The IHS Automotive Insight states that “lost production outside of Japan is so far about 10,000 vehicles, but that number will rise ‘exponentially’ as more parts suppliers are affected, reducing stockpiles of components for cars and trucks built overseas”. The U.S. is starting to feel the effect, as General Motors Co. will shut down production at its 900 employee pickup plant in Shreveport, La. next week, which relies on Japanese made transmissions.

However, Nissan Motor Co. has resumed production at some parts factories and is said to start production at six other plants and some vehicle assembly plants on Thursday but not at full production. Nissan’s Iwaki engine plant will remain closed and there is no definite idea for how long Nissan can sustain production and the plants that have recently reopened.

Honda Motor Co. closed six factories but says that they will reopen on Wednesday but its unclear when production will return to full capacity. Honda has suspended U.S. orders for Japan-built models. Toyota will keep 21 auto and components plants closed until Tuesday which build the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury cars. According to Goldman Sachs, the shutdown is costing Toyota an estimated $73 million a day. Toyota will resume temporary production of key parts Tuesday at a couple plants. Mazda Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. stated they will reopen plants on Tuesday as well.

Review by contributing editor, Martin Swig

Many reviewers have been lukewarm toward the Suzuki SX4. I don’t understand that, and neither does my friend, Denise McCluggage of Autoweek. We each own one, love it, and rate the car VERY highly.

I bought an SX4 that had been heavily breathed-on by RoadRace Motorsports of Sante Fe Springs, CA. A Ronal wheel, plus tire and suspension package, and a turbo package make for a quick and stable trackday car that is still a tractable everyday street car. The carbon-fiber hood adds visual drama.

This car came into our two-driver, five car family about a year ago. The other cars are: a Cayman (wife’s car), a 2008 Miata softtop, an Audi A4 Avant Quattro 3.0 six speed, and an Audi S5 6-speed. The SX4, then, is the least costly in our little “fleet”. It has also proven to be the most useful, and most used of the five cars. Obviously a gem around town, it’s also a joy on any type of road. Great canyon carver, and relaxed 90 mph freeway cruiser (with old faithful Valentine One)

I spent a week with a box-stock 2010 SX4 fwd with CVT tranny. Liked it just as much, in a calmer way. The beauty of the car, beyond its efficient, tasteful Giugiaro design, lies in its tall, narrow stature, providing comfortable seating, great visibility, and a sense of precise driver control. By the way, I don’t understand the sedan variant; to me it looks dorky, and offers NO benefit over the 5-door hatch.

So why doesn’t Suzuki sell better? They are well priced, super durable and bulletproof, and a hoot to drive, all with plenty of practicality. But until recently, General Motors owned a minority interest in the company, and did some of their famous badge engineering, slapping the Suzuki name on some sub-par GM/Daewoo Korean products for sale in the US. GM got a bunch of sales, with low prices, EZ credit, etc. People who bought these erzatz Suzukis rated them poorly. The brand name was hurt. Now, Suzuki has dumped GM, and the sub-par cars.

Recently, Suzuki announced the Kizashi sedan, a sort of bargain price A4 that is a charmer. They also announced that Volkswagen bought a share in Suzuki. VW acknowledged that Suzuki’s expertise in small cars, and market strength, as evidenced by their market leadership in India, were the factors that attracted them.

I think Suzuki has a bright future!

###

A huge thank-you to Martin Swig for contributing his review of the Suzuki SX4. Martin Swig has his own column in the San Francisco Nob Hill Gazette called “Wheels” and writes articles for the Southern California Automotive Calendar of Events magazine.

Suzuki SX4 Photo Gallery	Suzuki SX4 Specs
Official website for Suzuki cars, trucks and crossovers – www.suzukiauto.com

Suzuki, ever the underdog in the US market, cannot afford an all-out media blitz to promote the all-new 2010 Kizashi, but will instead funnel $30 million of this year’s marketing budget to US dealers. The funds that are given to the dealerships will be used to do local advertising and other promotional offers.

The small Japanese automaker hopes sales the Kizashi pulls them out of a sales slump. Sales dropped last year by 54 percent and this year sales are down another 44 percent. This is depressing news because the auto market is recovering while Suzuki is continuing to see sales decline.

