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Old 21st March 2013, 23:59   #1
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Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

INTRODUCTION
Our family currently owns a Swift Dzire ZXI and we were looking for a diesel luxury sedan that gave more space and features than the Dzire. So these were the points that we kept in my mind and started our car hunt:

1. Good power & torque figures
2. Good rear legroom space (a must since i am six feet tall)
3. Diesel
4. No sunroof (Dad felt that they would create a problem in the monsoon)
5. More than 450 liters boot space
6. Cruise control

THE HUNT

We started our car hunt in October 2012 and test drove many cars. Many of them impressed and many of them left us disappointed (more on that later).

So these are the cars that we test drove:

Renault Fluence
Actually i was never impressed with the power of Fluence but my dad always loved French cars and after the 110PS engine came we were off to test drive.
We visited the only showroom in Ahmedabad, Kamdar motors. They were quiet professional and surprise surprise my dad's friend was the showroom manager and we spent almost 15 minutes talking to him. Anyways we test drove the car and to be frank dad was quite disappointed as he felt the drive was coarse (no offense meant to Fluence owners). That put the Fluence out of the list.

Volkswagen Jetta
The new Jetta had been advertised quiet a lot and I suggested that we go and take a look. So we reached Volkswagen Karnavati and guess what my dad had a friend working there too. Anyways I was more busy sitting in the demo car and felt that it was built like a tank, now i understand the meaning of German build quality. The drive was quiet impressive especially I loved the DSG gearbox but dad hated automatics and there was no manual transmission option for Highline at that time and the absence of basic feature like climate control put dad further off. So that was the end of the consideration of a German superior build quality machine.

Corolla Altis
Actually one of our friends had suggested this car to us. But this decision never took off, we contacted Infinium Toyota and on hearing the power figures the car was immediately striked off the list.

Chevrolet Cruze
I loved this car the power and torque figures were the best in class. Further the LTZ variant was fully loaded. The drive was excellent dad fell in love with the car on the test drive. But the main problem was that the LTZ variant had a sunroof and dad was not ready to go for LT variant since it had too few features. So sadly out goes the Cruze.

Mercedes C Class
Dad always wanted to own a Mercedes since his childhood. We had read about the car on the website and reached Benchmark Cars, the disappointment started almost immediately when the saleswoman didn't even know how to speak english and started speaking in half english and half hindi. Frankly if she would have spoken in hindi it would have been better since we couldn't understand a damn word that she spoke. We headed to the ground floor for what we thought was a test drive, irritatingly she made us sit in the car and just explained all the features and, no test drive guess why? Because it was a customers car that we were sitting in. Apart from the fact that we didn't get a test drive the car felt quiet cramped. Dad was so irritated by the sales representative that he immediately scrapped the brand off the list.


Decision
We were getting irritated due to not being able to fix on a car and dad took a shocking decision to remove the diesel barrier. He considered that we sell the Dzire and only keep the new car. This decision put mom and me off since that was our first car and we had emotional value for the car (secretly I wanted the car because I knew that since I was a new driver I won't be allowed to drive the luxury sedan). Anyways it was dad's decision what can I do or can I. I just used the maska (buttering) formula and voila dad agreed problem soved.

Entry of the Kizashi
Since the diesel barrier was out I started looking for ownership reviews on Team BHP and found the Kizashi review. The car looked stunning and in bluu's ownership review he stated that he got a discount of 4 lakhs plus we were Maruti customers from the Maruti 1000. So I contacted a few dealers (actually I contacted all of them) and short listed Kiran (from whom we bought Dzire).

BOOKING
Kiran is the most reputed dealer in Ahmedabad and I understand why. On asking about the car the SE immediately took us to the godown and showed us the available cars. There were 2 whites and one silver. Dad chose the silver after a prompt test drive in their demo vehicle. But then Dad's workload increased and the buying decision was put off for about fifteen days. After 15 days we went back to the dealer to find that the silver one was sold and one of the white was sent to another city and now there was only one white remaining.

