Suzuki vs. Mitsubishi

Kinja'd!!! "Victorious Secret" (victorioussecret)
08/15/2013 at 10:38 • Filed to: None

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Why does one stubbornly cling to survival while the other is packing up and leaving?

Suzuki, as we sadly know, is more or less dead in North America. They haven't had marketing in ages despite the fact that they sell 2 of the better cars in their respective segments.

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The SX4 is a decent little thing that comes with AWD (only other car besides the Impreza to offer it when it came out) and is generally fun to drive and as a hatchback is spectacularly competent.

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The Kizashi was an oddity. Sitting in between class sizes (just like the CTS before this generation) but it was by all means a competent car that was so hilariously underrated that you genuinely feel sad for Suzuki not selling a boatload of them. They barely marketed the thing, people just barely knew it existed.

Corporate shenanigans led to their downfall but not due to a lack of good products. They had pretty good products but their lack of advertising and shoving them down our throats ensured that they'd never sell enough to make a statement.

Now, let us compare to Mitsubishi. I've displayed the one model they still sell that is worth your money.

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The Evo. The steroid taking Lancer. Its not really a Lancer anymore, its had all that Lancer crap engineered out of it and replaced with a road going rally car.

Let that sink in. The one car Mitsubishi still sells is also the one that costs a lot, goes against the STI, and only has market appeal because of children like us.

The base Lancer? Hah. Even with AWD that is a stinking pile of meh. The Galant? I was shocked that they still make it. The other models that I can't even recall off the top of my head? That should say it all.

It is a bit depressing that Suzuki, a company that was/is making cars worth your pennies is slowly pulling out from North America and Mitsubishi despite making utter crap is still around here selling us their crap.


DISCUSSION (3)


Kinja'd!!! Z_Stig > Victorious Secret
08/15/2013 at 10:45

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Maybe if Suzuki gave the Kizashi a more manageable name for the average American shopping for a family sedan, it would have been a different story.


Kinja'd!!! Jid M > Victorious Secret
08/15/2013 at 11:35

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I have a 2011 Lancer GTS, which is the one of 5 models of Lancer (yes, that includes the Ralliart and Evo) that has the 2.4 liter engine, where all of the other models have the same 2.0 liter.

I absolutely love my car. Yes, compared to the Evo, it has crap power, but who cares about just power? The thing handles beautiful, is really, really comfortable anywhere you sit in it, has a good stereo system, everything works, I've never had anything wrong with it, and it's built like a tank. I've put 50K miles on it in just over 2 years, and have seriously yet to run into any sort of issue. Plus, it really does look great.

I also really liked the Kizashi. I never test drove one, but I did like the styling and everything else about it. I'm also sad that Suzuki pulled out of the N. American market.

And I'm quite sad that Mitsubishi hasn't put more effort into their vehicles. They need a giant kick start in their butts just like what happened with Kia or Hyundai, and get some really good design language going into their cars.

But seriously. My lancer. She's beautiful and fantastic.

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Kinja'd!!! MoeNKhan > Victorious Secret
08/16/2013 at 05:21

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The standard Lancer, given its age, isn't a bad car to drive a tall. In fact, if you're looking for an enthusiast-offering in the segment, it rises closer to the top of the class.

Their SUV line-up isn't bad either (now that the Endeavour is finally gone).