Suzuki SX4 2007 Review

Road Test

This is the car that Suzuki hinted at with the two-wheel drive Ignis (and which Holden promised in the four-wheel drive Cruze clone) but which failed to deliver. The badged-engineered Ignis/Cruze twins proved to be under-performing inner-city Barbie cars popular with the inner-city Barbie crowd.

The all-new SX4 is bigger, better equipped, more capable, more complete and much more intelligent that the previous attempts. And it looks different enough that it won't be taken for a facelifted Cruze and even if the rump says 4x4, the company prefers to talk about "Intelligent all-wheel-drive".

The SX4's intelligence is evident before you even get inside. It's equipped with a new-generation Proximity key -- merely having the block-like 'key' in your pocket is enough to gain access and start the engine. Just walk up, squeeze a tiny black button on the handle and the door opens... Climb in, twist the fitting where a key would normally fit and you're in business -- a blue key on the dash display says you're good to go; a red one says it would prefer the transponder to be a bit closer.

Now, while it must be said that while the convenience of this system is great, its security is close to zero -- there's a high probability that a partially competent computer hacker will be able to "quiz" the key and also gain access to the car.

The system features two-stage unlocking -- fine in Buenos Aires, perhaps a little unnecessary in downtown Wodonga

Security aside, the substance of the SX4 is significant -- the two-litre engine is an unsung hero, somewhat let down by a lazy four-speed automatic transmission, but which promises to be a real gem in manual form.

The intelligence of the all-wheel drive comes in switchable two-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and AWD-locked mode. In the first, just the front wheels do the tractive work. In all-wheel drive auto most of the traction defaults to the front wheels, but as soon as traction is lost, power is siphoned to the rear wheels.

Suzuki suggests that two-wheel drive is fine for dry surfaces and that all-wheel auto is needed in "variable conditions, such as driving on slippery surfaces". Think dirt, rain-slicked asphalt, etc.

The all-wheel lock mode puts power to all four wheels from start-up for grip in mud, snow and so on. The system drops the lock and reverts to all-wheel drive auto at 60 km/h.

Suzuki has packed the new model with features which stack up to a well-equipped small car with a competitive pricetag. The long list includes (in no particular order): a basic trip computer; switchable foglamps; six airbags (dual front, side and curtain); bottle-holders in all four doors; a shopping-bag hook on the back of the front passenger seat and probably the biggest driver's left foot rest this side of a B-Double (fitted to the auto version only).

Similarly generous is the boot -- bigger than seems possible, it's another bonus to the big-hearted car. There's 270 litres with the rear seats in place, 625 litres with them tumbled forward.

There are a few omissions -- there's no central armrest storage bin, the large glovebox is not lockable, the door pockets won't take a standard capital city map book, there's no fold-down central armrest in the 60/40 split-fold rear seat and the twin visor-mounted vanity mirrors aren't illuminated (neither are the audio and cruise controls in the leather-rimmed steering wheel). We also noted that the spare wheel's a space-saver and the boot's pull-down handle is plasticky -- hardly hanging offences.

The rake-only adjustable steering and remarkably supportive front seats make for a happy range of comfortable possibilities, although the steeply sloping nose makes the front of the car hard to place when parking.

The SX4's fuel tank capacity (45 litres) is at the very low end of acceptable. Consumption varied between 8.2 to 9.6lt/100km.

At 1320kg, it's no lightweight but with 184Nm on tap, the SX4 zips along. There's not so much power that handling on dry asphalt ever required a shift to all-wheel drive, but on gravel roads, shifting the button to 4WD Auto makes a world of difference.

Not only does the SX4 straighten up its act, but it gains the ability to scramble up our 4x4-tamer test-bank and punch above its weight on the steep slopes even in the really loose stuff -- way more than it would normally be expected to do. About all it lacks is any form of electronic stability control -- although it does have ABS brakes with brake force distribution.

Generally, the performance is adequate but the willing 107kW engine is hamstrung by a lazy gearbox that hesitated, upshifted mid-corner, demanded frequent foot-to-the-floor kickdowns to effect downshifts and generally blunted what is otherwise an impressive car. The staggered-shift-pattern transmission could easily be rowed manually but we'd suggest the manual version will be the pick.

As a small SUV, the SX4 is pricey, but you do get a lot of fruit for your money. And it's surprisingly competent.

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