[adimicra]

Originally Posted by princemanatt

I was also much excited about this figure. But this month's Autocar has a detailed test on Kizashi. Their official figures for 0 to 100 timings are very ordinary. 0 to 100 comes in 9.13 seconds and 150 comes in 20.12 seconds. They say Laura is comparatively much faster(8.1 seconds and 18.5 seconds respectively). Now I am not very excited with kizashi.
Moreover when the car reaches 181 kmph real speed(around 193 on the speedo), rev limiter cuts in and the car wont go any faster. The car reaches 181 kmph in 4th fifth and 6th.

All figures above are for the manual version.

That's a real dampener, particularly considering the 'sporty sedan' positioning of the car.
The figures are similar to ANHC I feel. ANHC has a top whack of 185 kmph+ (true speed) if I remember the numbers correctly and takes around 10 sec to the 100.

[Akshay1234]

Personally I think the magazine figures are unreliable sometimes.

But its limited to 180 since its an import from Japan (isnt it?) and all cars there have the same limit.

[DNM]

I did not find it that impressive though.
A person can chip in around 2-3lacs more and buy an Accord or a Superb.
18lacs is just not the money worth of this car.
it comes under the Civic, Laura and Jetta category, right?

[DMehta]

Originally Posted by DNM

I did not find it that impressive though.
A person can chip in around 2-3lacs more and buy an Accord or a Superb.
18lacs is just not the money worth of this car.
it comes under the Civic, Laura and Jetta category, right?

I think you got that wrong, the kizashi is far more superior to the civic and the jetta.
Just for instance, the kizashi sports the 2.4 litre engine whereas the civics got the 1.8.
The kizashi has much more power than the civic or the jetta. A six speed gearbox can do wonders for you. Throw in features such as the start stop button and power seats etc, it can create a place for itself provided the quality isn't like other maruti cars, which sidindica has already mentioned is far more superior than any other maruti car.
I think maruti has introduced this car here to take on the civic jetta group as well as the accord and superb group. If maruti seriously reconsiders the pricing and brings it down a little, it would be great.
Plus, one look at the kizashi and it will blow you apart. it looks absolutely stunning and gorgeous. If you tell someone you paid 20 lacs for the car, they will believe you with their eyes closed.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by DNM

I did not find it that impressive though.
A person can chip in around 2-3lacs more and buy an Accord or a Superb.
18lacs is just not the money worth of this car.
it comes under the Civic, Laura and Jetta category, right?

No, Kizashi comes under the Accord, Camry and Passat category

[DMehta]

The only thing that went wrong (according to some people) with the kizashi is that the overall length of the car is lesser than the competition. i.e accord, passat etc.
But, for the price that maruti is offering and the equipment, i would say it is worth it.

[vb-saan]

Whatever category the Kizashi is in (whether in Jetta/Civic group, or in Superb/Accord), I feel Suzuki has missed a chance here. The car is fully loaded, and one of the better offering from Suzuki. They, from their side should have shown a bit more belief in their own product, and got it in as a CKD (instead of CBU). With that added price advantage, it could have done what the Superb did to market a couple of years back - a true game changer.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Whatever category the Kizashi is in (whether in Jetta/Civic group, or in Superb/Accord), I feel Suzuki has missed a chance here. The car is fully loaded, and one of the better offering from Suzuki. They, from their side should have shown a bit more belief in their own product, and got it in as a CKD (instead of CBU). With that added price advantage, it could have done what the Superb did to market a couple of years back - a true game changer.

I know some of us have different ideas than MSIL about how to sell suzuki cars. However I am not sure why kizashi's price should be reduced for it to be successful though it is still one of the lowest in the midsize category (same as Accord/Camry/Superb/Sonata). And we all know how well sonata sells though it is the lowest in its category.

And probably all is not lost with the India Japan free trade agreement coming in to reduce the import duty. The price of Kizashi could still come down quite a bit. But I am not sure that would be enough to push Kizashi's sales if the qualities of the car itself won't help it that much.