Dad immediately booked the car, paid the down payment and started the loan process. It took about 5 days for the loan to be passed which were the longest five days in our life.

DISCOUNT
Actually the dealers don't term it as a discount and if the customer is not smart enough he may be sold the old stock saying it is new. Kiran was quite truthful about the discount and told us before hand that 2 cars were 2 years old and one was 8 months old. Dad wanted the Silver even if it was 2 years old but since that was sold we had gone for the relatively younger one which had comparatively less discount. The on road price was 19,89,000 and we got the car for 17,00,000. So that was a discount of 2,89,000, we were given free floor mats and mudguards which together cost Rs.20000. So the discount and goodies together were nearly 2 lakhs. The 2 year old models had discounts of 5 lakhs. The car was new because it was ordered by a person in 2012 but he couldn't take delivery due to personal problems. I checked the VIN number and it was true.


PDI
We were called for the pre delivery inspection 2 days before the delivery. The service executive thought the car was to be delivered that day and decorated it which further got me excited. Anyways the car was Ok'd by me and we went back home.
Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-dsc_0025_800x600.jpg

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-dsc_0026_800x600.jpg


D-Day
Monday 18th of March 2013 was the day. We reached the godown in a chariot (alright it was a rickshaw) and immediately found the car as it stood out from the others in the whole crowd. There was quiet a lot of commotion since this was only the second Kizashi that they were delivering and it was a special moment for them. We were gifted a bouquet and two boxes of sweets and dad was explained the features of the car while I was busy taking photos. The car had L/100Km in the display instead of Km/L on asking they didn't know what to do. Since I had read about the problem earlier I had read the owners Manual online the previous night and knew the solution. I explained them that by holding the disp button for 3 seconds would make the car enter into setting mode and from there you could navigate to fuel economy and set it Km/l problem solved. Finally after clicking a lot of pics we took off from the godown and topped the car with 59 liters of petrol.

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_130341_800x600.jpg
The cover will be changed too due to scratched Suzuki naming.
Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_131357_800x600.jpg
Just to clarify. That's not me in the image.
Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_142432_800x600.jpg

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_142735_800x600.jpg
To the right is our first car Dzire zxi

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_215747_800x600.jpg
The car looks like a cockpit in the night.

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_215704_800x600.jpg

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_215713_800x600.jpg
The display shows individual open doors

Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast-20130318_215806_800x600.jpg

Parts
Some parts are yet to arrive and will be fitted free of cost in 15 days as promised by Kiran motors. The parts that have to arrive are the driver side ORVM (only the mirror), four roof points, Hood interior cover, engine cover and the Battery.

First Drive
We drove the car on the highway behind our house and the car was an absolute gem to drive and hugged the corners. The car makes people give a second look, lots of people kept turning back and seeing us. The car has traveled 126Km in 2 days and believe me we have enjoyed every bit of that ride. The car is just excellent in every aspect be it the electronic seat, the dual zone climate control or the cruise control. When you push the start button you realise what it means to UNLEASH THE BEAST.

Design
This is one area where Suzuki has done a brilliant jobe as can be proved by the number of head that it manages to turn.

Call me strange but the other day I saw another black Kizashi when I was in my Kizashi and stopped to take pics of the black one. The design simply blows you off with lines and curves and the 17" wheels which it sits on, the front looks awesome with the honeycomb grille and the dual barrel headlights. The design is now 2 years old but still looks fresh as a daisy.

The chrome finish for the dual exhaust is a nice finishing touch.

Interior
The interior is a pleasant place to be in, the dual zone climate control keeps the driver, front and back passenger cool. The rear A/c vent is a nice touch. The cabin is quiet spacious and provides more than enough rear legroom space even after pushing the front seats completely back.

The driver seat is electric,10 way adjustable and has 3 memory settings which is just too good. The seats themselves are quiet supportive and well stitched with leather.

