Why is it that Suzuki has suddenly started making interesting cars after they pull out of North America because their cars weren't interesting and nobody was buying them?

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada) 01/16/2017 at 14:23 • Filed to: None

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I mean, the Kizashi was cool. The SX4 was cool too, but far too old by 2012. But it seems Suzuki is finally coming around again and making really interesting cars. The Ignis would make a really good Micra/Mirage/Spark competitor if it was imported here and priced right.

404 - User No Longer Available > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 14:40

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Thing is they always made those interesting cars. The Swift elsewhere was MUCH better than the rebadged POS Aveo/Swift+ we got instead. Problem is federalization, as always. They won’t sell as much and they will become bloated pigs if they do.

GhostZ > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 14:40

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Because it’s amazing what you can do when you don’t have to conform to pedestrian safety, fleet economy, and import tax regulations. Cheap foreign cars are really hard to sell in the US economy if you don’t have a larger brand backing them up to meet requirements.

Steve in Manhattan > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 14:45

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You got a lot for your money ... should have worked.

not for canada - australian in disguise > GhostZ 01/16/2017 at 14:51

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Australia’s regulations aren’t that much different from US regulations.

E90M3 > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 14:51

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I drove one around the ring, wasn’t a bad little car.

Wacko > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 14:52

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Suzuki was never the problem, the problem is the average american wanted a big car, and that suzuki was not. The other problem is that the other cars they had than the sx4, Vitara and Kizashi were re-badges of the wrong cars, like the nissan frontier and a chevy aveo of all things......

They should of had the real suzuki swift instead of a Swift+

In canada we had suzuki a year longer since we like smaller cars in canada.

I had my SX4 from 2010 till early 2015. just 1 month shy of 5 years. great little cars. Was sad the day i crashed it, knowing it wouldn’t be replaced by another suzuki.....

Wacko > Steve in Manhattan 01/16/2017 at 14:55

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they were too small in size for the american market. the Kizashi was in the camry/accord class, but the size of a corolla and civic.

The sx4 was in the civic / corolla class but was the size of a Fit / echo / versa

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > GhostZ 01/16/2017 at 15:10

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UK regs are pretty strict and theyre selling it here.

dogisbadob > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 15:21

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Suzuki made a big mistake by not offering the Aerio and SX4 with a sunroof.

And they were absolutely stupid for not selling the international Swift over here. The last Metro/Swift we got sold reasonably well and they’re awesome.

Suzuki even had a HUGE head start in the small SUV market that is quite popular today. Yet they totally squandered it. The Wrangler done right. 

Probenja > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 16:43

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Suzuki is #3 in terms of car sales just behind Hyundai/Kia here in Chile. Their cars are fun to drive, good on fuel and reliable. Only drawback is that they are small and that is probably why they did so terribly in the US. I feel like if they ever make a comeback it would have more sucess in Canada as most of their lineup is awd capable, even down to the Ignis and Swift.

Oh and offer this outside Japan please:

Wacko > dogisbadob 01/16/2017 at 16:54

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yeah but a certain magazine ended their huge head start.

  http://www.rocky-road.com/rollover.html

t0ast > not for canada - australian in disguise 01/16/2017 at 17:06

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I was impressed enough with a SX4 rental I had at one point that I almost bought one of the AWD hatches. Granted, the CVT in the rental was awful, but a test drive later revealed that the Manuel option was all it needed to step up into the well-rounded vehicle I was hoping it would be. Hell of a deal when it stickered for <$18k loaded too.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the market until early 2012, and it was almost certainly known at that point that Suzuki was on its way out from the states. Between that and the hatchback’s storage capacity being a touch smaller than what I was wanting, I wound up going for a Subaru instead.

I still wish they would have been able to push on just a bit longer to try and secure a solid foothold once they got out from under the shadow of crappy Daewoo rebadges. I would have loved to see the Swift stateside.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Probenja 01/16/2017 at 17:21

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Suzuki was always WAY more popular in Canada than the States. If our car market wasn’t so interconnected to the US we’d probably still have Suzuki.

Chinny Raccoon > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 01/16/2017 at 18:01

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Saw one the other day. Looked good!

Grindintosecond > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 01/18/2017 at 22:07

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Because the tax laws are so horrendous that anything with a small engine becomes desireable , so, Suzuki has a market not overshadowed by big trucks (lorries).