Suzuki's Shrinking Kizashi

The soon-to-arrive Suzuki Kizashi is not a "tweener" car, a Suzuki official told Motor Trend at the official nveiling of the production model recently. It was always meant to be a C/D-segment sedan. Still, we couldn't help but think that it had lost ... something.

Suzuki previewed three concept versions at auto shows around the world, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel four wagon and a 3.6-liter V-6 sedan. The V-6 was the clue. It was to be the same gas direct-injection engine found in the Cadillac CTS and Chevy Camaro. But General Motors sold 17 percent of its 20-percent stake in Suzuki in 2006, and then sold the remainder in November 2008 for $230 million, as it sought loan guarantees to float it through the Great Recession.

The production Kizashi, we reported, was to be built on GM's Epsilon platform, possibly in a North American factory (like the discontinued XL-7). The three Kizashi concepts had the same size wheelbase as the Chevrolet Malibu, 112.2 inches. Instead, the Kizashi is built in Japan. It is launching with a 2.4-liter inline four, and Suzuki brass are coy about a V-6 option, although a hybrid version using the four is in the cards, and a turbo-four is likely. The production Kizashi's wheelbase is listed at 106.3 inches, even though overall length has grown over the concept by 0.1 inches, to 183.1.

So the Suzuki Kizashi is just slightly bigger than the Chevrolet Cruze (178.5 inches long on a 105.7-inch wheelbase). Its wheelbase is slightly shorter than the Epsilon II platform's Opel Insignia (107.8 inches) although it's 7.1 inches shorter overall than that car.

Clearly, Suzuki's separation from GM changed plans for a midsize car, although Suzuki holds a stake in GM's Daewoo Automotive. GM's bankruptcy and paring down to four brands intervened. With Suzuki's North American sales hit particularly hard during the recession, an "international"-size car, whether you consider it C- or C/D-segment, made more sense than a larger midsize. And in the end, Suzuki may be in a better position as most automakers expect Americans to shift from midsize to compact cars in the coming decade.

VIA motortrend