2009 Suzuki SX4 Review and Prices

by Chuck Giametta

2009 Suzuki SX4 buying advice
Auto-industry pundits sometimes label a vehicle that doesn’t fall neatly into a defined category the answer to a question no one asked. The 2009 Suzuki SX4, on the other hand, is the answer to a question someone should have asked.

The Suzuki SX4 Sport sedan has good
road manners but an awkward shape.
We’re talking here about the SX4 hatchback, a charismatic little wagon with standard all-wheel drive and tangy Italian styling that looks like good modern architecture.

Its companion is the SX4 sedan, a perfectly serviceable front-wheel-drive four-door unfortunately saddled with a hunched shape that’s less architecture and more arched insole.

Still, Suzuki says sales are running about 50-50 between the two body styles. Americans still tend to favor sedans in this price range; hatchbacks apparently haven’t quite shed their 1980s econobox image.

But our vote goes to the hatchback, officially called the SX4 Crossover. Starting around $15,300, it’s the lowest-priced all-wheel-drive vehicle sold in the United States. Most buyers add another $1,100 or so for automatic transmission and shell out an additional $500 or so for the Convenience Package option. The result is a solid, economical car at home in the city, in a blizzard, or on a gravel trail.

The SX4 sedan, formally the SX4 Sport, costs a bit less than the Crossover and delivers a fine on-road experience. But several alternatives are equally rewarding to drive and many are easier on the eyes.

What you’ve got to know about the 2009 Suzuki SX4
Renowned for its motorcycles, Suzuki had scant success with cars in the U.S. before introducing the SX4 for the 2007 model year. The SX4 line has generated a wave of good reviews and helped propel the Japanese manufacturer to record sales.

The name means “S” sport, “X” crossover (for) “4” seasons, and indeed, the SX4 was launched in that spirit as a spry-looking four-door hatchback with all-wheel drive.

Suzuki followed-up for 2008 with an SX4 sedan that’s pretty sporty but isn’t a “crossover,” as defined by a vehicle that combines elements from disparate model categories, most typically SUV and car. And with front-wheel drive, the SX4 sedan it isn’t quite ready to conquer all four seasons. Call it artistic license.

In Suzuki-speak, the hatchback is the SX4 Crossover and the sedan is the SX4 Sport. Each comes in Base, Convenience, and top-line Touring trim levels. Their only engine is a 143-horsepower 2.0-liter four cylinder with a choice of a five-speed manual transmission or extra-cost four-speed automatic. Both seat five and come with more standard safety and convenience features than most cars in this price range.

The Suzuki SX4 Crossover is the lowest-priced
all-wheel-drive vehicle sold in the U.S.
More than just different body styles, the SX4 Crossover wagon and SX4 Sport sedan stake out different territories.

The Crossover is exceptionally versatile. It serves as an easy-to-park urban runabout and a tough little all-season wagon that’s surprisingly proficient in modestly demanding off-road conditions.

The Crossover’s secret is a switch on the center console that allows the driver to choose one of three traction settings. These are: Front-wheel drive to maximize fuel economy, AWD Auto to automatically apportion power to the rear wheels when the fronts slip; and AWD Lock to maintain a front-rear power split up to 37 mph. Some compact SUVs have AWD lock capability, but no other car in the SX4 Crossover’s size and price category does.

The SX4 Sport shoots for sporty on-road handling. In contrast to other like-priced compact cars, it comes with a sport-tuned suspension, performance-oriented KYB-brand shock absorbers, and relatively wide tires on comparatively large 17-inch-diameter alloy wheels. The Sport rides about a half-inch lower than the Crossover.

Significantly, the SX4 Crossover isn’t merely a wagon version of the Sport sedan. Wheelbase (the distance between front and rear axles) is the same, but the Crossover’s body measures 14.6 inches shorter bumper to bumper. Its shape is largely the work of the celebrated European styling house, Italdesign of Turin, Italy. The Sport was styled by Suzuki.

Release date for the 2009 Suzuki SX4 is autumn 2008. The SX4 Crossover and Sport won’t change in basic engineering or looks until the next-generation models arrive for model-year 2011 or 2012.

