Posted 02.20.2009

2009 Suzuki SX4 Crossover FWD Technology: If you drive it, you’ll buy it

By Jeff Rundles

When last I had this car, two Christmases ago during a raging snow storm, they didn’t refer to it as a crossover, but rather just the SX4, and I pronounced it one of the finest cars I have ever driven.

What’s changed in the interim is that Suzuki has launched the SX4 as a sedan model, so this hatchback model is now the Crossover.

What hasn’t changed at all is that it is one of the finest automobiles I have ever driven. Well, maybe a little change: I loved it more this time.

I wanted one then, and I want one even more now.

There are on the market now, of course, a spate of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and there are some gems. I have driven the Toyota Yaris, and liked it very much, and the Toyota Matrix, also a winner, and the Honda Fit, which ranks among my favorites. I haven’t driven the Nissan Versa, or the Chevy Aveo, so I can’t speak to where they would rank, but you’ve probably seen one or two or thousands on the road – I know I have – so that will give you some idea of the size and class of the cars we are talking about, and also some idea of the popularity.

But trust me, if you re looking for a wonderful commuter car for Colorado, and you don’t include the Suzuki SX4 Crossover in your test-drive research, you are not only limiting you car hunting, but most likely skipping the one car you would buy. It’s that good.

As I said, I like many of the others, and you really can’t go wrong with Toyota and Honda; their reputations for excellence preceded them. And, yeah, I know, Suzuki is lacking in the overall reputation department, what with the Samurai debacle several years ago and probably the single worst vehicle ever made, the X90 (and I include the Yugo in the assessment of worst). But for several years now Suzuki has been making some wonderful rides – the Equator is a very nice pickup truck, the Grand Vitara holds its own in the mid-range SUV market, and the larger XL7 SUV has its adherents.

The SX4 Crossover, however, is transcendent. It drives beautifully. It is as quiet as a luxury car costing $20k to $30k more. It is wonderfully peppy. It is roomy. And it is fun to drive. All those other cars I mentioned have some of these attributes – except the noise thing; the SX4 is king – but none of them have it all like this SX4 Crossover. Every now and then, a car company comes out with a very special model, where everything is executed to near perfection, and this is Suzuki’s.

One of the things I like the most about it is that you can get it with all wheel drive – the SX4 Sedan doesn’t have that option. Now, the Toyota Matrix also comes in AWD, but none of the others do. And there is just something special about the Suzuki. I don’t want to make it sound like I am dissing Toyota, or Honda for that matter; their entrants in this segment are admirable, perhaps even home runs. It’s just that the SX4 Crossover is a grand slam.

Now, of course, we’re talking here about small cars, “sub compacts” in car jargon. These types of vehicles are lightweight, and overall they tend to have a very lightweight and “tinny” feel; like when you close the doors, often you don’t hear that reassuring “whaummpff.” That’s the big difference with the SX4 Crossover; it has all the right sounds and feels, and a sense of reassurance. If you couldn’t see that it was small, you’d swear that it was a much larger vehicle.

It also drives like a much bigger vehicle. It begins with the engine – in all of the trims, it is a 2.0-liter I-4 engine, rated at 143 hp (and in this trim 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway). This sounds like it is just another 4-banger, but I found the SX4 Crossover, with a five-speed manual transmission, to have the feel of much more power. This car simply has the get-up-and-go of a car with a much larger engine.

Then there is the handling. Once again, this vehicle has the feel of a larger car. No leaning in the turns, highly maneuverable in city traffic or on the highway. It just feels very solid, and it takes the bumps and grinds like, again, a much larger vehicle.

I am only guessing here – I’m no engineer – but it has to do with the design. Inside, the way they laid out the dashboard and the windshield, it gives the driver the feel of a larger vehicle. About the only time you feel as though you are in a smaller car is when someone comes up behind you; they get awfully close. Other than that, you might as well be driving a mid-sized Mercedes. Then – and again, I’m no engineer – it has something to do with the center of gravity. Suzuki engineers here have created the perfect balance for this vehicle, giving it a kind of stability, in all conditions, that you rarely find in any vehicle. And it’s not as though they always get it right. As I said earlier, every now and then an automaker just hits a grand slam on one model; for instance, I have found over the years that the Suzuki XL7, the larger SUV, is a little too narrow, and feels kind of tippy, like its center of gravity is off (I haven’t yet driven the new one, so we’ll see if they have used their expertise on the SX4 to make improvements).

And, the SX4 Crossover is just plain flat-out fun to drive. It is a driver’s drive, one that feels as though they have connected it to the part of your brain that controls all of the motor functions and sensory impulses that make up driving. This car feels connected on an intuitive level. It maneuvers beautifully, parks in any spot with ease and is easy to shift. It is the perfect vehicle for running around town, doing errands, with the possible exception that it is so fun to drive that you just might drive more than you have to.

Inside, I also love this car. It has very comfortable seating, with a stiff cloth material that seems durable and is designed to support the driver and passengers over the long haul and keep them alert. There is also very intuitive operation of all the systems. Temperature controls, fan speeds, all the radio stuff – easy.

I personally don’t alike all the high-technology, particularly in German cars, that routs everything through LCD screens and forces the operator to make multiple moves just to change the radio stations or reset the temperature. Here they just have dials and switches and buttons that get the job done with ease.

But it’s not as if there isn’t technology. After all, this test-drive model is the Suzuki SX4 FWD Technology model. But here they did it in a fun and very different way. Up on the top of the dash, there is a panel that pops open – it looks like one of those places where in other cars you put sunglasses – and in there is a computer-like port. In the glove box is a device that looks like a full-size iPod that quickly plugs into this port and it is hard-wired right into the sound system in the car. What’s there? Well, first, a Garmin GPS device that is so easy to use it’s surprising. Set a destination, and it sets your route and talks you through it.

But it is also a touch-screen MSN device (that comes with 1-year of service included) that has real-time traffic info, a low-price gas finder, a movie-time finder and connections to news, weather stocks and even sports information. It’s very easy and a lot of fun. There is also a Bluetooth hands-free system, and a CD/AM/FM audio system – all tied together – and all of this is very easy to use, very fun to use and simply the best combination of technology in an automobile that I have personally ever experienced. This should be the standard.

And what’s so cool – on the Technology model of the SX4—it’s all included. The base price here, for the front-wheel-drive model, is $16,089. The only add-on is $169 for floor mats and a cargo net. That’s it, no destination charges. So the bottom line here is $16,258. What a great price. At that price, this car is a steal. Want the same car with AWD? It’s $16,790. That is an amazing price. As I mentioned earlier, I drove this car with AWD two years ago during an unusually severe snow storm in Denver, and it was a tank. I would get the AWD model for the Colorado market, and I would never think twice about relying on this vehicle to handle every driving situation that I would face, and do it with ease, fun and dependability.

People don’t believe me when I rave about the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. Go drive one – not some around the block test drive. Put one through its paces.

But be careful. If you drive it, you’ll buy it.

RATING: FOUR WHEELS PLUS THE SPARE AND MORE (OUT OF FOUR).

Last updated on Nov 09, 2009 at 10:35 AM