Test Drive: 2011 Suzuki Kizashi

2011 Suzuki Kizashi. Click image to enlarge

Related articles on Autos First Drive: 2011 Suzuki Kizashi Manufacturer’s web site Suzuki Canada Join Autos’s Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter

Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

Find this vehicle in Autos’s Classified Ads

Photo Gallery:
2011 Suzuki Kizashi

For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost, so the fable goes. That story of the nail that lost the shoe that spoiled the horse and kept the rider from winning the battle might also be appropriate to describe the 2011 Kizashi, an all-new sedan from Suzuki: this could have been a much better car for want of a different transmission.

Although it was launched in the U.S. last year, Suzuki Canada held off until March 2010 with a low-key introduction (which is why the U.S. sells a 2010 model, but it’s officially a 2011 in Canada). It’s the first midsize sedan from the company since the smooth-running but thirsty 2006 Verona. Unlike that model, which was a rebadged twin of the Korean-built Chevrolet Epica, the Kizashi is the result of Suzuki’s in-house design and development, and doesn’t share its platform with anything else.

2011 Suzuki Kizashi. Click image to enlarge

Its 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine produces 180 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. Those aren’t huge numbers, given that Suzuki wants this vehicle to play in the sports-sedan segment, but for everyday driving, that’s more than enough, especially since the figures are comparable or better than many of its more mainstream competitors.

What brings it all to a crashing halt is its continuously-variable transmission (CVT). Many other manufacturers have moved their CVTs from the days of rubber-band performance into relatively crisp performance, but Suzuki’s version might as well be from the CVT Stone Age: it howls and groans as the engine speeds up or slows down, growling roughly whenever the revs fall around the 1,500 rpm mark. I don’t think any sports sedan should have a CVT, but this one is worse than most. There are paddle shifters for the pre-set points, which help somewhat, but it’s still not what I was expecting from a car that works so well otherwise.

2011 Suzuki Kizashi. Click image to enlarge

There is a six-speed manual transmission, but so far, it’s not available to Canadian buyers. Being a relatively small player here, it isn’t cost-effective for Suzuki to drop a lot of models into its dealerships, and so there is a single choice: the fully-loaded Kizashi, with CVT and all-wheel drive, for $29,995. In the larger U.S. market, combinations of front- and all-wheel drive, transmission choices and trim lines result in 11 available models. The stick shift only comes with the front-wheel model, but according to many American writers, it turns the Kizashi into a far more fun-to-drive vehicle. Suzuki needs to make that available here, or if not, to consider swapping out the CVT for a regular automatic, if it seriously wants to play in the sportier sedan category.

The company’s serious enough about the handling, which really is sweet, and not like anything I can recall coming from Suzuki before now. It feels more German than Japanese, especially in the way it goes in and out of hard curves, and in its firmly-planted stance. The chassis is especially stiff and there’s no body roll. The steering is nicely weighted, on-centre is tight without being twitchy, and the car feels cohesive.

It’s an odd size: larger than competitors’ compacts, smaller than their midsize offerings, so its measurements place it between models such as Toyota’s Corolla and Camry, or Honda’s Civic and Accord. Cross-shopping will be tough, because you’ll need to look both ways. Its size gives it sufficient rear legroom if you’re moving up from a compact, but back-seat passengers may feel cramped if you’re downsizing from a larger model. That in-between dimension does add to the driving dynamics, though, as its tucked-in proportions give it good balance.

2011 Suzuki Kizashi. Click image to enlarge

The all-wheel drive system is the familiar torque-only-when-required variety, but with a twist. Turn it off, and the car is strictly front-wheel drive. Turn it on, and the system runs in front-wheel under normal conditions, but transfers torque to the rear during acceleration, or when it detects slippery surfaces. That’s a switch from most “slip-and-grip” all-wheel systems in this category, which are always ready to send power to the rear, but which lock up the axles at low speeds when the button is pushed. Suzuki doesn’t break down the fuel figures for running the vehicle in front versus all-wheel (although it’s the system’s extra weight that usually eats up any extra fuel); overall, the Kizashi is rated at 9.3 L/100 km (30 mpg Imp) in the city, and 6.8 (42) on the highway. I didn’t do that well in combined driving, finishing up my week at 10.6 L/100 km (27 mpg Imp). The fuel recommendation is for regular 87-octane.

The single trim line includes a lot of stuff: 18-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, keyless start with proximity locks, premium Rockford-Fosgate stereo with USB jack, Bluetooth, sunroof, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated leather seats, ten-way power driver’s seat with memory (although the passenger only gets four directions on the power button), eight airbags, fog lights, heated mirrors, block heater, and rear parking sensors. The rain-sensing wipers, not a popular item in my books (drizzle always confuses them, and nothing this important for safe driving should work properly “most of the time”) can be switched to the regular variable-intermittent version by the dealer. That’s everything for factory-installed items, and options such as navigation screens are unavailable; the only other add-ons are accessories such as roof racks or a trunk protector.

The sport-style seats are very nice, with sufficient bolsters for tackling curvy roads, and even the rear chairs have some extra stuffing along their edges for comfort. The interior design is well-done, with tactile surfaces and good layout; the only glitches are a too-shiny stereo panel with dated dot-matrix display, and a long plastic rod sticking out of the instrument cluster that looks and feels chintzy. I thought it was for resetting the trip computer, but it’s for dimming the instrument lights. Everything is backlit with red lighting, and I like the steering wheel-mounted controls, which use a combination of buttons and smooth-operating toggle switches for volume, stereo mode and cruise control.

Styling isn’t a standout – it could use more than just the stylized S on the grille to differentiate it from other brands – but it’s handsome, and I like the chrome-trimmed exhaust tips that tuck up into the rear fascia. The tall trunk makes it tougher to see out the back, and the rear parking sensors are a welcome addition when reversing into parking spots. The 18-inch shoes fill up the wheel openings very nicely, too.

Suzuki wasn’t afraid to put its Japanese heritage front and centre, and the unusual name is a translation for “something great is coming.” Right now, as long as that CVT is part of the picture, we’ll have to settle for something good. The handling is there, along with the chassis stiffness, the suspension tuning and the interior comfort. Please, Suzuki, now give us the transmission that will make this Kizashi sing.