What’s changed about the 2009 Suzuki SX4
The 2009 Suzuki SX4 will change very little from the 2008 models. A shuffling of some features among trim lines is possible, and a “Sport” version of the Crossover could return after sitting out model-year 2008.

No change to the 2009 Suzuki SX4 will significantly alter its performance or passenger accommodations from those of the 2008 model. Statements in this review about performance and accommodations are based on detailed test drives of the 2008 Suzuki SX4.

Suzuki SX4 prices and features
Suzuki SX4 Sports start around $14,800, Crossovers around $15,300 with manual transmission; add about $1,100 to all these prices for automatic. The Crossover has all-wheel drive and, like the Sport, comes with four-wheel disc brakes with antilock control, torso-protecting front side airbags and head-protecting curtain side airbags. Also included at no extra charge: power windows, locks and mirrors, remote keyless entry, air conditioning, AM/FM/CD/MP3 XM Satellite Radio-ready audio system with four speakers, and tilt steering wheel.

Add another $500 or so for the Convenience Package and get automatic climate control, heated side mirrors, cruise control and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with integrated audio controls.

Starting around $16,300 for the Sport and around $16,900 for the Crossover are top-line Touring Package versions equipped with traction control, keyless access and starting, and an antiskid system, this last feature designed to activate individual brakes to keep the vehicle on course in fast turns.

2009 Suzuki SX4 competition
SX4 Crossover rivals are drawn from a relatively small pool of high-roof compact wagons, while SX4 Sport competitors come from the wide world of small sedans.

No other vehicle in its price range quite matches the SX4 Crossover’s combination of features, and only a few other compact wagons are even available with all-wheel drive.

The Dodge Caliber offers an AWD version of its sporty R/T model. It’s priced around $20,500 and though it has about 30 more horsepower and more cargo space than the SX4 Crossover, the R/T, like all Calibers, feels unvarnished and overpriced. Caliber’s next design generation is due for model-year 2011 or 2012.

The SX4 Crossover is four-door hatchback.
Its rear seats fold and flip to open lots of cargo room.
The Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are cousins under the skin, where they share a Toyota-engineered structure and engines. These wagons were redesigned for model-year 2009 and won’t change significantly before model-year 2015 or so. Vibe and Matrix are larger and sportier than the SX4 Crossover, but AWD versions start around $20,000.

Every Subaru comes with AWD. The Impreza 2.5i hatchback starts around $17,500, but it’s more conventionally car-like than the SX4 Crossover. Redesigned for 2008, it won’t be fully redone again for five years or more.

When the level of standard features is considered, the SX4 Sport also enjoys a price advantage over most compact sedans.

Best-seller in the class is the Honda Civic, which counts among its many strengths high style, roominess, and refined road manners. Civic’s lower-line DX and LX models are in the SX4 Sport’s price range and are a good match for equipment if not sport-suspension tuning. Today’s Civic bowed for 2007 and its next redesign is slated for model-year 2011.

The Ford Focus was heavily reworked for the 2008 model year, though it retains an aged chassis design. Focus starting prices beat those of the SX4 Sport’s, and power is similar, though the Focus has less rear-seat room and poorer ride control. Focus is likely to adopt a more-modern basic structure when it’s redesigned for model-year 2011 or 2012.

If you’re on board with Suzuki’s pitch that the SX4 Sport is a sporty step above the crowd, the Mazda 3 will appeal. It, too, emphasizes agility, and its “i” Touring sedan is a fine alternative, with handling that matches the Suzuki’s, and styling that’s not as quirky. The Mazda 3 was introduced for 2004 and is due restyling and more power for model-year 2010, though it’ll retain its current underskin engineering.

Driving the Suzuki SX4
The weight difference between the SX4 Crossover and SX4 Sport is negligible and because they share the same engine, so is any difference in acceleration. Neither is in much of a rush to get up to speed, but there’s no shortage of around-town power and nothing a little prudence won’t deal with when you want to merge or pass on the highway.

