Build
The SX4 had fairly good build quality. The doors felt right for this size of car and shut with a sizable thud. Exterior panel fit was good, all the fixtures were installed correctly. Suzuki went cheap on the interior, though, with plenty of hard plastic pieces throughout the cabin. In these days where even compact GM cars are furnished with materials that feel more expensive than they are, the SX4 really underdelivers on the inside.
Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
The interior space on the SX4 is nothing too impressive, it’s what you expect from looking at it from the outside. The headroom is a little challenged due to the raking windshield and the legroom is adequate.
The rear leg room is on the smallish side, but again it meets your expectations since it has a short wheelbase. The trunk space also leaves you wanting more as well, but does fit two small roller suitcases without any issues. There’s some space under the floor boards where I was able to stow away and hide my laptop. That was cool. I do want to highlight how deep the front cupholders are, since my wife spilled almost half a bottle of Gatorade into it and nothing came out.
Performance
Nonexistent. I was surprised to learn that the SX4 had a 2.0 liter engine. I thought it was a 1.6 or something like that. Seriously, this car drove like a golf cart because I had to constantly floor the gas pedal. I did not feel the 150 ponies. Maybe they were half asleep. With such low power, you would expect the SX4 to have really good MPG…but it doesn’t. The FWD CVT automatic is rated at 23/30 MPG city/highway and I averaged about 26. Probably had to do with the drive all the way up to Tahoe and back, but I would have expected fuel economy numbers for such a small car and powerless engine to come in closer to 30.
True, you don’t buy the SX4 for high performance. But Suzuki’s TV commercials feature these cars in Superman capes, which kind of set high expectations.
Handling
The SX4 handled confidently on the road trip up to Lake Tahoe, over some pretty windy and steep roads. The suspension felt pretty tight and definitely not mushy. The short wheelbase makes this car very maneuverable all the way around. As I mentioned before, the SX4 gripped the road fairly well, I managed to keep all four tires on pavement throughout the entire weekend despite my best efforts to do otherwise. Handling is definitely one area where the SX4 exhibited a good degree of competence.
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I’m on my way to buy one tonight. its a 2010 and i must say i’m a little confussed, so I’ll have to review it myself and let you know. However is the reasale value good?? anybody?
Thanks,
berrichondanny, sorry you have absolutely no clue what you are talkin about, the suzuki sx4 ratings and reviews are all pretty decent, and when they do have some issues about it, they actually know how to explain the issue, you didnt point out anything true about the vehicle. i agree this was very biased and you should just never ever right a car review ever again.
Long overdue, but a counterpoint to Danny’s review has been published.
http://reviews.carreview.com/blog/first-impressions-2010-suzuki-sx4/
I do not own a SX4 but did my ‘researched’ as I am car shopping. As a car guy (yes, I drive a Miata) feel compelled to comment that this author is an idiot and don’t know a thing about cars…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_SX4
Or read or watch just any ‘other’ reivew of the SX4
“…as my wife calls it, the Suzuki SuX4me…” Statements like this add no value to this so called review and show your bias.
Btw, below is what I consider and unbias review and comparison and something you can learn from. Honestly, I fully expected the Fit to win..
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/subcompact-car-showdown-cga.htm
In summary, please stick to writing your ‘Opinion’ articles.
This journalistic review is total garbage. Poorly written, biased, and clearly from a guy who probably reads his Facebook more than actual car specs….very poor. This guy must drive German cars to be so hard on the SX4 – most reviews are positive and my 2 test drives left me impressed….terrible article written bu a guy lying in bed most likely.