Consumer reports

[Knightstruth]

Can anybody tell me what CR gave the kiz for reliability rating? I'm not interested in JD power just CR. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Ronzuki]

I wouldn't give an ounce of credit to anything that rag has to say about anything...especially a Suzuki product.

[Knightstruth]

I wouldn't give an ounce of credit to anything that rag has to say about anything...especially a Suzuki product.

Tell me how you really feel . I use different sources for many things I do like consumer reports reliability ratings. I already have a kiz so I'm curious to know what they are giving it.

[ragmopp01]

One reason you might want to stay clear of Consumer Reports, is that years ago there were conflicting lawsuits from CR and Suzuki over Suzuki's little 4X4 (forgot what it was called). CR claimed the car was unsafe because it could roll over...

[Knightstruth]

So that would be a no? No one knows what reliability rating the kiz got then? I look at it like magazines are entitled to their opinion as much as you or I. I make up my own mind but I am curious about the rating for reliability.

[KuroNekko]

The Kizashi has no reliability rating with Consumer Reports. I follow CR's ratings, so I checked on it over the years.
The reason why CR does not have a rating for the Kizashi is probably because they could not find enough people to poll on the car.
When they don't have enough data, they simply leave out the reliability ratings. This happens with new cars or cars that aren't that popular.

I don't necessarily care for CR's "Recommended" ratings, but their reliability ratings tend to be accurate, in my opinion. I have followed CR's reliability ratings for about 10 years and found them to have rather good real-world validity. On the other hand, their recommendations are more based on opinions than data and therefore are more subjective.

What others have said about Suzuki vs. CR stems from the lawsuit CR brought against Suzuki with the Samurai. In the late 80's, CR sued Suzuki saying that the car was unsafe and prone to roll overs. This gave Suzuki a bad name and is probably the main reason why the Samurai was discontinued for the US, but continued on (rather popularly too) in the rest of the world as the Jimny. The Jimny is still sold in Japan, Australia, Brazil, and many other nations. It is probably the best off-road vehicle smaller than a Jeep Wrangler.

Despite this history, CR did give the SX4 a good rating. It is not only "Recommended", but also has a "Above Average" reliability rating as of 2012.

Overall, there are just too few of us Kizashi owners for any company to collect reliable reliability data on. They need thousands of owners to respond, yet even this international forum only has 1400 members as a show of how small we are. In comparison, there are more than 300,000 Toyota Camrys sold per year in the US alone. For this reason, CR has little data for rare cars, but lots of data for popular cars like the Camry.

[Ronzuki]

I wouldn't give an ounce of credit to anything that rag has to say about anything...especially a Suzuki product.

Tell me how you really feel . I use different sources for many things I do like consumer reports reliability ratings. I already have a kiz so I'm curious to know what they are giving it.

I can't really say how I feel as I'd probably get banned. CU and their rag were responsible for the death of U.S. Samurai sales in their staged "roll-over" "testing". They lost a quiet lawsuit against them by Suzuki. Too little too late, damage was done.



You want to believe lies from an unethical outfit, be my guest. Lies and omissions. This forum, and others like it, is your best place for reliability data. Real owners of the vehicle, not paid self-proclaimed experts.

The complete actual test videos (showing fail after fail of trying to get it to roll-over) from an insider have all been removed from the internet as part of the settlement. These are the damaging videos for CU. We can't have the real truth and story available for the public to see what CU and their rag is truly all about.....that would be hurtful.

[Knightstruth]

The Kizashi has no reliability rating with Consumer Reports. I follow CR's ratings, so I checked on it over the years.
The reason why CR does not have a rating for the Kizashi is probably because they could not find enough people to poll on the car.
When they don't have enough data, they simply leave out the reliability ratings. This happens with new cars or cars that aren't that popular.

I don't necessarily care for CR's "Recommended" ratings, but their reliability ratings tend to be accurate, in my opinion. I have followed CR's reliability ratings for about 10 years and found them to have rather good real-world validity. On the other hand, their recommendations are more based on opinions than data and therefore are more subjective.

What others have said about Suzuki vs. CR stems from the lawsuit CR brought against Suzuki with the Samurai. In the late 80's, CR sued Suzuki saying that the car was unsafe and prone to roll overs. This gave Suzuki a bad name and is probably the main reason why the Samurai was discontinued for the US, but continued on (rather popularly too) in the rest of the world as the Jimny. The Jimny is still sold in Japan, Australia, Brazil, and many other nations. It is probably the best off-road vehicle smaller than a Jeep Wrangler.

Despite this history, CR did give the SX4 a good rating. It is not only "Recommended", but also has a "Above Average" reliability rating as of 2012.

Overall, there are just too few of us Kizashi owners for any company to collect reliable reliability data on. They need thousands of owners to respond, yet even this international forum only has 1400 members as a show of how small we are. In comparison, there are more than 300,000 Toyota Camrys sold per year in the US alone. For this reason, CR has little data for rare cars, but lots of data for popular cars like the Camry.

Thank you for your reponse. I also have found CR reliability rating to mimic real world results which is the reason I like to view them and would be wary of cars with the dreaded black dot.

Ron- Like Kuro I don't care about their recommended ratings either as sometimes trival things will be a reason to hold things back.

I did read that the Kiz got a 82 which is "good" even though it wasn't recommended. I suspect it had to do with Suzuki's history more than the car itself. That 82 score echoes usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars score so I am aware that alot of publications found the kiz to be a good car.

Overall I like to be informed and I understand why there wouln't be reliability data for the car since it is not so common.

[Ronzuki]

I hear you, I just have a hard time believing liars motivated by money. I bash CR and CU any opportunity I get in hopes one day they to will go the way of Suzuki N. America.

Have you tried http://www.truedelta.com/ ?

[KuroNekko]

I did read that the Kiz got a 82 which is "good" even though it wasn't recommended. I suspect it had to do with Suzuki's history more than the car itself. That 82 score echoes usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars score so I am aware that alot of publications found the kiz to be a good car.

Yup, CR rated the Kizashi a 82 out of 100 which is a very good score. That's a better score than most of the other midsizes.
Interestingly, the Subaru Legacy was rated at 83 and was "Recommended" yet the Kizashi scored a 82 and was not "Recommended". A one point difference is insignificant, yet the little blurb on the cars had different tones and as you may guess, was written favorably for the Legacy compared to the Kizashi.

However, most of the reviews from various auto publications on the Kizashi have been positive. Long term tester Kizashis have been solid and I read one review which called their Kizashi one of the most trouble-free cars they've tested in years.

Most gripes about the car tend to be about the CVT and the one engine offering which makes for a sluggish car compared to the turbocharged models that are popular now.
Otherwise, the Kizashi is widely praised for its ride, comfort, features, and handling.