinion - impossible to unplug it without damaging something. I tried it, but there are many retaining clips and screws and the seatbealts are also integrated in the rear shelf so i resigned after some useless tries.I did it another way:

Step1:
First unplug the cover from the rear shelf (i attached a rough draft) with your fingers or a screw driver with a wrapped rag or something.Beware that there is a sticky clip in each corner, unplug it carefully. If some of the sticky clips get broken...ok looks shitty in the first moment but the unsticky retaining clips will keep the cover in a complete fixed position and you won`t see anything.

Step2:
Now remove the 4 screws from the woofer and disconnect the speaker cable

Step3:
That`s the tricky part. The perforation in the rear shelf is smaller than the sub-woofer.
So take a look at the attached draft. You have to do 4 cuts to get the woofer out. With these cuts you can bend up and down the rear shelf around the perforation to get the woofer out (and the new one in;but first other things are to do).
Later if the new woofer stucks use a screw driver or something similar to pull up the shelf around the woofer.
It could take some time and maybe you have to play a little bit around with it.

Step4:
Problem: the screw size and bores doesn`t fit with third-party sub-woofers.
It is the challenge to fix the sub-woofer and it has to be airtight (because of back pressure).
Drilling new holes would be a science without removing the rear shelf and your head between the shelf and the rear window
Measuring accurately for new holes is also not really possible. From the inside of the car trunk it is the same problem.
So i decided to use glue. Important is that the used glue is able to fix the new woofer perfectly but also to keep it flexible (the woofer is "working", inflexible glue connection will burst).
A usefull glue is called "assembly adhesive" or "mounting adhesive".Everyone shall know this kind of glue. It fixes things perfectly and keeps it flexible.
And you are sticking metal to metal, so it is not so difficult to remove it if it`s needed. It will take some time, but can remove it by scraping it off with your finger nails or something. If you know another glue with the same features...use it
Ok, back to the sub-woofer installation:
Use an old bath towel or similar to keep the car trunk free from glue.
Apply the glue around the sheet perforation and insert the new woofer like explained in Step 3.Also a little bit tricky but it works.
Note: There are many woofers on the market with plastic around it or other frippery...these things are increasing the diameter...and as smaller the diameter as easier the installation. Look out for woofers without these things or remove it before installation
For additional stability and to ensure that it`s airtight use the assembly adhesive/mounting adhesive also around the bottom side of the woofer, focussing on the edge between the woofer and the the sheet.
(-->don`t forget the bath towel^^)

Step5:
Ok, the woofer is now installed. In your interest, don`t use the car and dont`t play any music until it`s completely hardened.
But first, we have to connect the speaker cable. You have to remove the cable out of the plug. I cracked it up but it is also possible to remove the cable out of the plug with a screwdriver.
Make sure to connect it the right way now. The white cable is + the...i think it was green/yellow or something is ground. If you are connecting it the wrong way there is a phase shifting about 180°. That means the woofer is playing in your car trunk and not in the passenger compartment.

Ok, that was "just my answer" to the question^^

EDIT: With the Hertz Energy EB 200 woofer and Bass Level +2 it`s "another universe".
(The EB 200 is similar to the ES 200, dont know why there are two different model descriptions)
Clear and powerful bass, all perfect
The stock sound system of the Kizashi is already very good...but take a look at the magnet size of the stock woofer....there can`t be a "powerful" bass.

[OzzieKizzy]

WOW! Great write up Manu! You must have the patience of an angel mate, I reckon I would have smashed some stuff by half way through those steps!

I think I might get a "professional" to do that for me! Or better yet, I might get them to make some moulded boxes for my two Alpine 12" subs to go in the boot and have three subs going!

[gaww]

EightRocks - you mentioned you had the CVT. Have you noticed a lag when accelerating from a stop. Over here, there is a marked lag up to 15-20 mph. This can make for anxious moments when trying to get onto a road and moving when there is oncoming traffic.

If not, it might be that they set it up different over there.

[markmany]

hi im mark im also new to this site.u r car is looking great.

[EightRocks]

@gaww: Sorryfor answering so late. I don't have a lag. When I hit the pedal the car is moving like it should.

Tomorrow my Kizzy will be a little wrapped up, but not as extreme as Manu's. I will post some pictures also ofthe new rims, which are already here to be installed for the next summer.