Maruti India is finally set to shift its focus from entry level hatchbacks and saloons to more premium cars. Maruti tried to capture this segment earlier as well with the Vitara but failed miserably.
Now, it is all set to launch the new Kizashi in the Indian market by year end.
Maruti Suzuki, always considered an expert in the small car with 7 offerings in the segment, will have to change its image for their premium offering – the Kizashi.
Priced around Rs 17 lakh – Rs 24 lakh, the new car will go head to head with Honda Accord, the Toyota Camry and the Skoda Superb with a 2.4-liter petrol engine.
A Maruti Suzuki official -
We will get the confidence to make the sedan here only when we generate adequate sales volumes from the CBUs and CKDs. We do have a plan, but there is a long time to it
But initially the Kizashi will be brought to Indian shores in the form of a CBU which means the base price is already pushed up by more than 100 per cent (including countervailing duties, education cess and other levies).
If it generates adequate sales volumes, the strategy is to shift from CBU to CKD. But CKDs will also attract a 60% duty. The rising yen cost is providing no relief either.
In order to counter these factors the company has a long term plan to manufacture Kizashi in India in its Manesar plant.
The Bonneville Special Kizashi used a Turbonetics turbocharger at 16 psi and an air-to-water intercooler to up its 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine’s output to over 500 horsepower.
The result – A whopping 203.720 mph breaking the record for its class by 1.419 mph. Remember, this is Suzuki’s first record attempt at the Salt lake flats. Not bad at all!
Suzuki plumbed the Kizashi extensively to get it up to speed. New intake manifold, a tuned ‘long tube’ header and forged rods and pistons for high rpm endurance, a new set of coilover shocks, seam welded steel wheels, high-speed Goodyear tires, an air dam for better aerodynamics, a parachute system to slow the car, and a dual fire system to prevent mishaps were some of the additions to the stock Kizashi which now is world famous.
This isn’t what you’re thinking. No, this is not a Suzuki Kizashi with special hub caps lifted from the accessories shelf. This is a road-illegal Kizashi made for record-smashing.
With a top speed of about 200mph, the Kizashi’s gone absolutely wild. It’s engine displaces 2.4-liters. Modest. But the 4-cylinder 16 valve petrol engine makes no less than 500hp at the wheel and 420 lb.-ft of torque.
The one-off “Suzuki Kizashi Bonneville” was announced by Suzuki yesterday to beat the 200 mph top speed limit on the famous salt flats in Wendover, Utah. The Suzuki
Kizashi Bonneville will be piloted by Sam Mitani who will attempt to reach the magical 200mph mark on August 14.
Interestingly, apart from engine specifications, the Kizashi Bonneville doesn’t differ much from the regular Suzuki Kizashi that’s heading to India with a six-speed manual transmission and features like front ventilated disc brakes. It should be mentioned here that the Kizashi Bonneville, made to beat the land speed record has undergone a weight saving program to achieve high performance.
Maruti Suzuki has never been able to sell its high end car- the Grand Vitara, despite revisions in our country. This is because Indian customers shelling out above 10 lakh rupees are very particular about the brand they purchase. Maruti does not enjoy a high end image and has always been known as the maker of cheap & affordable hatchbacks. But it is betting big on its upcoming D segment sedan the Suzuki Kizashi.
Suzuki officials say that it is the most substantial Suzuki ever built. The car was displayed at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi & it did garner a lot of interest. It does not have jaw dropping looks but it is a smart and very lively-looking sedan.
Company officials confirm that the car will hit the Indian market at the end of this year. It will be imported as a CBU from the company’s Sagara plant in Japan. Officials also said that they might consider importing it as a CKD at a later stage if volumes are justified. The car is expected to be priced between 12-15 lakh.
This means that the car would compete with the Honda Civic & Toyota Corolla & not the Accord & Camry with which it competes in the US. It will be powered by a 2.4 liter petrol engine pumping out 188 PS of max power & 230 NM of torque. The car also comes with an optional 4 wheel drive system which can be manually operated by a button. It has a 6 speed manual transmission & there is also a CVT (Automatic) transmission on offer.
The V6 and 4-cylinder turbochrged engine for Kizashi would come from VW
Japanese carmaker Suzuki could use VW’s powertrains for its latest model Kizashi. This announcement comes after Suzuki signed a partnership with VW last year giving rise to speculations of VW powertrains being adopted on some of its other offerings like SX4 and Grand Vitara.
A team of Suzuki engineers were sent to Germany to study the possibility of VW powertrains in the Suzuki vehicle.
Steve Younan, director of product planning at American Suzuki Motor Corp -
We are looking at VW’s cost structure and their offerings. We want to keep our cars reachable to mere mortals. We would be happy with a small V-6 or a turbo-four. The Kizashi suspension is not at its limit. We are trying to be an affordable performance brand.
Is this the tip of the iceberg? We think so. Suzuki could use smaller VW diesels on its SX4 and Grand Vitara. Presently, it sources diesel engines from Fiat, but very soon this could change.
CBU or CKD? It is too early to decipher Maruti Suzuki’s plans for Kizashi in India
One of our favorite picks – DWS, is reporting that Suzuki will launch the Kizashi in India during the Auto Expo in January next year. The Kizashi was launched in Japan a couple of days back and its international debut was conducted in the US back in July.
There is no clarity on the versions that will be offered in India. DWS says a 6-speed manual transmission will be launched next year with front wheel drive.
The 2400cc petrol engine on the Kizashi makes 185 horsepower and 170 ft-lbs of torque. EBD and ABS are standard. Initial test drive reports are positive and say the car can handle corners well.
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If we were Suzuki, the eye-catching/mind-boggling Kizashi would have been here. In fact by now, Honda would have scampered back to the drawing board to make a new Accord and Toyota would have likely slashed Camry prices. Segment leader Skoda Superb would have been discontinued, and the company would have declared competing in this segment was not viable anymore.
As we are not Suzuki, sadly, the Kizashi isn’t here. It won’t be here anytime soon we’re told. Suzuki officials have confirmed that they will take the final call on the Kizashi’s Indian inning in the next two years.
They say there would be no point in launching it here if the demands are not satisfactory, a lesson they learned by launching models like the Vitara, Versa and the Baleno.
The 2.4-liter engined Kizashi is the Japanese car manufacturer’s first time model in the segments ruled by Honda, Toyota, Mercedes and BMW. The Kizashi uses the old and effective formula – every other feature, at a price less than anything else – a similar formula adopted by the successful Hyundai in conquering European and other far away lands.
Suzuki is known for its powerful spine chilling Gixxers and Hayabusas. In Europe, you would relate Suzuki to the Alto or the fun Swift. In India, you would relate them to the 800 and Omni, two cars that bolted wheels to India. When such a car maker opts in to play in the segment where there are no prisoners, you start to question to ideology behind the move. Sure, you could give a dozen airbags and a 1000 kilograms of electronics, but would the Americans, who love their Mercs and Beemers, want to trip in Suzuki luxury sedan?
Here’s a clip of the “economy” luxury sedan Suzuki Kizashi outlining the average age of a Mercedes and Lexus owner. Is it going to make a difference with its comparitively lower price tag? Would a cheaper Lexus or Mercedes gain acceptance in the image-dependent luxury sedan market in the U.S? We don’t know, do you?
Maruti India is finally set to shift its focus from entry level hatchbacks and saloons to more premium cars. Maruti tried to capture this segment earlier as well with the Vitara but failed miserably.
