Considering the Kizashi

[Hawkzilla]

OP - If you have a lust for power, I would stay away from the Kiz... for now. I bought mine because I wanted a AWD sedan with lots of options for under $30K... which is exactly what I got. For awhile I let the off-the-line lag (and despite what you will be told by some on here, it is VERY noticeable and does NOT get any better over time) nearly ruin the experience for me. I eventually had to just accept that I got what was most important to me and learned to live with the lag. Other than the TPMS coming on all the time for no reason and a strange rattle that occasionally comes from the dash, I have no major complaints.

I will say this though: If I lived in a area with very little or no snow, I would have taken power over the AWD and bought something else. However, I live in the upper Midwest and the Kiz is an absolute BEAST in the snow, even with the original all-season radials. The gas mileage isn't bad either on the highway, but city driving (especially if you have the need for speed) will disappoint you.

STRENGTHS:
+ Handling
+ Quality (inside & out)
+ Comfort
+ Hwy fuel economy (I get 30+ easy)
+ Snow driving (AWD)
+ Style

WEAKNESSES:
- Initial acceleration
- TPMS display/reliability
- City fuel economy

[fusion66]

OP - If you have a lust for power, I would stay away from the Kiz... for now. I bought mine because I wanted a AWD sedan with lots of options for under $30K... which is exactly what I got. For awhile I let the off-the-line lag (and despite what you will be told by some on here, it is VERY noticeable and does NOT get any better over time) nearly ruin the experience for me. I eventually had to just accept that I got what was most important to me and learned to live with the lag. Other than the TPMS coming on all the time for no reason and a strange rattle that occasionally comes from the dash, I have no major complaints.

I will say this though: If I lived in a area with very little or no snow, I would have taken power over the AWD and bought something else. However, I live in the upper Midwest and the Kiz is an absolute BEAST in the snow, even with the original all-season radials. The gas mileage isn't bad either on the highway, but city driving (especially if you have the need for speed) will disappoint you.

STRENGTHS:
+ Handling
+ Quality (inside & out)
+ Comfort
+ Hwy fuel economy (I get 30+ easy)
+ Snow driving (AWD)
+ Style

WEAKNESSES:
- Initial acceleration
- TPMS display/reliability
- City fuel economy

What were you driving before you acquired the Kizashi, hawkzilla? Perhaps I was beguiled by its quietness and/or the smooth operation of the cvt but I was not wishing for more power from stoplights
or any other situation. I am going to test drive the Kizashi once more to be certain I can live with its
modest power output. Perhaps I wasn't properly focused during the first test drive.

[tigerbangs54]

I have 21,000 miles on my Kizashi AWD SE, and the car has been terrific. The so-called lack of acceleration from a stoplight isn't really an issue unless you really need to win every stoplight drag race that you enter. Passing power, especially at medium to high speeds, however, is petty remarkable, and cruising in this car is deceptively easy. And, for what it's worth, my mother-in-law loves riding in my Kizashi! I would definitely buy another Kizashi.

[gmoney91]

I agree with everything with Hawkzilla

[chazyouwin]

Fusion - For whatever it may be worth, I have had the same impression of quietness and relief from gear searching that you mentioned in the Kizashi. Perhaps it was because our (decent) '92 Honda Accord had those transmission issues. But then again, I test drove several Accords in 2010 when considering the purchase and the transmission harshness was still there.

Sure, there is a lag but it is a smooth, uninterrupted lag, and it there is no lurching whatsoever. But if that bothers you, the manual (which I have also driven) is extremely nice and does allow that fine degree of control. I really would take the manual if the only thing at issue was the lag, acceleration, etc. I just get tired of manual shifting and would rather be doing other things with my hands, like resting them on the steering wheel.

But all in all, for whatever it may be worth, if your basic instincts are that the transmission is fine, even exquisite, it probably is safe to trust them. Not for everyone, but maybe for you.

[Northernstar]

OP - If you have a lust for power, I would stay away from the Kiz... for now. I bought mine because I wanted a AWD sedan with lots of options for under $30K... which is exactly what I got. For awhile I let the off-the-line lag (and despite what you will be told by some on here, it is VERY noticeable and does NOT get any better over time) nearly ruin the experience for me. I eventually had to just accept that I got what was most important to me and learned to live with the lag. Other than the TPMS coming on all the time for no reason and a strange rattle that occasionally comes from the dash, I have no major complaints.

I will say this though: If I lived in a area with very little or no snow, I would have taken power over the AWD and bought something else. However, I live in the upper Midwest and the Kiz is an absolute BEAST in the snow, even with the original all-season radials. The gas mileage isn't bad either on the highway, but city driving (especially if you have the need for speed) will disappoint you.

STRENGTHS:
+ Handling
+ Quality (inside & out)
+ Comfort
+ Hwy fuel economy (I get 30+ easy)
+ Snow driving (AWD)
+ Style

WEAKNESSES:
- Initial acceleration
- TPMS display/reliability
- City fuel economy

Just wondering how many miles do you have on your car Hawkzilla? I find that the city fuel economy gets better and better after you pass 12000km mark. Now I can do around 10L/100km in the city. Using synthetic oil instead of mineral helps fuel economy as well.

