2008 Suzuki SX4

Review

It’s like an Alaskan Husky puppy; cute, friendly and great in the rough!

By: Nathan D. Adlen

You know how you have that new friend who just moved to your foul-weathered town from a temperate place? This same person wants to know what he should trade his old Corolla in for and wants something cheap, reliable, safe and fun. I hate to drop to the level of saying cute too…

Send him to Suzuki. No, seriously! The new SX4 Crossover is a great little car. First of all, it’s cheap as chips with a starting price just south of 15K and a fully loaded price of 16K and change.

You get a lot for the money. With the base price SX4 Crossover, you get an all-aluminum 2.0-liter, 16-valve DOHC 4-cylinder engine making a moderate 143 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 136 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,500 rpm. The slightly rubbery shifting 5 speed (a 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission is an option) is connected to a standard 3-Mode Intelligent All-Wheel-Drive system that allows you to select front wheel drive (for economy), full time all wheel drive (deep in the mud or snow), or automatic all wheel drive which sends power to the rear only when slippage is detected. Anti-lock disc brakes at each wheel (vented up front) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution and a tire pressure monitoring system compliment the standard safety of half a dozen airbags. Nice 16 inch wheels and a decent 4-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system with MP3/WMA™ playback, XM® ready complete the base package.

You can upgrade to a few other goodies like heated mirrors, better stereo, and fog lamps by working up to the next package. Still if you opt to check every option box, you will still be 2K to 5K under the equivalently equipped Subaru Impreza 2.5i – which has a smaller warranty, gets poorer mileage and many find less attractive.

Unfortunately, you will have no chance of keeping up with the Subaru if you race it – anywhere. The Subaru has the fantastic Boxer 2.5 that puts out 170 horsepower yet weighs about 3100 lbs where as the SX4 Crossover with its 143 horsepower pulling about 2800 lbs around – the Subaru has a better power to weight ratio and a better center of gravity.

But, take the Suzuki SX4 Crossover on its own merits and you will be pleasantly surprised. It drives smooth and quickly with good road feel and a nice on-center feel that makes freeway driving effortless. I was lucky enough to find a long stretch of snowy road that had a mix of rutted, ice packed corners with untouched slushy, boot swallowing snow. In the AWD mode, it took the road like a champ. In fact, I managed to do a 4 wheel drift around the corner – very cool!

This car would be perfect for someone who wants the reassurance of all wheel drive and one of the best warranties in the business. Suzuki sweetens the deal by allowing the owner to transfer the 7 year or 100,000 mile warranty to the next owner (provided there is time or mileage left on the plan). But, I dare say; this car is good enough to keep for the duration. It’s a nice car to live with.

A good car can be made all the better with a decent interior and this interior is well laid out with one of the best ride heights out there. The back is surprisingly utilitarian with plenty of load space and good backseat room. I would compare the interior to the more expensive Japanese competition. It is well put together and feels it. All of the switchgear and controls have a more expensive feel then the price would indicate. In fact, that’s what I love about this little car, when you step out of it, the price seems too cheap! Some might prefer a lighter tone of interior fabrics and plastics on the color palate, but dark colors tend to be easier to maintain – especially if you have kids.

Small families will enjoy the ease of placement and useable space for such a small car. You can easily reach the baby seat in the back or replace a dropped sippy-cup without stretching too far. There is plenty of space for a small to mid sized stroller with the seats up and you could easily fit a big stroller or larger items (like a bike, with the front wheel removed) with one of the split/folding rear seats fully retracted.

The only two complaints that anyone has had about this car is fuel economy and build quality. The MPG is not as good as the competition because this is an all-wheel-drive car. As such, it is heavier and has more drag to contend with due to its unique drive train. I do agree that the build quality of some of the trim pieces is not up to Toyota levels, but I feel it’s a fair tradeoff.

If power and all out performance are not as important as safety and value; there is no reason not to look at the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. After you easily cruise through your first rain storm or meet you friends at the ski slopes without braking a sweat (and while getting damn good - but not class leading mileage) you’ll understand why a vehicle like this makes so much sense.

And, dare I say - It’s kind of cute too.