Even the quality of the steering mounted audio control buttons and cruise control buttons is superbly made out of rubber as compared to plastic is Dzire. Each of the power window switches illuminates to make it easy in the night and the front two are anti pinch and auto up down windows.

Fit and Finish
The fit and finish of the car is leagues ahead of other Maruti cars. But the same cannot be said about the German rivals, small things like the radio and climate control console is slightly misaligned make a difference. Other than that when I compare it with my Dzire I can definitely tell that there is a difference of "land" and "sky". The dual tone dashboard is just superb, but the beige carpets tend to get dirty.

The doors are of very high quality as you can feel just by their weight, they even open a massive complete 90 degrees which helps in easy ingress and egress.

Ride Quality
Must say that it is one of the BEST tuned suspension. It keeps all the harshness outside and glides over bumps and potholes.
Surprisingly, even though the GC is just 155mm it doesn't touch any speed bumps which is strange considering that the old Honda City even having 160mm clearance scrapes bumps.

Even my Dzire with 170 mm has managed to scrape a bump but the Kizashi with lower ground clearance manages to cross that bump. I just can't understand how is that possible. Well as long as it works it doesn't matter to me, seems to be something with the multi-link suspension which helps.

Engine and transmission
The J24B naturally aspirated 2.4L petrol engine is just superb it just keeps on pulling and pulling till 6000 RPM and develops 180BHP@6000RPM and 230NM of torque, it is even quiet efficient considering the capacity.
The transmission is much better than the CVT and does its job well.
But the Kizashi needs to be revved for getting out performance, in city you might have to work the gears but once you get used to it, it is a smooth drive.

Usage pattern
The car is driven 75% in the city and 25% on the highway.

PROS
1. 3 Memory settings for driver seat which is a real boon in a family where there are more than one drivers
2. Dual zone climate control is a boon on road trips
3. excellent rear legroom space
4. Stylish looks
5. Exclusivity
6. 461 Liters boot space
7. Stylish 17" alloys
8. Cruise Control
9. High quality soft touch dashboard
10. Leather seats

CONS
1. Waiting for parts
2. Unavailability of a diesel engine (which is the main reason for its failure)
3. wiper and headlight stalks on wrong sides (problem with most of the imports and CKD's)
4. No auto door lock by speed (even Dzire and Sx4 have that feature then why not Kizashi?)
5. The on road price (without the discount I might not have gone for the car)
6. High cost of parts
7. No holes for front registration plate (Strange!?)


UPDATE 26 MARCH 2013
It is now more than a week that I purchased the car. The parts that had to be replaced had arrived so I went to the godown and got almost all of them installed except for the battery.

The battery had arrived but when they tried to put it in the car, the car didn't crank. It was later found that the battery didn't have any acid in it. The acid will have to be sourced from Gurgaon since a special acid is required. So it will be installed in the first service.

In the meantime Dad got parking sensors installed in the car with reverse camera. It costed around Rs.11500/- with tax. The mudguards had become loose so they were tightened. The only thing is that it took us quiet a lot of time to get everything done because they were busy with deliveries. They delivered nearly 30 cars in that one day. I went at 11:30 AM and reached home at 4:30 PM, but they took care that customers are served with refreshments like tea, coffee or cold drinks.

MILEAGE
So it is more than a week from purchase and guess what we have already driven the car for 1000 kms. The car still feels the same as it was when it was taken from the godown, it feels as though the car grows on you and gets better as every mile passes. The average of the car keeps on increasing as you drive it. On the highway it is a comfortable cruiser and gobbles the miles as they come, it remains sturdy no matter what the speed is. It just makes you feel more confident, it feels as though the car is saying "Bring it on". Every time dad drives the car he just can't stop praising it. He always asks me one question when we go for a drive in the Kizashi "I still can't understand why the car didn't sell. Do you know why?" which makes me feel sad for the car, as it was for no real fault of it that it did not sell. Anyways to sum up my ownership review these are the pros and cons that i found with the car after 1000Km's. Comments are appreciated.