To Fusion: Kizashi is ok when it comes to quiteness. But when compared to my 04 Camry, it still lags behind quite a bit. It has more engine noise/vibration and road noise than my 04 Camry.

[AlexRuiz]

OP - If you have a lust for power, I would stay away from the Kiz... for now. I bought mine because I wanted a AWD sedan with lots of options for under $30K... which is exactly what I got. For awhile I let the off-the-line lag (and despite what you will be told by some on here, it is VERY noticeable and does NOT get any better over time) nearly ruin the experience for me. I eventually had to just accept that I got what was most important to me and learned to live with the lag. Other than the TPMS coming on all the time for no reason and a strange rattle that occasionally comes from the dash, I have no major complaints.

I will say this though: If I lived in a area with very little or no snow, I would have taken power over the AWD and bought something else. However, I live in the upper Midwest and the Kiz is an absolute BEAST in the snow, even with the original all-season radials. The gas mileage isn't bad either on the highway, but city driving (especially if you have the need for speed) will disappoint you.

STRENGTHS:
+ Handling
+ Quality (inside & out)
+ Comfort
+ Hwy fuel economy (I get 30+ easy)
+ Snow driving (AWD)
+ Style

WEAKNESSES:
- Initial acceleration
- TPMS display/reliability
- City fuel economy

That is a very good summary. I totally agree on the TPMS. When the light pops, I feel like choking whoever was in charge of displays and clusters

I, however, disagree about acceleration. Granted, I drive the MT, and while the MT is much more responsive, the CVT is not that slow. And city fuel economy is a wash.


Alex

[fusion66]

Fusion - For whatever it may be worth, I have had the same impression of quietness and relief from gear searching that you mentioned in the Kizashi. Perhaps it was because our (decent) '92 Honda Accord had those transmission issues. But then again, I test drove several Accords in 2010 when considering the purchase and the transmission harshness was still there.

Sure, there is a lag but it is a smooth, uninterrupted lag, and it there is no lurching whatsoever. But if that bothers you, the manual (which I have also driven) is extremely nice and does allow that fine degree of control. I really would take the manual if the only thing at issue was the lag, acceleration, etc. I just get tired of manual shifting and would rather be doing other things with my hands, like resting them on the steering wheel.

But all in all, for whatever it may be worth, if your basic instincts are that the transmission is fine, even exquisite, it probably is safe to trust them. Not for everyone, but maybe for you.

Thank you for your reflections chazyouwinn and I think I can envision a Kizashi in my parking space were it
not for the $3000 difference between the price I should be paying for the car according to the TRUECAR website and the $22200 (avg.) required by some local dealerships to seal the deal. Its a nice machine
and I know car salesmen deserve a living but I don't want to overpay either. What seems like a reasonable
price to you for the tristate area?

[chazyouwin]

Well, what I would do is try to get to a dealer which has a significant inventory and get a solid offer. Then call around 3-4 other dealers to see if they can beat it. You can tell from their reactions how good that first offer is at any particular time.

If you go to a dealer who has a small inventory, they may not be willing to deal.

The inventory on different color combinations may have any impact, as well as 2WD vs. 4WD, trim level; all of which assumes you are flexible.

Go to the Suzuki website and see what incentives are being used. You may qualify for military, student, etc. Suzuki enforces the incentive requirements against the dealers, so it is not kosher for them to lie. You might qualify for $1,000 to $2,000 in discounts at this time I believe (probably $1,000).

I'm not sure what you are referring to in terms of that comparison website. If the data includes 2010s, well consider the factor that last year many dealers probably expected Suzuki overall to be selling about 2,000 Kizashis per month and I think Suzuki ended up selling maybe 500 per month. So there was excess dealer inventory, and they dealt out those cars. Inventory is probably better controlled now, so I would expect overall prices to be higher than what people have posted here.

I have purchased two Suzukis new and have bargained on a couple of others which I did not end up purchasing. Over the years, I have found it rare for the dealers to be flexible, off the incentives, by more than a few hundred dollars. So I have considered myself lucky when the discount is more than that.

However, if December-January comes around and you see a number of 2011s still on the lots, you will see significant discounting. That's a gamble because may of those cars will move between now and then and you may not have much choice. Historically Suzuki hates to give really significant end-of-year discounts but last December-January was the big exception. You just need to find the dealer with the inventory and which is ready to deal.

[Hawkzilla]

I think some may have misunderstood my post. To be clear, the CVT is definitely not "slow". But for me, the response from 0-15 mph is very slow. Like I have said, it's nothing anyone can't learn to live with, but on occasion if you find yourself needing to get going in a hurry from a standstill, you will likely be yelling "COME ON ALREADY!!!"... and no, I don't red light race, but I do like to jockey for position to get from point A to point B a little sooner, and sometimes you gotta get the jump on the chump next to you.

Anything above 15 mph and the Kiz is a speedy and fun to drive little beast. I'm just an honest poster that wanted to give the OP an honest opinion on what to expect. Do I have buyer remorse? Nope. In fact, I enjoyed shining up my baby just last night. Got the Kiz and the ASA's sparklin'!