Suzuki's U.K. lineup is probably better than what we've got over here. The only notable car we've gotten in the past 10 years from them are the SX4 and the Grand Vitara. Everything else was either rebadged Chevys, rebadged Daewoos, or both.
I'm glad we never got a Daewoo-badged Suzuki here... would have hurt their rep so badly they would have folded.
Suzuki makes excellent small cars. Emphasis on small. The Swift has less rear seat space than just about everything else and the Alto is basically a tin can with four seats. Even the Jimny is ludicrously tiny... great off-roader... just as long as you don't have to carry camping gear!
But emphasis on excellent. There's nothing quite like the Jimny off-road, the Swift's dynamics can still be held in high regard against newcomers like the Mazda2 and Fiesta and the Alto is just silly fun for something so small... and it gets a kajillion miles per gallon, too.
That's a shame actually, because from what I've read in reviews, the Kizashi is actually a brilliant car. It comes with a 131kw 2.4L petrol 4cyl, a manual transmission as standard (how many mid-sized sedans can boast that even as an option?) and the chassis and handling are actually supposed to be really good. Plus I think it actually looks pretty good.
Edit: Oh, and it does indeed come with AWD as an option, but sadly not in Australia. The AWD can be disengaged to save fuel (supposedly).
That's a shame actually, because from what I've read in reviews, the Kizashi is actually a brilliant car. It comes with a 131kw 2.4L petrol 4cyl, a manual transmission as standard (how many mid-sized sedans can boast that even as an option?).
