Suzuki SX4 Luxury Cars

Back in mid 1994, Toyota released the original RAV4, a small compact city 4WD, that in reality, probably never went off-road. 13 years later, the RAV4 has doubled in size (so have the owners) and lost its appeal, but many buyers are still keen for a cool, small, and efficient 4WD. Say hello to the Suzuki SX4.

The SX4 is the third next generation model in Suzuki’s lineup; soon the Suzuki Splash will take that up to four. Now, you might be thinking, why should you trust a small 4WD from Suzuki, don’t they only make Swifts? No, and here is the truth, the SX4 is a merger between the insanely popular Suzuki Swift and the Suzuki Grand Vitara 4WD, using the best of both cars, Suzuki has managed to build one of the best value for money cars available today.

The SX4 is a lifestyle car, you wouldn’t buy it unless you wanted the “I do something on the weekends” image, which is a well sought after thing these days. The SX4′s name comes from Sports X-over for all 4 seasons.

Perhaps a victim of its own success, every third car on the road these days seems to be a Suzuki Swift, thankfully this hasn’t happened (yet) with the SX4, which means, not only do you get a lot for very little, but it’s also rather unique and you can bet none of your friends own one. Having picked up the SX4 with a five-speed manual transmission first, I headed back from Brisbane airport towards some winding roads around Mount Glorious. Gear changes can take a little while to get use to, the clutch has a rather unique feel to it, but it is quickly mastered. The gear ratios are perfectly spaced out with first gear capable of reaching at least 30km/h; I almost applaud Suzuki for not putting a six-speed in this and ruining drivability for the sake of marketing.

Once my arguments with the gearbox were settled, I was in hot pursuit of a Japanese AWD turbo going up Mount Glorious, although you can argue it’s all driver dependent, the SX4 is extremely fun to drive, a big credit to Suzuki’s quest for sporty dynamics. Given the SX4 sits relatively high (ground clearance of 200mm), the handling is superb.

You can also credit the excellent driving dynamics to the SX4′s i-AWD (intelligent All Wheel Drive) system. Using a small button located near the handbrake, the system allows you to pick between front-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive auto and four-wheel-drive lock settings.

Initially starting in 2WD, it took me some time to even realise I was not in 4WD mode, a credit to the cars well balanced chassis and smooth power delivery. I admit, I found it a little odd putting the SX4 in 2WD mode given the 4WD auto setting distributes torque according to need, with most of it going to the front for normal everyday driving.

Suzuki says the 2WD mode returns the best fuel economy figure (8.7L/100kms), and although this is true, for me, sacrificing a little more fuel for the extra safety and traction of a 4WD, is well worth it.

As for the 4WD lock mode, I’d imagine this will be the least used setting for the car in Australia. Only if you’re actually stuck in some mud or snow will you call on 4WD lock. The system puts the torque to the rear wheels (to begin with) to help you get out of those, sticky, situations.

nce you reach 60 km/h it automatically disengages and reverts back to 4WD auto.

Put it in 4WD auto and rev the 2.0-litre engine to 3,500RPM for a spirited take off and you will be amazed just how fast the car screams off the line, with 107kW of power and 184Nm of torque, the engine might appear a little underpowered on paper, but it’s far from it – at least in a manual.

After my week with the manual variant, I got my hands on the auto, and my love for the SX4 started to dwindle. The four-speed auto gearbox, for lack of a better word, is rubbish, it makes the SX4 half the car it can be, with incredibly slow take-offs, no power to overtake on the highway and a highly unresponsive power delivery, you would be mad to pay an extra $2,000 for an inferior car!

Once again, I say this to all those interested in buying a small car, buy it in manual, yes the auto is easier to drive, but the power difference will change your mind and the manual will make you a better driver.

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If you have never sat in a recent model Suzuki, have a quick glance inside the SX4 and you will be pleasantly surprised. Borrowing a lot of the interior from the Suzuki Swift, the SX4 is one of the most modern looking Japanese cars, inside and out.

Whilst designing the SX4, Suzuki realised one important fact early on, although capable of producing well built and reliable cars, the design team were a little, well, untalented. You only have to look at the Suzuki Jimny and Liana to find that out.

Thankfully, the design team decided to head to Italy for some help, and the result was a stylish, modern and good looking compact 4WD. Not bad for a company that started out making weaving looms!

From the front, the aggressive headlights give the SX4 a menacing stand, the sort of look Peter Costello gives John Howard in the men’s room (but with some dignity). The rear isn’t as flash, but passes my test.

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