[DNM]

yes, i agree that it is low on the overall size, compared to its bigger rivals, the passat or the superb.
the features provided are tremendous of the price.
i was viewing a review on television, where kizashi and civic was compared. the civic has better legroom in the back, whereas the kizashi doesnt. yes, the civic does miss on most of the features that the kizashi provides, for example, start-stop button, all-information screen, etc.
but somehow, i find the price range of this car too costly for its size. in the end, what matters for people is comfort when it comes to buying a car of such prices.

[romeomidhun]

Source: Maruti Suzuki Kizashi sales in India | Indian Car and Bike Blog

"If initial reports are to be believed, country’s largest car manufacturer’s attempt to enter biggies league has been accepted very well by customers. According to latest reports, Maruti Suzuki Limited has received over 350 confirmed bookings for their maiden luxury segment product, Kizashi.

According to Maruti Suzuki officials Kizashi bookings are beyond expectations and now company has already achieved booking targets till May 2011. Though officials did not confirm the figures company has received, Mayank Pareekh, Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales), MSIL said 'Bookings for Kizashi have beaten company expectations.' "

Seems that Maruti was very pessimistic about Kizashi! They expect just 100 numbers per month!

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Source: Maruti Suzuki Kizashi sales in India | Indian Car and Bike Blog


Seems that Maruti was very pessimistic about Kizashi! They expect just 100 numbers per month!

I fail to understand the attitude of MSIL. They should only bring a model for success. 100 numbers per month is not worth the effort. They should change the rules of the game and become a Superb Killer. They should have brought in the car at 15L (MT) and that would have ensured a great impact.

I still believe a lot of Indians even at higher price points look for the Service capabilites and mileage. I think this should work in favor of MSIL.

[avishar]

The thing why maruti was so circumspect about the Kizashi and that reflects on its very low expectations is that it never expected it to be a game changer in the first place.It is still trying to test the waters and ultimately try and create an image that Maruti too can make fully loaded,luxury cars with good engines.I guess they did not want to carry out the extra investment that would require to set up a assembly plant.

Good to see it was well expected.350 is just new model sales,i expect sales to stabilize in the 200-250 range which is pretty good.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^
If sales were to stabilise at 200-250 p.m., that would actually be a hit, given the Jan-2011 sales figures of the competion :

Superb : 391
Accord : 174
Teana : 21
Sonata : 11
Camry : 3
Passat : 2

Given above figures, I would think that even 100 units a month would be a respectable figure, making it come in at 3rd place.

[wartikars]

Looks like its a value for money car from Maruit Suzuki. I guess its will be a competitor for Civic due to Civi's low ground clearance and also for Accord due to it's pricing.

[skjlives]

Originally Posted by gshanky

However I am not sure why kizashi's price should be reduced for it to be successful though it is still one of the lowest in the midsize category (same as Accord/Camry/Superb/Sonata).

And probably all is not lost with the India Japan free trade agreement coming in to reduce the import duty. The price of Kizashi could still come down quite a bit. But I am not sure that would be enough to push Kizashi's sales if the qualities of the car itself won't help it that much.

Last I checked, the current Sonata is available OTR Bangalore for under 18.5L(post discounts/freebies). Agreed, it's a model on the way out, but still, this is data as of today. The Kizashi is around 21L OTR. Kizashi is not the cheapest in the mid-size category, not unless there are discounts/free insurance etc thrown in.

Also disagree that a price drop will do sales figures no good. I know of people who would take it at 2.5 - 3 L cheaper than it is. I am one of them. This car is too sexy, but not for the money it comes for right now.

On the claimed figures, not sure what that 350 means. I had paid a notional booking amount to the dealer here, well before the actual launch, and will go do the TD tomorrow (the invitation has finally come!). Highly likely I'll cancel my booking tomorrow.

I'd wait for ARAI figures for 2-3 months (to neutralize the effect of early buyers who'll buy a new toy despite any sticker price just for novelty value) to ascertain the success/failure of this launch.