Now, it’s a true Sport
You’ll drive it with a grin on your face
Word is getting around about how well the Suzuki Kizashi handles. Its dynamics on the road give this mid-sized sedan, which made its debut in April, a fun-to-drive flavour.
What the car needed to really fulfil that sporty potential, however, was a manual gearbox, replacing its not-so-sporty continuously variable transmission (CVT). That “need” is now being answered with the introduction of the 2011 Kizashi Sport.
This addition to the lineup, which will be arriving in dealerships within the next few weeks, boosts the Kizashi’s fun factor to a new level. The engine continues to be the same 2.4-litre 16-valve four-cyl inder tucked into the current SX model, although the Sport gains an extra five horsepower, pushing the output to 185 (at 6,500 rpm) and 170 pound-feet of torque (at 4,000 rpm.)
That power is channelled through a six-speed gearbox to the front wheels only, unlike the SX, which features all-wheel drive. The manual transmission’s shifter has a firm feel, the gates are obvious and the clutch is easy to engage smoothly.
The gearbox change makes the Sport more of a driver’s car, complementing its already sporty dynamics. Adding to its handling prowess are some tweaks to the suspension (MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear system) that lower the Sport’s ride height by 10 millimetres.
During the media preview, I had the opportunity to drive the car on a variety of roads north of Montreal, including multi-lane and weaving secondary roads, as well as an afternoon on the ICAR racing circuit at Mirabel. On public roads, it felt stable and secure on the curves and highway ramps, while the ride was firm but not harsh.
On the track, however, those dynamics really bloomed, especially when heavy rain hit the circuit and the surface became slick. The Kizashi still demonstrated plenty of grip, while the precise steering provided a lot of feedback, letting the driver know exactly what was happening with the front wheels.
Suzuki arranged for back-to-back comparisons with a number of competitive products and the Kizashi outshone them all, except the Acura TSX, which was comparable in its handling prowess. It is also several thousand dollars more than the Suzuki.
The Sport’s attractive exterior is distinguished from its siblings by a different front bumper, lower grille and fog light bezels, plus side sill skirts and a chromed lower side moulding. The rear deck is also altered, with a hump on the deck lid that forms an integral spoiler. Sporty multi-spoke, 18-inch alloy rims fill the wheel wells nicely.
Inside, the meaty steering wheel and shifter knob are wrapped in leather, while silver stitching provides attractive accents to the leather-covered sport seats as well as the shifter lever and parking brake handle.
Pricing won’t be announced until the Sport is ready to go on sale, although Bill Porter, Suzuki Canada’s vice-president of sales and marketing, did say the price tag will be less than the SX, which lists at $29,995 in its fully loaded format.
Porter noted a second new model will be joining the Kizashi lineup, also within the next few weeks. Dubbed the S, it’s intended to be the base model in the line.
It will come with many of the features that comprise the lengthy list of standard equipment found on the Sport and SX, including push-button start, dual-zone automatic climate control, tilt and telescopic steering column and eight air-bags, but its heated front seats will be cloth covered and the alloy wheels will be 17-inch — an inch smaller than its siblings.
The S will be front-wheel drive and only available with the CVT transaxle, although it will have a manual shifting feature — but not the paddle shifters included in the higher-end SX model. Again, pricing is being withheld until the car is set to hit the showrooms, but Porter suggested it will fall somewhere in the $26,000 to $27,000 range.
The Sport is expected to achieve a single-digit share of overall Kizashi sales, which Porter said have been meeting the company’s targets since it hit Canadian streets. (No specific numbers were offered, however.) I think the Sport’s appeal would be enhanced if it was available with all-wheel drive. It could also use about 50 more ponies up front. Porter says a V6 option is out of the question and that’s understandable — dropping in the heavier six-cylinder would ruin the car’s fine balance. But tucking a turbocharger under the hood would have a dramatic impact on that four-cylinder, which currently seems to lack the zip one would expect in a “sport” model. Combined with all-wheel drive, a turbo-four would surely deliver performance that would rival some of the best sport sedans (think Audi A4.)
Still, in its current form, the Kizashi Sport is a well-crafted, fine-handling sedan that will haul a family of four in comfort — and put a wide grin on the driver’s face.
