Suzuki Kizashi Goes to Australia

Finally, the much anticipated Kizashi sedan model from Suzuki made its debut on the Australian market, the manufacturer announced today. The car is powered by a 2.4-litre DOHC in-line four cylinder engine, capable of developing 131 kW at 6500 rpm and 230 Nm at 4000 rpm with a fuel efficiency of just 7.9 litres per 100 km.

“Kizashi – which is Japanese for ‘something good is coming’ – represents an exciting new direction for the company,” said Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers. “Kizashi has been developed to be our flagship model in the Suzuki passenger car line-up. We have a great reputation as the specialist in small, sporty cars, 4WD SUVs and now Kizashi takes us into the mid-sized segment for the first time.”

The standard transmission in Kizashi is a six-speed manual designed by Univance and manufactured by Suzuki. However, a new CVT is the optional automatic transmission, available on both XL and XLS versions of Kizashi.

Both XL and XLS models will feature a traditional stick shift lever, allowing customers to shift ratios manually. Owners of the XLS version will have a rally inspired steering wheel mounted paddles as well.

Safety wise, the car has a light, energy-absorbing body in which structures that absorb and disperse impact energy which are combined with a deformation-resisting cabin and Suzuki’s Total Effective Control Technology concept.

The car also uses a range of active and passive safety technologies, including 3-point seatbelt with pretensioners and force limiting, Anti-lock braking system (ABS), Electronic brake force distribution (EBD), ESP stability control with traction control, and six airbags, including head protecting side curtain airbags.