The Sad Story of the Suzuki Kizashi
About a year and a half ago, Suzuki released a really good mid-sized car. A car that no one is buying.
An interesting question to answer is, why?
The Kizashi is a very competent, sporting family sedan.
The reviews of the car were very good, such as this from autoblog:
"By the end of our time with the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS, we were totally on board with comparing this car to the Acura TSX and Audi A4. Then we started comparing prices. A base Kizashi S starts at $18,999, and while we wouldn't put anything but the GTS model up against an Acura or Audi, it's worth noting that every Kizashi model comes very well equipped and the same engine, transmissions, steering and brakes are used in the base S, SE and most expensive SLS model."
But despite the fact that it handled well, was inexpensive, practical, and overall seems like a good car... it has not sold well at all. It has sold so poorly in fact that Suzuki may pull out of the US market completely.
So what went wrong?
To me, the biggest thing is styling. If someone is going to buy a second-tier brand because it is better value and more sporty than the mainstream models - they want their choice to stand out, they want it to be a big middle finger to all the Camry owners out there (this is one reason, I think, that the WRX 2002-2007 was so successful).
So - for anyone who wants a A4, but does not want to spend A4 money - this is a great option, because I am sure they are going to be liquidating the stock.
An interesting question to answer is, why?
The Kizashi is a very competent, sporting family sedan.
The reviews of the car were very good, such as this from autoblog:
"By the end of our time with the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS, we were totally on board with comparing this car to the Acura TSX and Audi A4. Then we started comparing prices. A base Kizashi S starts at $18,999, and while we wouldn't put anything but the GTS model up against an Acura or Audi, it's worth noting that every Kizashi model comes very well equipped and the same engine, transmissions, steering and brakes are used in the base S, SE and most expensive SLS model."
But despite the fact that it handled well, was inexpensive, practical, and overall seems like a good car... it has not sold well at all. It has sold so poorly in fact that Suzuki may pull out of the US market completely.
So what went wrong?
To me, the biggest thing is styling. If someone is going to buy a second-tier brand because it is better value and more sporty than the mainstream models - they want their choice to stand out, they want it to be a big middle finger to all the Camry owners out there (this is one reason, I think, that the WRX 2002-2007 was so successful).
So - for anyone who wants a A4, but does not want to spend A4 money - this is a great option, because I am sure they are going to be liquidating the stock.
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