[Fornax]

Given the recent budget proposal on CKDs, Kizashi might be off the shelves before we see them on the streets. The 20L OTR was unpalatable to begin with, and to add another lac or two would be akin to the 500 from Fiat.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Fornax

Given the recent budget proposal on CKDs, Kizashi might be off the shelves before we see them on the streets. The 20L OTR was unpalatable to begin with, and to add another lac or two would be akin to the 500 from Fiat.

The Kizashi is a CBU so the price will remain unchanged.

[mercedised]

A stupid question from me:

Is it Maruti-Suzuki or just Suzuki? I am asking this because nowhere on the car I could see a Maruti badge, so what should this car be called as Maruti Suzuki Kizashi or just Suzuki Kizashi.


Nice review though.

[hemanth.anand]

Its a Suzuki Vehicle sold and serviced by Maruti Suzuki JV.

1. Because its a CBU and not a CKD or a locally manufactured car
2. Suzuki anyway has the majority stake in the JV

Its pretty "similar" to a Fiat sold and serviced by Tata Fiat JV

Effectively its not an Indian car.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Its a Suzuki Vehicle sold and serviced by Maruti Suzuki JV.

1. Because its a CBU and not a CKD or a locally manufactured car
2. Suzuki anyway has the majority stake in the JV

Its pretty "similar" to a Fiat sold and serviced by Tata Fiat JV

Effectively its not an Indian car.

I am not sure if the Maruti-Suzuki JV is same as Tata - Fiat JV. Except for the Kizashi, doesn't the other Suzukis sold in India got a Maruti name on the boot? But I have not seen a Fiat sold with a TATA name. And do we have Maruti cars sold separately as a brand?

My understanding is that Fiat-TATA JV is mainly on sales and service. Maybe I am wrong here

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Its pretty "similar" to a Fiat sold and serviced by Tata Fiat JV

Originally Posted by vb-san

I am not sure if the Maruti-Suzuki JV is same as Tata - Fiat JV. Except for the Kizashi, doesn't the other Suzukis sold in India got a Maruti name on the boot?

VB san,

This is exactly why i put "Similar" in quotes in my last post and I'm talking only about the Kizashi here.
MS and TF are different in many ways but they are similar in some ways.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by mercedised

A stupid question from me:

Is it Maruti-Suzuki or just Suzuki? I am asking this because nowhere on the car I could see a Maruti badge, so what should this car be called as Maruti Suzuki Kizashi or just Suzuki Kizashi.


Nice review though.

I think it is a suzuki because it is a CBU import from Japan. From a quality standpoint these first lots could be better built due to the made in Japan factor.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^
Yes. That 'better-build' would be the advantage of getting a CBU, with the disadvantages being higher cost due to CBU duties and spares being costlier since they would be SGP (not MGP).

Being a CBU from Japan, it is obviously a Suzuki - nothing Maruti about it.

[NetfreakBombay]

Given the situation in Japan, supply of Kizashi might be reduced to a trickle. Not sure if a customer would wait 4 -5 months for a car in this segment.

[princemanatt]

Suzuki seems to be launching a sporty version of Kizashi with around 290 bhp according to autocar. Hope we get this version too

source.
Suzuki to preview two new models | Autocar India

[Samurai]

I got a call from my local Maruti dealership, actually the salesman was at my office gate when he called me. He had a Kizashi CVT which he wanted me to test drive.

Well, how can a Team-BHPian say no to a TD that falls into his lap. So I took it for a spin. The salesman was struggling to explain the features that were too new to him. I asked him to relax and explained many of the features, including the Tiptronic Transmission. Damn, I had that in a car I bought in 2000.

The driving experience, as long as I was sedate, it was very nice. But if I tried a little aggression, there was a lag, a slight rubber band effect. I constantly switched between Tiptronic and automatic mode, and failed to see much difference. Sure, Tiptronic was useful in getting engine braking in slopes. But in sudden acceleration, I saw little difference. The Acura I used to own 10 years would act as if it was on steroid when switched to Tiptronic mode. No such feeling here.

AC was very powerful, the ride was very smooth. Seats were very comfy. But at 21L on-road price in Karnataka, I feel it is a little overpriced.

[ZENnist]

Does anyone have the sales figures of Kizashi till date? i guess after the initial hype, it has failed to make an impression. till date i have spotted only one in Bangalore (near Sobha aptmts, Bellandur) around the launch date; after that, none!

[supremeBaleno]

Same here - spotted just 1 Kizashi in Chennai since launch (other than the HR-regd car which I believe must belong to some MSIL official). I was standing outside Chicking, Sterling Road when I see a white car zip by - took some time to make out that its a Kizashi.

You can see the sales figures in GTO's monthly sales thread - though the figures are nothing much to talk about. Pity that a nice car had to go this way.

[dharmana]

The Suzuki Kizashi Manual transmission costs 20000 dollars in the USA which is equivalent to 9 lakhs. Here in India we have to buy the same car for 17 lakhs just because it is a fully imported car!

The 8 lakhs extra which we shell out is pocketed by the govt as we have 100% duty on imported cars. The maruti CEO says they want to test the sales of a low volume car by importing it and if they get a positive response, then they would start assembling or manufacturing it. The CEO must be a 60year old retard who doesn't have the vision to understand how they are going to get a positive response if Indians have to buy it at double its original price. Then those sales rep are going to say that the sales are dismal and it would not be wise to start production of Kizashi in India. If they had manufactured it and priced at around 9 lakhs, this car would have blown the socks off other manufacturers and they would have followed suit by starting their production plants here and we would have got performance cars priced reasonably below 10 lakhs. As long as the attitude of these Indian CEOs or the govt towards taxation changes, we Indians have to put up with crap cars optimised for mileage with a budget of 10 lakhs. The same goes for all companies, if they start local manufacturing, all the civics, crvs, accords and fortuners will be within reach of most indians at around 10-12 lakhs. But alas, these performance cars are only in the reach of rich people only because of the ridiculous pricing.

[wartikars]

Originally Posted by dharmana

The Suzuki Kizashi Manual transmission costs 20000 dollars in the USA which is equivalent to 9 lakhs. Here in India we have to buy the same car for 17 lakhs just because it is a fully imported car!

The 8 lakhs extra which we shell out is pocketed by the govt as we have 100% duty on imported cars. The maruti CEO says they want to test the sales of a low volume car by importing it and if they get a positive response, then they would start assembling or manufacturing it. The CEO must be a 60year old retard who doesn't have the vision to understand how they are going to get a positive response if Indians have to buy it at double its original price. Then those sales rep are going to say that the sales are dismal and it would not be wise to start production of Kizashi in India. If they had manufactured it and priced at around 9 lakhs, this car would have blown the socks off other manufacturers and they would have followed suit by starting their production plants here and we would have got performance cars priced reasonably below 10 lakhs. As long as the attitude of these Indian CEOs or the govt towards taxation changes, we Indians have to put up with crap cars optimised for mileage with a budget of 10 lakhs. The same goes for all companies, if they start local manufacturing, all the civics, crvs, accords and fortuners will be within reach of most indians at around 10-12 lakhs. But alas, these performance cars are only in the reach of rich people only because of the ridiculous pricing.

I completely agree with this point. This case is applicable to Passat, Jetta, Honda City, Honda Civic. The taxation on cars in India is done negatively. And to top it up, we don't have proper public transport. We have taxation on cars like Hong Kong & Singapore and public transport system like the western countries where cars are cheap. With the change in the economic patterns & standard of living & distances & public transport system, government should reduce taxes on cars. Even the 1L car is no more a 1L car. The entry level car in India is approx. 1.75L