Suzuki Kizashi ready for May debut in Australia

By Paul Maric | February 15th, 2010

Suzuki today confirmed that the long-awaited Suzuki Kizashi will launch in Australia in May. Kizashi – meaning ‘something good is coming’ – is Suzuki’s all new mid-sized sedan, launched in the USA in December last year.

General Manager of Suzuki Australia, Tony Devers, told motoring journalists at today’s SX4 launch that Kizashi will go head-to-head against the likes of the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord Euro, Mazda 6 and even to some extent the Audi A4.

Suzuki claims over 300 test drives have been pre-booked by the Kizashi’s successful microsite ahead of the car’s May launch.

Two specification levels will be available at launch, with the all-paw variant coming soon after. The Kizashi is powered by a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 138kW and 231Nm of torque. American reports suggest the Kizashi is good for trots from 0-100km/h of around 7.4-seconds in front-wheel-drive form and around 8.2-seconds in all-wheel-drive form.

According to Suzuki, the Kizashi will be competitive in terms of pricing and will be a strong car in its line-up. As the Kizashi moves Suzuki upmarket in terms of new clientele, Suzuki has also taken the chance to analyse its network of national dealerships, making sure they all meet the standards expected of Kizashi buyers.

CarAdvice will keep you posted as more local Suzuki Kizashi news comes to hand.

mike

Interesting, but grille, alloys and dash look cheap. Not a bad car at all, but head to head against camry, euro, and 6? That better be some really competitive pricing.
Adrian

The Kizashi Concept car was stunning…..this just looks like an sx4 sedan…..BORING…..such a shame the japanese are so conservative. I bet the Koreans would have made a production car closer to the concept car.
Whitbomb07

Of course there’s no diesel for it.

Interesting 0-100 times for the FWD V AWD.

Regards

Whitbomb07

Tek

The difference between the 0-100 times is because the FWD is manual and AWD will be in the auto only.

PickUp

I would think it also has alot to do with the fact that AWD weights more. With only 140kw and 230Nm the grip advantage off the line isnt going to be that great over FWD because those aernt big numbers to begin with. Dont know the point of AWD in a car like this.

To me those 0-100kmh times seem unrealistic, even at 1450kg or so 140kw and 230Nm is an equivalent power to weight ratio (less torque in fact) of a V6 Camry back in the 90s, which was good for 9-10seconds. I will believe it when I see it.

It does look nice though.

PickUp

…the only explanation could be due to its CVT trasmission, it has proven in the Mitsubishi Lanver that even relatively low powered vehicles can benefit from them.

Mitch

really toned down since the concept
Baddass

I hope this will be a good seller, but Suzuki always has been strong on QLD, so it probably will.
Ghey is BAD

A nice cat among the pidgeons!
robbo

Those sprint times make me curious, to my knowledge, other cars with similar power and transmissions get nowhere near that, could it be a V6 engine in the US? Not sure about those numbers…hmmm…

adam (aka mada)

Four pot power only, optional AWD. Suzuki has commented that the four banger will almost match some six pot engine for off the line sprints.

Imo, Suzuki has produced a rather solid effort. At least it offers more choice in this vehicle segment.

Mk

Suzuki should move to a standard 5yr/unlimited km warranty for market appeal.
mr.trith

Will struggle…..

Just another $30-something mid sized sedan, NOTHING new and/or revolutionary here.

If they sold it for LOW $20k’s THEN it would generate some interest…

adam (aka mada)

Didn’t know they released a price yet!?
Ghey is BAD

No, this will offer a level of perfomance not available in it’s NA peers.

Valet Dabess

what’s the kerb weight?

Philthy

1470 kg for FWD.

The Oracle’s Teacher

Nice car and I hope they do well with it. At a quick glance there is more than a hint of Golf in the styling at the front.
matt_b

looks ok, i’d still take an accord euro or a 6 though

adam (aka mada)

Have you test driven it already?

Shak

This will be a great competitor for the Camry and its ilk. I dunno about the A4 comparison, but if what i have read is true, the camry and the establishment has a new kid to be worried about.
Kris

This car has received very good reviews in the US. It’s been labelled a driver’s car and reportedly outhandles the likes of the new Liberty, Mazda 6, Honda Accord to name a couple. Looking forward to seeing the final spec and price when it arrives in Australia.
John

A great looking car with great features. I especially like the idea of All Wheel Drive and CVT transmission.I will be interested to see the configuration for Australia. The car seems to have good reviews in the USA so hopefully we will se a version well suited to Australia.

If it comes at the right price I might even be talked into trading in my Mazda 6 and buying one of these.

I also hope they offer another colour upholstery other than BLACK. When I look into most new cars in Australia these days all I see is BLACK upholstery which to me says dark, dingy, claustrophobic and hot.

When will manufacturers realize that some of us do not like BLACK. It may be great in a cold climate but for us in tropical and sub tropical zones it is not really very practical. What happened to Tan, Grey, Cream or even Blue as an option.

Anyhow these are my thoughts on the car.
Keepleft

Dang, front fog lights, grrr mutter mutter.
Won’t have a rear fog so why need front?!
Subeeman

A bit of a beige effort from the original concept car ,but arn’t they all!
looks ok i bet better in the flesh,if all the hype is accurate will trade my Liberty for one ,but have to drive it first as I’ve had 6 liberty’s over 10 years and love them but Suzuki may just change my mind,will know the minute I switch her on and hit the first few corners!!
andy

Holden Cruise like outside, Kia Cerato dash… nothing out of the usual anywhere in the car. 1450kg and 138kw, sounds similar power/weight to the 2006-2008 Kia Magentis 2.7L. Unless there is something from far left, it seems just another car with maybe a good job by the marketing department.
DJ

I love the pricing on Suzuki Oz website. Small text shows extra $475 or thereabouts for premium/metllic paint….Yet all the colours available (shown on website) have metallic paint. Sounds like a tricky way to have a lower headline price, probably for comparisons with rivals, but seems rather sneaky to me.