2010 Suzuki Kizashi SLS

Suzuki introduces its most luxurious sport sedan

By Nina Russin

2010 Suzuki Kizashi

Suzuki is the compact car king, having grown from a niche player to the eleventh largest automaker globally. High sales volumes in Japan and India have propelled Suzuki ahead of Mazda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Value-packed offerings such as the SX4 and Grand Vitara kept Suzuki in the black last year. It is the only Japanese manufacturer that maintained profitability throughout the recent slump.

As successful as Suzuki has been within the compact segment, the automaker struggles with attracting upscale buyers. Five years ago Suzuki introduced the Italian-designed Forenza and Reno in an effort to open that door: a strategy that ultimately failed.

This year, Suzuki tries a different strategy, with its introduction of the mid-sized Kizashi sport sedan. Designed from a clean sheet of paper, the Kizashi rolls of Suzuki’s an all-new Sagara, Japan assembly plant. Read the rest of this entry »