Making good use of its handling-tuned suspension and generous tires, the SX4 Sport responds alertly to steering inputs and grips securely in turns. The lowered ride height, however, can’t negate the cornering lean triggered by the rather tall body, so this sedan really feels no more nimble overall than a Civic or Mazda 3.

Relieved of performance-handling aspirations, the SX4 Crossover seems to overachieve. It tracks confidently around corners and duplicates the Sport’s faithful steering feel. It leans in turns – this is a tall body, too – but not to any unexpected degree.

Both SX4 versions suffer irritating tire spin in hurried starts if the road surface is wet or even damp. The affect is pronounced with manual transmission. Sports with the top-line Touring Package have traction control, but that doesn’t entirely subdue this annoyance. By contrast, switch a Crossover into AWD Auto, floor the throttle, and the system compensates for any front traction deficit by sending power rearward. Away you go.

Riding in the Suzuki SX4
SX4s feel more solid on broken surfaces and more compliant over bumps than cars in this price range have a right to. Rippled pavement, however, triggers in the Sport some residual jiggle that doesn’t seem present in the Crossover.

Ask it to accelerate with vigor, and the engine replies with a hoarse grown, but SX4s are otherwise free from any unwarranted road or wind noise.

These tall bodies pay off in abundant head room and allow for comfortably firm, chair-height seats. Rear passengers enjoy a theater-seating effect, enhancing their view to the front and allowing them to nest their feet nicely in the modestly sized footwells. They don’t get the benefit of a center rear armrest, however, and entry/exit is complicated by undersized doorways. Complication is the byword for visibility out the front corners of these cars. The slope and thickness of the roof pillars compels extra vigilance in traffic; the odd triangular corner windows don’t help much.

Cargo room is good in both body styles. The Crossover’s modest length doesn’t allow much volume behind the rear seat, but fold and tumble the split cushions and space expands nicely. The Sport’s trunk is wide, deep, and long. On the downside, the sedan’s rear seatbacks don’t fold down and the thick bumper shelf is a minor barrier to easy loading. In both body styles, a plastic piece molded into cupholders and shallow bins in substitutes for a more useful center console, though the glovebox is big and the dash does have several useful shelves.

Suzuki SX4 dashboard and controls
A nice bit of industrial design creates an upright and orderly dashboard. The center portion is flanked by vertical arms of brushed-aluminum-look plastic that contribute an impression of strength and character. Gauges are large and legible, the three-spoke steering wheel is a joy to hold, and smooth-working controls greet your touch with deeply notched plastic collars. All versions come with an outside-temperature display.

The SX4 Crossover hatchback and Sport sedan
share a nicely organized, easy-to-use dashboard.
Suzuki SX4 fuel economy
Use two-wheel drive as much as you can, and an SX4 Crossover ought to average around 25 mpg overall with manual transmission, around 22 mpg with automatic. In a mix of city and highway travel, expect Sports to return around 26 mpg over the years.

Suzuki SX4 safety
Besides a full complement of airbags, SX4s come with antilock four-wheel disc brakes, which cost extra on some competitors, and are available with an antiskid system, which isn’t even offered on many rivals.

In government crash tests, SX4s earn four out of a possible five stars for driver and front-passenger protection in a frontal collision. In side-impact tests, the SX4 earns the maximum five stars for protection of front-seat passengers and four of five stars for rear-passenger safety.

Suzuki SX4 quality and reliability
Both SX4 models impress as well-built small cars with materials quality entirely appropriate for this price class, and in some cases, a cut above. The Suzuki brand, however, suffers from below-average scores for customer satisfaction.

J.D. Power and Associates, the leading automotive consumer-survey firm, reports the Suzuki brand rates below average in surveys about the new-vehicle sales experience and below average in most areas of initial quality and dependability.

Those disappointing scores hold for SX4 buyers in 2007, the latest survey data available. The SX4 was rated below average in most categories of initial quality. It rated average for customer satisfaction with the quality of the body and interior and with the design of the accessories. The SX4 hasn’t been on the road long enough for J.D. Power to measure long-term dependability.