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Caption:

Delta Tech Engineering Kizashi

Delta Tech Engineering, a specialist in vehicle lighting, started with a gutted – and lightened – Kizashi body shell. While Delta Tech took care of under the hood, with cold air intake and performance exhausts, RK Sport developed a body kit, Katzkin supplied the custom seating, and Koni enhanced the Kizashi’s already composed ride with its own coilovers and shocks. Lighting, engineered in house by Delta Tech, is LED and HID. Sound equipment upgrades are provided by Kenwood. The Delta Tech Kizashi may be seen at Booth #23526 in the Central Hall.

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Suzuki is set to make somewhat of a splash at this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, offering a trio of modded Kizashis, yet another tricked-out Equator, and one very badass SX4.

Check out each of Suzuki’s SEMA cars, along with the company’s description of the modifications that have taken place, by clicking through our gallery above.

Some seemingly internally leaked images from Suzuki would appear to show the company’s upcoming baby GSX-R, the GSX-R125, long before the bike’s official debut.

The mini Gixer does a great job of aping the styling of it’s hardcore older brothers, with a frame that appears to be extruded aluminum (it’s probably steel, we’re told) just like the big boys.

Not big is the 125cc water-cooled, 15 brake horsepower engine that is powering the thing, nor the guestimated 275 pound dry curb weight, nor the anemic rear tire. Probably just don’t need a lot of rubber to keep that power down.

+ Hell For Leather: Suzuki GSX-R125 official shot leaks

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Suzuki officially debuted its all-new Kizashi midsize sedan today, showing a car that is at once more premium and aspirational than anything the company has offered to date in North America, as well as more risky. That’s ok with Suzuki, which claims to be ready to, “Enter a field already saturated with countless nondescript transportation appliances.” Game on, old guard.

Though little better than a niche automaker here in the States, it’s clear that Suzuki has got great confidence that it can stir some feathers with its new offering. The company has done relatively well with the SX4 and XL7, and believes that Kizashi will give it a chance to compete for those buyers who are looking to move further up-market. To that end, Suzuki benchmarked targets like the Acura TSX, Volkswagen Passat, and Europe’s Alfa Romeo 159 when putting its new sedan together. Company executives were quick to point out that those same cars do not represent Kizashi’s perceived competitive set, however—Camry, Accord, and Mazda6 fill the bill there.

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We’re already on the dance card to see Suzuki’s new Kizashi (that name still isn’t official, but we’ve got our fingers crossed) midsize sedan officially debuted tomorrow, but it seems as if the wait was too much to bear for one of the laser-eyed posters on the Motive forums.

One industrious snapper from Road Race Motorsports has captured Kizashi at what appears to be a very official, launch-like event, though the full origins of these images have yet to be determined. We like what we see from the front of the new Suzuki flagship, where an aggressively styled front grille dominates (and looks not a little like Audi’s shield), and larger sloping headlights are well integrated. Things get a little less distinctive as we head toward the rear of the car, but we’ll certainly reserve final judgment until we seen the sedan in the metal.

Click through the gallery above to take a closer look at Kizashi, and check back tomorrow when we bring you full detail from the launch.

+ Road Race Motorsports

+ MotiveMag Forums: Suzuki Kizashi Unveiled

As readers have amply demonstrated and discussed in our Forums, price has become an even greater factor in new car purchase decisions as of late. And although shrunken budgets may be altering car-buying habits everywhere, we’re of a mind that a reasonable sticker price doesn’t have to mean a dearth of driving fun.

In fact, with smaller form factors, better fuel economy, lighter weight, and funkier styling, there’s a lot to love about the modern lineup of vehicles the stay south of the $20,000 mark. Over the next two months, we’ll dive deep into the frugal end of the new car pool, testing eight vehicles that we believe are as cheerful to drive as they are painless to pay for. Within our criteria, there’s still a pretty substantial range of price on offer here—MSRPs from around ten grand to twenty—though we’ve done our best to identify the cars the perform particularly well on a per dollar basis.

+ Click here to continue reading The Best Cars Under $20,000, Part One.

Like what you’re reading here? Click on the link below to subscribe to a year’s worth of Winding Road PDF downloads for the special introductory rate of $4.99! Individual back issues are available as well, all at NextNewsStand!

+ NextNewsStand: Subscribe Now!

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Car Summary

The seven-passenger crossover segment is growing very rapidly, and although the Suzuki XL7 is a decent player in this market, the GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook and Ford Edge are better choices all around.

No big surprises here. The XL7 provides adequate power and handling, and the optional all-wheel drive puts the power of the V-6 engine where it belongs. A comfortable ride is compromised by uncomfortable seating.

Pros

• Five-star safety rating for front- and side-impact crash tests.
• Optional seven-passenger seating.
• Other optional equipment includes electronically-controlled all-wheel drive and DVD-based navigation.

Cons

• Exterior styling is an acquired taste. The front headlamps are a bit too angular and the rear bits look very last-generation.
• Interior parts sharing with GM is very obvious. The buttons and knobs are reminiscent of a last-generation Saturn Vue.
• All-wheel drive is not available on the base model.

Read more about the Suzuki XL7 on the vehicle's Buyer's Guide page, where you'll find our driving evaluations, previous road tests, galleries, and more. You can find Buyer's Guides to other vehicles in the NextAutos Car Search database.

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Yesterday, we reported that Suzuki's Kizashi might never see dealer lots, but a new report suggests otherwise. After the automotive press went up in arms about the possible cancellation of Suzuki's entry into the mid-size sedan segment, the folks at Automotive News made a few phone calls, and now Suzuki spokesperson Jeff Holland says that, "The production version will debut at this year's New York Auto Show in April."

This comes as a relief to us at NextAutos, since we've long been anticipating the Kizashi and hope it really boosts Suzuki's sales in America. Stay tuned for the live reveal from New York this April.

+ Autoblog: Reports of Suzuki Kizashi's demise highly exaggerated, coming to NY

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In a somewhat odd turn of events, reports have popped up claiming that Suzuki may be stopping its development of the new Kizashi mid-size sedan, even though we've seen a number of prototypes running around in almost dealer-ready specification. While the Global economy may not be favorable to the automotive scene, it seems weird that Suzuki would completely nix the development of what could be a very important car for its brand.

The automaker has flaunted its line of Kizashi concept cars for quite some time now, and we were really hoping to see Suzuki pull through with a stylish mid-size vehicle. And while Suzuki does have a few attractive products in its showcase, the Kizashi could only have furthered Suzuki's quest to become a leading Japanese automaker.

As of this writing, the Kizashi's death is not set in stone, and we'll be sure to keep you updated with any breaking news on this front.

+ Reuters: Suzuki to shelve plans for large car (via Autoblog)

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSSP20627520081215

Suzuki had been mounting a very respectable effort in WRC. It's sad to see them pull out because of the "global economic crisis". Unfortunately, it will be repeated across motorsports.