Currently these are the Fuel economy figures that I am getting from the car
City- 10.1 KM/L
Highway- 12.5 KM/L

SO WOULD I SUGGEST THE KIZASHI?
YES, anyday I would suggest the Kizashi to anyone who is in the market for a Luxury petrol sedan. The discount makes it even more tempting to own one. I would definitely suggest people moving up from Sx4 to take Kizashi into consideration. The engine is refined and powerful and the ride is pliant.

COMPETITION
Since this car is a CBU(Completely Brought in Unit) the only major competitor I can think of is the Accord. Both the cars use the same engine and have identical power output. But the Accord now feels dated from the inside(no offense meant to accord owners) and is due for an upgrade soon. Plus there is huge price difference in both the cars, the Kizashi has even got discounts which is the icing on the cake. Both the cars are made in Japan and are fully imported. The only advantage that I think the Accord has over the Kizashi is brand value(in premium segment) and rear legroom space.

Last edited by aah78 : 2nd April 2014 at 22:24. Reason: Post Edited on request. Corrected grammatical errors. Please run a spell-check next time. Thanks!
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Old 22nd March 2013, 00:38   #2
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Looks like I will be the first one to congratulate you.

The car does look good, wonder why Maruti did not get a diesel version of Kizashi. So, you have two petrol sedans now, you can be officially certified as a petrol-head

post some more pictures and drive safe.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 00:42   #3
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congrats on one of the hottest car to drive! Do take more snaps and fill up your thread. Would love to see the interiors!

Congrats & wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!
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Old 22nd March 2013, 00:47   #4
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Quote:
Originally Posted by vasanthn21 View Post
Looks like I will be the first one to congratulate you.

The car does look good, wonder why Maruti did not get a diesel version of Kizashi. So, you have two petrol sedans now, you can be officially certified as a petrol-head

post some more pictures and drive safe.
Thanks a lot will post more pictures soon. I have heard rumours that due to vw now having a share in suzuki, the Kizashi might get the 140HP diesel engine. But again the true gem is the 2.4L 180HP engine and i doubt the diesel will be able to deliver that. I know this since we test drove the jetta which had the 140HP engine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftnfurious View Post
Congrats on one of the hottest car to drive! Do take more snaps and fill up your thread. Would love to see the interiors!

Congrats & wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!
Thanks the icing on the cake is that every person on the road turns back to see the car which gives a smile on our face. Will put more pics as soon as my exams get over that is in two days.

Note from the Team-BHP Support: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the same thread.

Last edited by Rudra Sen : 22nd March 2013 at 10:41.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 00:55   #5
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congratulations on your brand new car! Wish you and your family many many safe miles in the Kizashi. By the way, I have a Cruze LTZ and have faced no problems whatsoever in the monsoon season.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 01:16   #6
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Originally Posted by SedatedDrive View Post
Congratulations on your brand new car! Wish you and your family many many safe miles in the Kizashi. By the way, I have a Cruze LTZ and have faced no problems whatsoever in the monsoon season.
I know that it will never have problems but it was my dads mindset about the sunroofs I actually like them and would have liked it in Kizashi too but then we might not have bought it after all then
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Old 22nd March 2013, 01:18   #7
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Thats one hack of a car, a Japanese car which can be compared with likes of Europeans. Congratulations rockporiom on aquiring the beast.

Would you please share the ex showroom and on road price?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rockporiom View Post
Thanks a lot will post more pictures soon. I have heard rumours that due to vw now having a share in suzuki, the Kizashi might get the 140HP diesel engine.
That is now thing of past since the deal didn't progress any further after the initial agreements. Now both the companies are fighting case against each other in the court because Suzuki wants to buy back those 19% shares which VW bought when their deal initiated and VW doesn't want to give back.

