A coworker drives ones and I want one. They just seem like such cool little cars for such cheap money. Manual trans with AWD in a compact car. Yes, please. This wouldn't be a performance car per say, but rather a fun car to drive to work.
Anyone have any experience with them to tell me if I actually want one or not?
In reply to ScreaminE:
Watching this closely.......always wondered about them as well
I wanted one, I test drove one. I ended up not buying but it wasn't because of the car. I liked it alot.
Drove one and really liked it. I would use this as my inspiration and go for a mini-rally car look.
I liked them too as a cheap and somewhat fun hatchback possibility. Shopped them more than once. My big concern with them was the presence of Suzuki in the US auto market...or lack thereof...going forward. That and seriously questionable resale value.
I want one, but the prices will have to come down some.
Yes, to pile on with the above sentiment, buy it cheap.
You know you never see another on the road so where are you going to get used body panels, etc.
I bet it would be fun to hoon in a snowy parking lot, but a 140hp AWD hatch seems like it would be underwhelming on the street.
I see a ton of them on the roads in Pittsburgh. Everyone here wants AWD because of the snow and hummocky topography.
I didn't think you could get AWD and manual trans in the same car. Could easily be wrong.
ScreaminE wrote: I see a ton of them on the roads in Pittsburgh. Everyone here wants AWD because of the snow and hummocky topography.
Well, though I am less than 3 hours away from you, the land here is as flat as a board.
The closest former dealership was over an hour away in either direction and I can not say I have ever seen more than one actually "in the wild." So, I guess my answer was based on my experiences in this local.
Sure, they had to sell somewhere and I suspect that also depended on the quality of the individual dealerships.
Duke wrote: I didn't think you could get AWD and manual trans in the same car. Could easily be wrong.
From what I am seeing on the webs, you are correct
Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote:Duke wrote: I didn't think you could get AWD and manual trans in the same car. Could easily be wrong.From what I am seeing on the webs, you are correct
My co-worker's car says otherwise. Unless the AWD badge is fake.
http://lancaster.craigslist.org/ctd/4648437046.html
I actually own one. I've had it since January of this year. It's a 2011 Sportback, so the hatch, FWD, 6-speed. I like it because it's roomy and pretty quiet inside and the handling isn't bad. I get about 28mpg mixed driving to and from work (a lot of stop and go, a bit of highway). I didn't want the added weight, drag & complexity of AWD.
The ride isn't all that great, in my book, coming from an Olds Intrigue. Like it needs a bunch more damper in the rear and a bit more in the front, and the aftermarket is really weak. Apparently the rear can be fixed with shocks for a 2000's Jetta. I don't know about the front. I dislike the fly-by-wire throttle; it makes for sometimes jerky take-off from a stop. I just got a low-tire warning light on the dash but all pressures are between 31 and 34 PSI so I'm not sure what to do there. I can only put about five pounds of stuff on the passenger seat before I get warning lights & chimes telling me the passenger in that seat needs to buckle up. Mine has the 17" wheel package and I wish I could try some 16's because I think the suspension is really set up for more sidewall and it just isn't there. The car is definitely on the slower side of things, like a 9 second 0-60 time. Air-con is on the weak side but it's usable.
There are tons of SX4's in my city. That said, Wichita had one of the largest Suzuki car dealerships in the nation and the last functioning dealership was here.
I mostly like the car and needed something reliable STAT when I picked it up. I also wanted to get into something with a payment (reverse logic, I needed to get my credit score into shape, long story). I think if someone could figure out the right Koni STR.R insert for the front and Jetta part for the rear, throw a set of speakers and a better radio into the thing, and maybe find a good home-brew exhaust that it'd be a pretty good car.
Or just, you know, find a left over Fit. That's what I would have preferred to do but there's none on the ground around here for what I paid for the SX4 unless I wanted cars approaching 100k miles.
Also lack of stellar fuel economy.
Basically, Suzuki built a PT Cruiser.
www.fueleconomy.gov power search confirms that there is an EPA rating for manual and awd for years '07-'13
'07-'09: 5 speed 21/23/28 mpg
'10-13: 6 speed 22/25/30 mpg
In reply to tuna55:
What were you hoping for with the economy for the SX4? I'm not shocked and awed by the mpg's mine is returning but I'm not angry about it.
Apparently the new SX4 that we don't get because Suzuki gave up on the US weighs something like 400 pounds less than the original. That would go a long way towards making the car run quicker and use less fuel. The originals are pretty heavy.
In reply to pres589: For a manual four cylinder hatchback I would expect something solidly in the 30s, especially from a company known for making fancy four cylinder motorcycle engines.
I could be wrong, but I think the manual/AWD combo disappeared for the last few model years. I'm pretty sure I was told it was not available for a 2013 model.
Klayfish wrote: I could be wrong, but I think the manual/AWD combo disappeared for the last few model years. I'm pretty sure I was told it was not available for a 2013 model.
Actually finding one may have been difficult but Suzuki went through the trouble of getting the awd/manual combo certified with the EPA so that they could actually sell a version like that if they wanted in all model years.
I bet they at least sold a few each year. At the end, they may have just been working with what they had.
ScreaminE wrote: http://lancaster.craigslist.org/ctd/4648437046.html
That is what I get for looking on Wikipedia 
What I know is that it was a joint project with Fiat. Theirs was called the Sedici.
And there was a very short time frame (16 months or so) in which the hatchback was available with all wheel drive WITHOUT the mini SUV ride height and thick black plastic lower body cladding. To me that is the one to find.
About 6 years ago I was passed by a lightly lowered one in the typical rally colors blue with gold wheels and they have been on my mind ever since. They are pretty common in the willamette valley. For some reason they are also the security company vehicle of choice around here.
The "normal" ride height version is the Sportback, which was offered both in AWD and FWD.
In reply to pres589:
See if you can find a seat belt extender. Leaving one plugged in on the Fiat turns off the seatbelt warning.
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