Suzuki Kizashi V6 & Hybrid plans for US market scuttled
Plans for the new, mid-sized Suzuki Kizashi to feature V6 and Hybrid powertrains in the US have been scuttled.
Both the V6 and Hybrid powertrains were to be sourced from General Motors, who previously owned a stake in Suzuki. But with Volkswagen now owning 20 per cent of the Japanese manufacturer, moves to expand the current powertrain lineup have been shelved.
Suzuki was due to launch the upper-spec powertrain offerings in 2011 (V6) and 2012 (Hybrid), but may now instead adopt powertrain offerings from Volkswagen with a number of petrol and diesel engines suited to Kizashi's application. No official announcement has been made.
Suzuki Australia General Manager, Tony Devers told CarAdvice this morning that at this stage, Suzuki only plans to offer Kiazashi with a four-cylinder engine:
"Suzuki has always maintained that the Kizashi line-up will launch with a 2.4-litre engine," said Mr Devers.
"The V6 engine is not in our plans at this stage."
The Suzuki Kizashi will be launched in Australia next month and is set to challenge existing rivals including the Honda Accord Euro, Mazda6, Subaru Liberty and Toyota Camry.
Suzuki says it has already had in excess of 300 test drives booked via its website and that customers are equally interested in both 2WD and AWD variants.
The Suzuki Kizashi will be offered in two trim levels, both will be powered by a 2.4-litre (petrol) engine developing 138kW of power and 231Nm of torque.
Australian pricing has not yet been released, though Suzuki say we can expect it to be "very competitive" when compared to existing rivals.
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