Last edited by tbppjpr : 22nd March 2013 at 01:20.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 01:30   #8
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Great choice, Congrats!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by rockporiom View Post
Parts
Some parts are yet to arrive and will be fitted free of cost in 15 days as promised by Kiran motors. The parts that have to arrive are the driver side ORVM(only the mirror), four roof points, Hood interior cover and the Battery.
when i read this. Did you mean these parts were missing in the car which you took delivery of? Any specific reason given by the dealer on why there are parts missing in a brand new car?
Sorry, this is the first time i am hearing this.

Drive safe!!
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Old 22nd March 2013, 08:10   #9
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

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Originally Posted by DexterMorgan View Post
Great choice, Congrats!!



when i read this. Did you mean these parts were missing in the car which you took delivery of? Any specific reason given by the dealer on why there are parts missing in a brand new car?
Sorry, this is the first time i am hearing this.

Drive safe!!
No the mirror was blackened and the hood cover was eaten by rats, it is there but looks shabby. only four points on the roof were missing which is normal since they put it only during delivery but they ran out of stock.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 09:23   #10
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congrats on getting a very rare car in India. Definitely one of the better vehicles, especially now that they have reduced prices quite considerably.

If you have had rats eating things under the hood please get the engine checked carefully. You do not want issues
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Old 22nd March 2013, 10:33   #11
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congratulations.
As and when you do a long drive post your impressions and FE figures. I believe this has same engine as the GV from Suzuki stable
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Old 22nd March 2013, 10:40   #12
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congratulations on another possession of Suzuki clan The car looks premium and I am sure you will have the select status and a wonderful time with Kizashi

Offtopic - Saw a black modded black kizashi in front of the notorious K***i house in Pune. It was my first real sighting of Kizashi and was a treat to eyes.
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Old 22nd March 2013, 12:04   #13
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congrats on your new acquisition, The Kizashi does look very tempting especially now post the price reduction. How much did it cost you on road post the discounts?
Do they officially term it as discounts now or they call it as revised prices?
Rumors were rife that Kizashi might be discontinued considering the poor sales track record, would you have any update on it?

Apologies for a series of questions from my end.

Enjoy the whip and have fun logging in accumulating KMs
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Old 22nd March 2013, 14:17   #14
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Congrats on getting one of the last few Kizashis that'll probably be sold in the country given the high rate of duty on CBU's announced in the latest budget. I don't think Maruti will dare import any car again.

Your hunt for a new car took a sudden turn towards the Kizashi . Would love to hear from how the car felt in comparison to cars like the Jetta and Fluence that you TD'ed and what were factors that tilted the decision in the Kizashi's favour.

I love the way the Kizashi looks, esp the rear with those twin exhaust pipes.

Enjoy the car and drive safe
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Old 22nd March 2013, 15:04   #15
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re: Suzuki Kizashi - Unleash the Beast

Quote:
Originally Posted by sudev View Post
Congratulations.
As and when you do a long drive post your impressions and FE figures. I believe this has same engine as the GV from Suzuki stable
Yes it does have the same engine but the FE is quiet respectable for the size of the vehicle. It give 10.5 in the city and about 13.2 on the highway.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Santoshbhat View Post
Congrats on getting one of the last few Kizashis that'll probably be sold in the country given the high rate of duty on CBU's announced in the latest budget. I don't think Maruti will dare import any car again.

Your hunt for a new car took a sudden turn towards the Kizashi . Would love to hear from how the car felt in comparison to cars like the Jetta and Fluence that you TD'ed and what were factors that tilted the decision in the Kizashi's favour.

I love the way the Kizashi looks, esp the rear with those twin exhaust pipes.

Enjoy the car and drive safe
Ya it is sad that the car had to be stopped from being imported for no real fault of it. The car is an absolute monster when compared with the diesel vehicles that we test drove. It is leagues ahead of fluence in almost every aspect. It is slightly ahead from cruze in terms of features and because it is petrol the drive is smoother. Don't get me wrong the cruze is the best in its segment but petrol drive is smoother.

Last edited by rockporiom : 22nd March 2013 at 18:31.
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