[mayankk]

You know what?
I think this is just a doled-out favor from suzuki for the sake of MS.
The janta is aware enough nowadays to know what is being launched whre in the world.
Suzuki having the kizashi launched was bound to, and did, make waves.

BUT...
I dont think Suzuki feels India to be a cost effective market.
They know the perception of MS as a non-premium brand.
and the Kizashi is suppposed to be a premium product.

so this activity of having a launch here and all is just bruhaha.
what did it cost them?
certainly not the expense of setting up a base of manufacturing, thats for sure.

"chalo, lets ship a few to india as well, just for goodwill's sake."

If it fails, no problem,if it doesnt, well.....

I still think their primary market of focus will be the 1st world nations.

[GTO]

16.5 lakhs means a whopping 19.xx lakhs on the road in Bombay. And over 20 in Bangalore! Remember, it's a CBU. Thus, the RTO taxes are higher than for locally built cars (like the Accord & Superb) in nearly all States.

I am afraid Maruti has done a "Tata Aria" here, and is punching above its weight. As I posted earlier, the Kizashi:

- Has the brand value of a 3 lakh car
- The interior space of a Civic / Altis
- Engine power output of an Accord

While factor no.3 meets 20 lakh rupee expectations, 1 & 2 miss it by a mile. I think Maruti themselves know that the Kizashi will suffer very limited volumes. Say hello to another "Grand Vitara". Well, actually the Kizashi may do a little better than the Vitara....but that's not saying too much (Vitata sold all of 1 units last month).

Originally Posted by akj53

The above prices look good and will undercut Accord and may also hurt the upper models of Laura. Some Civic, Cruze and Altis prospective buyers may also increase their budget to buy this as Kizashi will have the advantage of Brand assurance of Maruti.

Are you kidding? The Altis is over 5 - 6 lakhs cheaper on the road. The difference between the Altis / Cruze / Civic and the Kizashi is too high. Someone who is besotted by the Superb will never touch the Kizashi. And the Accord's space & brand are way superior to the Kizashi.

Don't get me wrong....the Kizashi seems to be one heck of a car. When I sat in a CBU-example at the Auto Expo, I was blown away by the interior quality. However, even the Aria is a heck of an MUV. BUT at what price? At 15 - 16 lakhs on the road, the Kizashi is a deal. At 20 lakhs, it is too much of a premium.

[volkman10]

This price may work only if the on-road performance of the car is satisfying and build quality is up to the mark, as those in the current segment.
We need to await the 'official new car review' by GTO, I guess.

Cheers!

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by skjlives

16.5 L to 17.5 L (auto), ex showroom Delhi...

First impression? Expensive, but not exorbitant.

All the best to MUL, given the fact that there are tried and tested cars in this range with a better brand recall. Hope it does not suffer the same fate as the Grand Vitara.

[mrkanitkar]

Kizashi at 20 Lac OTR, thank god I was not waiting for it.

[2500cc]

Ground Clearance is only 155mm. I think this is lower than Civic with 170mm, right ? Isn't this going to be a problem on Indian roads ?

[rohitm]

I agree with the general sentiment here.

• Ignore the price and Kizashi is one heck of a car. Powerful Engine. Safety and Equipment all round.
• Ignore the Maruti Suzuki badge and Kizashi might still pass muster at the said price albeit with difficulty. For me a Skoda Superb will prevail over Kizashi
• Considering the price and the brand - sadly Kizashi is still born

Cheers

[gitartha]

Originally Posted by volkman10

This price may work only if the on-road performance of the car is satisfying and build quality is up to the mark, as those in the current segment.
We need to await the 'official new car review' by GTO, I guess.

Cheers!

+1
Eagerly awaiting to know how those 178 horses under the bonnet flex their legs, 0-100 in 7.8 seconds gives a good indication anyway. Coming back to the price, this is a clear attempt by MSIL to create a separate segment between A4 (civic/jetta/laura) and A5 (Accord/Camry/Superb). Other than falling short by a few inches of legroom, it simply sweeps the Camry and the Accord away in terms of features available at 16.5 lac ex-showroom. OTR will of course vary from city to city, and you can't really quote bangalore & mumbai rates as standard fare to acertain the bang for the buck factor. Apart from loaded to the gills with safety features (curtain airbags, electronic stability program, et al), the international spec Kizashi (CBU will anyways be made in Japan) has a Euro NCAP rating of 5 stars. This IMO will give existing A4 owners an excellent option to upgrade to a Luxury car that will even have a service station in ladakh (remember the old gypsy ad) .

p.s. 17 inch wheels sound real cool. Correct me if I am wrong, the Innova rides on 15 inchers.

p.s. 2 - Isn't it a great paradox that in India Toyota has launched sub 5 lac old school 900 kg budget sedan at nearly the same time that Maruti is launching 17.5 lac "luxury sports" sedan? Automobiles are a great leveller.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by mrkanitkar

Kizashi at 20 Lac OTR, thank god I was not waiting for it.

dude, this was really funny!!!!
seriously.
(the following is NOT sarcasm)
In fact, its even funnier than you know what?
the kizashi's price tag!!

[VW2010]

Ground Clearance is only 155mm. I think this is lower than Civic with 170mm, right ? Isn't this going to be a problem on Indian roads ?

If the suspension is as stiff as the Jetta i dont think this would be a huge problem. Jetta has similar GC(152) and glides over these roads with so much ease because of the suspension set up. In fact i found the ride quality very high compared to laura on bad roads.

The price is a little bit steep. If we look at it as a Maruti made in India, the price looks very high. But if its going to be sold as a unit assembled in India the price looks good compared to the competetion knowing the quality of materials may not exactly resemble the ones we see in Swift or SX4.

[suman]

Sigghhh, there goes another sedan option off my list. But that was bound to happen being a CBU, wasn't it!

Originally Posted by GTO

I think Maruti themselves know that the Kizashi will suffer very limited volumes.

Rush, maybe this will be the first case of "introductory" prices going the other way, as in down

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by suman

Sigghhh, there goes another sedan option off my list. But that was bound to happen being a CBU, wasn't it!


Rush, maybe this will be the first case of "introductory" prices going the other way, as in down

remember the funduro?
maybe some lucky ones will get the kizashi too, at a 60% discount.

[VW2010]

Just saw the Maruti website and I am quite impressed with the features of this car. Only thing the car lacks is a Sun-roof/moon roof. Otherwise the car packs every feature even a Passat packs and with that powerful engine the pricing may cheaper compared to a Passat or Accord. Featurewise the car will out match Accord and if cheaper on-road compared to Accord people may prefer Maruti.

Service related question:- Vitara service tales should give us an indication of how service will be for this high end maruti car. (Including spares cost).

Unlike other Maruti cars the service and spares story may not be exactly similar but may end up being costlier.

[rajeev k]

Maruti calls Kizashi as India's first luxury sports sedan. A marketing ploy, perhaps to lure sports car dreamers.

Inspite of all the bad points Kizashi may outsell others in the segment. If Aria can sell 300+ a month Kizashi can definitely rock.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Has the brand value of a 3 lakh car

Am sorry, but do you mean that the brand value of a brand = the cost of it's cheapest car?

IMHO, Suzuki does not deserve that.

And, going by your logic TATA's brand value should probably be 1 lac!

Toyota and Honda are SUZUKI's competitors in the small car market atleast in Japan. IF Toyota and Honda can sell premium cars, why not Suzuki?