Suzuki plans on spending the other half of its marketing budget on two national ads. One ad in particular will focus on the car’s affordable all-wheel-drive option. Perhaps the other ad will help teach tongue-tied Americans how to properly pronounce Kizashi.

According to Autonews.com, Suzuki hopes to sell 1,000 Kizashi’s monthly and later expand to 2,500 by the end of the year. If sales do pick up for the mid-sized sedan, the Kizashi may get a V6 option in the future. In our first look of the Kizashi last month, we felt that a V6 option with all-wheel-drive would really help the Kizashi shine.

Suzuki has a long road ahead of them to gain US market share, but they do have the right car to do it. The Kizashi is a solid car, with great features for the price. The problem is even spending $30 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what GM and Toyota spend on marketing their mid-sized sedans.

If Suzuki cannot turn around its current sales slump it may be forced in the future to leave the US market. Hopefully this does not happen, because it would be a shame to lose the Kizashi and SX4. Suzuki has always been a company that sold interesting compact cars. Who could forget the tiny Jeep-like Samurai? Who knows, if their marketing strategy is a success, maybe the company will be bold enough to bring the current model Samurai/Jimny back to the United States.

By Michael Leroy

Pros

• Great 6-speed manual transmission
• Good looks inside and out
• Excellent value and warranty
• Standard USB audio port

Cons

• Some hard plastics in parts, particularly covering the child seat hooks
• Does not offer a V6, hybrid or turbo option engine
• Could use more suspension fine tuning
• Perhaps too Japanese of a name

Believe it or not, Suzuki has been in the American market for 25 years. Since 1985, the company offered a range of funky little cars and SUV’s that filled a niche, but were never mainstream. Cute compact cars like the SX4 and the Samurai did not appeal to everybody in the US market. Suzuki must have realized this and knew they had to produce a larger car with more mainstream appeal. The Suzuki Kizashi is not a hip little car, it’s an adult mid-sized sedan designed to compete with Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Honda Accord. For the price, the Kizashi may have them all beat.

At first glance, the Kizashi is rather upscale looking for its low base price of $18,999. The exterior is conservative, but striking and the front end gives off an almost VW vibe. In the back are two aggressive looking exhaust ducts that are reminiscent of the MAZDA6. The model we tested was equipped with great looking 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Dunlop SP7000 tires.

The interior looks every bit as good as the exterior and is good for a car as affordable as the Kizashi. The leather-wrapped tilt and telescoping steering wheel on our SLS model was equipped with a number of handy controls for the stereo, Bluetooth and cruise control. The buttons were relatively easy to reach and operate. The car comes standard with keyless entry and a push button starter.

There is very little hard plastic in the interior and the dash is covered in a soft material. Creature comforts like cup holders and heating vents are plentiful front and back. The SLS model features front seats that are leather and heated. Also the driver’s seat has a three-person position memory.

Attractive leather back seats offer plenty of room for a six-foot passenger behind a driver of the same height. This is surprising considering that the Kizashi is a good deal smaller than its mid-sized sedan competition. The LATCH system for the child seats is a mixed blessing. The bottom hooks are easy to reach compared to models that tuck them under the seat, but have cheap looking plastic covers that detract from the otherwise good looking back seats. Suzuki should have wrapped the plastic covers in leather to match the rest of the car.

The HVAC controls are easy to operate and are intuitive. The dual climate controls work well, but it would of been nice if temperature control was a knob instead of a toggle switch. Pressing a toggle switch up and down is far slower than just having a knob. Regardless, all of the Kizashi’s center controls are well designed and do not resemble a convoluted Transformer like some models.

Unlike many cars that offer just a generic MP3 auxiliary jack, the Kizashi has standard the ability to control and charge an iPod/iPhone. Tracks can be changed with ease from the steering wheel controls. An optional 10 speaker Rockford Fosgate sound system is also available.

Driving impressions

The 2.4L, 185-hp engine is a great match for the Kizashi. The engine never feels like it is lacking in power. Freeway merging and hill climbing is hassle free. The engine is smooth thanks to balancing shafts and happily revs to redline. The engine also features drop-forged rods and a forged crank so it should be very dependable. It’s a real shame a V6 option is not available. A high-revving V6 combined with the affordable $1,250 AWD option would be amazing.

