First drive: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi

Not just another midsize sedan

Alton, Va. - If you want a job done right, do it yourself. That could well have been Suzuki's rallying cry when the Kizashi project received the go-ahead.

No fault of Suzuki's, but the automaker's last attempt at selling an intermediate sedan was a debacle. The operative word being, "selling." Suzuki did not design or build the Verona. That was the work of GM's Korean subsidiary, Daewoo. The Korean firm was already building affordable badge-engineered products for GM, and Suzuki being a GM partner, it seemed like a good idea at the time to hitch a ride on the same strategy. With its own version of the Chevrolet Epica (a.k.a. Daewoo Evanda) Suzuki could grow its brand beyond small cars and compact SUVs.

Gallery: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi

How badly did the Verona bomb? Let's just say that in a good year Suzuki Canada moved about 200. In its worst year, the records show -4 - that's right, minus four - Veronas crossed the curb in Canada. Apparently chronic engine problems caused Suzuki to buy some back.

Kizashi means "something great is coming"

The new Kizashi is all Suzuki's own work, and it's simply light years ahead of the woeful Verona. I know this, having just attended the car's U.S. media preview. The car goes on sale Stateside in December, a few months ahead of Canada. The Canadian trim line-up will likely differ, but the basic package will be the same.

The Kizashi is pitched as a midsize sedan, though as midsizers go, it's petite. Being a relatively small player in North America, Suzuki lacks the luxury of developing a larger midsize car just for us, so, like the first-generation Mazda6, Kizashi is a case of "one size of fits all."

At 4.65 metres in length, the Kizashi is even stubbier than the original Mazda6. It is, however, right in there with the likes of the Mercedes C-Class, Saab 9-3 and Audi A4. And the way Suzuki tells it, that comparison is more relevant than you might think.

Kizashi, we're told, "delivers the dynamic handling and premium design aesthetic of a fine European sports sedan with the quality, reliability and attention to detail (of) modern Japanese automobiles ..." And here's the kicker, " ... at a mainstream price that represents a new benchmark for value and performance in the midsize class."

U.S. pricing will start at $21,500, and even the base SE model will be well equipped.

Something bigger is coming ... under the hood

The sports-sedan claim might seem a stretch, given that Kizashi is motivated by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine giving 185 horsepower - above average for a "four," but hardly exceptional. On the other hand, there is sporting promise in the available transmissions - a standard six-speed manual, or a continuously-variable automatic (CVT) with paddle-shift controls. Oh, and there is also a robust GM-sourced 3.6-litre V6 waiting on the sidelines. That should do it.

Kizashi offers something else that pedigreed Europeans have but mainstream Asian products don't: all-wheel drive. Optional with the CVT, the i-AWD system can relay up to 50 per cent of the engine's torque to the rear wheels. And it does so proactively, anticipating when wheel slip is likely, and re-distributing the drive power to stop slip before it starts.