The Suzuki Kizashi

The Suzuki Kizashi is an upcoming mid-size car from Suzuki. It will be the late successor to the GM Daewoo built Suzuki Verona. Production will start in early 2010 in Sagara, Japan, with North American production to likely be assembled at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, just like most other North American mid-size sedans. Reports suggest that the car will be built on a front engine front/all wheel drive platform developed by Suzuki. Its engine options will be a 2.5 litre 4-cylinder and a 3.6 litre V6. The price range will range from $21,000 to $28,000. This car is much needed to compete with cars such as the Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, and Hyundai Sonata. It might be called Kizashi or sold under a different name. A crossover variant will also replace the Suzuki XL-7. As of January 2009, the Kizashi is on hold and possibly canceled. Suzuki has not confirmed nor either denied the cancellation of the car. On Tuesday January 6th, 2008, Suzuki announced that the Kizashi was not delayed and that the news it was delayed was just a rumor. Suzuki also said the Kizashi will make its debut at the 2009 New York International Auto Show.

The 2011 Suzuki Kizashi will offer front-wheel drive and a choice of two powerteams. One comprises a new 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and a 5-speed automatic transmission. The other mates a 3.6-liter V6 with a 6-speed paddle-shift automatic and optional all-wheel drive. The 4-cylinder engine is said to be all-Suzuki, too. The V6, however, is based on the so-called “high feature” General Motors engine used in the Malibu and Suzuki’s own XL7 midsize SUV. It’s a vestige of the longtime GM-Suzuki alliance that was dissolved in March 2006 after delivering the Korean-built Verona and the soon-to-depart Suzuki Reno and Forenza compact cars.

The 2011 Suzuki Kizashi would include modern family car must-haves such as a four-wheel independent suspension, antilock brakes (with four-wheel discs likely standard at least for V6s), front and curtain side airbags, air conditioning, and power windows/locks/mirrors. But we’d also expect a no-cost navigation system, as announced for 2009-model SX4s. We haven’t heard about options yet, but the list will probably show rear-obstacle detection, radar-based cruise control, leather upholstery for 4-cylinder models, and the obligatory high-power sound system.