A manual 6-speed transmission comes standard on the Kizashi. The transmission has a great feel and shifts are precise. Gear ratio’s are well spaced out and are a good compromise for gas mileage and performance. The clutch is easy to engage and is fairly forgiving. The car will comfortably cruise in 6th gear and achieve a claimed 31 highway miles per gallon. An automatic continuously variable transmission is available for $1,100. The standard 6-speed is great and unless you are stuck in a lot of traffic, the manual is the way to go.

Suzuki boldly claimed they had the famous Nürburgring in mind when designing the Kizashi. While the Kizashi is no sports car, it is still a fun car to drive on a twisty mountain road. The steering feel is good and the car is perfectly capable at legal speeds. Forward visibility is good and the A-pillars are not distracting. The included KYB shocks did a decent absorbing most bumps, but bigger potholes were still a little jarring. The car still has a good amount of body roll when cornering hard and it would of been nice if the car had a little bit more suspension refinement.

The cabin is in general quiet, but there is still some wind and road noise. The large heated side mirrors are wonderful for visibility, but do produce wind noise due to their large size. The car is comfortable and composed on the freeway. The Kizashi seems like it would be a great car for a long trip.

A minor ding against the car is its very Japanese name. Kizashi (pronounced Kee-Zah-She) means ‘something great is coming’ which is a wonderful phrase in Japanese, but may scare off American buyers. This car was made to change many of the perceptions Americans had for the brand, so it seems strange that they would choose such a name for the car. I applaud Suzuki for breaking the boring letter and number car naming system, but nearly everybody I talked to instantly had a bad impression of the car based off the name.

Priced at $25,184 Kizashi SLS is a great value and has many features you would have to pay much more for from other manufacturers. A similarly equipped Camry costs at least $4,900 more and comes with a far worse standard warranty. Suzuki offers a standard 7-year, 100,000 mile warranty. The Suzuki is well equipped even at the base $19k model. Those in the market for a mid-sized sedan should take a long look at the Kizashi. The Kizashi proves that Suzuki can make more than just quirky compact cars.

Suzuki Kizashi Photo Gallery	2010 Suzuki Kizashi Specs
Official website for Suzuki Auto – www.suzukiauto.com

]]> http://reviews.carreview.com/2010-suzuki-kizashi-sls-review/feed 3 http://reviews.carreview.com/2010-suzuki-sx4-sportback-review http://reviews.carreview.com/2010-suzuki-sx4-sportback-review#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:49 +0000 2010 suzuki sx4 mpg car reviews 2010 suzuki sx4 mpg car reviews 2010 suzuki sx4 mpg car reviews http://reviews.carreview.com/?p=10985 Suzuki SX4 Crossover
Consumer Reviews Suzuki SX4 Crossover
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Review by Danny Chang
(Updated with a counterpoint view June 5, 2010)

Pros

• Available with AWD
• Passes agility tests better than a Border Collie
• Gets you from point A to point B
• Don’t have to look for the bus pass
• Way better than a Yugo

Cons

• Slightly more powerful than a lawnmower
• Unimpressive styling even with new aero kit
• Underwhelming MPG

Introduction
I had planned a trip to Lake Tahoe a few weekends ago and when my editor told me there was a Suzuki SX4 available I jumped at it. Since Suzuki bills this SX4 as a crossover, I thought it’d be a great car to take it up to the mountains. The SX4 comes with an all aluminum 2.0 liter 16 valve DOHC in-line 4 engine that pumps out 150 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque. Yeah, a little disappointing. But more on that later. The tester had the Touring package, which includes fog lamps, heated outside mirrors, a rear spoiler, and a Smartpass keyless entry and start system – a surprising, nice feature for an economy-built subcompact.

Driving Impressions
For 2010, Suzuki created the SportBack model based on their SX4 Crossover with the goal of creating something a little more sport-oriented. A bump in power, from 143 to 150 hp, was engineered into this hatchback along with all-wheel drive being given up for a simpler front-wheel drive system. Without all-wheel drive, the SX4 SportBack is lighter and more efficient, and without a roof rack, sitting lower to the ground, it figures to be more aerodynamic with its new aero body kit.

Surprisingly, the 2.0-liter engine felt really weak and the CVT transmission was not very smooth nor good at keeping the engine it its optimal powerband. The paddle shifters on the steering column set some pretty high expectations that are duly crushed in no time. Driving up to Lake Tahoe at night was already a challenging experience, having to constantly floor the gas pedal just to maintain speed and not get stuck behind semi trucks made the trip all the more exciting. Cornering and road grip felt above average in the SX4. Ride quality was stiff, but it’s exactly what you expect out of a subcompact from Japan with a sports-tuned suspension.

(Continued on page 2)

In 2008, Suzuki came out ready to brawl in the sport compact class with a four-door, sport-oriented sedan, the SX4 Sport. This pugsly fighter came rumbling onto the street scene with front-wheel drive instead of power robbing AWD, a sport-tuned suspension that rides lower than its more sedate siblings, 17 inch wheels, and an aero kit to give it a lower ride height. Suzuki even fitted a rear crossbrace in the sedan’s trunk for a 15 percent increase in structural rigidity over their corresponding hatchback model. The little sedan, with sporty aspirations, was outfitted with a 2.0L powerplant capable of producing 143 hp and 136 lb-ft of torque — all in an affordable package.

With the 2010 SX4 SportBack model, Suzuki wanted to spice up the hatchback version of the SX4 Crossover using a similar formula as the SX4 Sport sedan. The parasitic all-wheel drive system was replaced by more efficient front-wheel drive, a slightly larger and more powerful engine became standard, and an aero kit complemented with 17 inch wheels and tires developed by Dunlop specifically for the SX4 Sport completed the makeover. A peek inside this fancy crossover five-door reveals an all-new instrument cluster, aluminum-look trim accents (including the pedals), and integrated nav-system.

Drive-off video of the 2010 SX4 SportBack after the jump

To make an impact with the import-tuner crowd and showoff the potential of the SX4 SportBack, Suzuki North America worked with Road Race Motorsports to produce a superfly version with parts from the RRM catalog. The new 2010 SX4 Sport was built to entertain and that is does with RRM tuned intake, exhaust, lowering springs, sway bars and RRM sport stripe kit along with other mods.

Pop open the hood and underneath is an all-new 2.0 liter DOHC engine throwing out a hefty punch with 150 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque behind it — a 5% increase over last year’s model. Sensitive to the environment? Eco-conscious racers happily maintain their cred with the green earth crowd because EPA estimates are 30 mpg highway and the new engine has a smaller carbon footprint than older models.

Gearheads can appreciate the cold-air intake (CAI) and carbon fiber engine cover that adorn this mighty 4-banger. With a few blips of the throttle, the notes that emanate from the RRM cat-back exhaust will make any street-racer within earshot instantly reach for the NOx valve as a defensive response. Play the video below to hear a sample of the SX4′s sweet exhaust note.

On the road, the SX4 rides like a mad dog with a tenacious grip of the road. Power relayed from the close ratio 6-speed manual isn’t going to throw you back into your seat, but the tire and suspension setup will induce a white-knuckle ride once you find some turns. Not quite as balanced as a Mazda MX-5, but you can carry a scary amount of speed through the turns and exit with your heart racing faster than Speedy Gonzalez on a Red Bull-high. Speed is kept in check with 4-wheel discs, mated with race-spec brake pads, on all corners.

If passenger comfort is a question, the Suzuki answers with power windows and locks, dual power rearview mirrors, tilt steering wheel, split folding rear seats and rear passenger floor vents. The SX4 SportBack’s interior trim gets an all-new instrument cluster, four-speaker audio system with MP3 and XM Satellite Radio compatibility, a driver’s information center, and armrest for the driver’s seat. Integrated navigation is standard. In addition, the folding rear seats and concealed storage bin behind those seats combine to provide a completely flat load surface.

Suzuki, which is also battling against negative brand perception among consumers, says it is gradually winning points with skeptical U.S. buyers. It is offering new products backed by a seven-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty that is fully transferable and is intended to improve Suzuki’s value position in the used-car market.

“In the last four years, Suzuki is second among major manufacturers in improving its resale performance,” responds Suzuki spokesman David Boldt in an e-mail. “Enhanced brand awareness improves perception, and with it, opinion.”

If Suzuki turns out more products like the SX-4 SportBack in high-performance trim, then they are well on their way towards winning over many more fans.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Official website for Suzuki Auto – www.suzukiauto.com

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