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Suzuki recalls SX4 in the US over loose mirror screws

November 1, 2010 at 4:28 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki

The recalls keep on coming. Here’s another one involving the Suzuki SX4 that’s potentially more serious to others than its occupants. American Suzuki Motor Corporation has recalled around 70,000 units of the SX4 over some loose screws. Variants involved are hatchbacks made from 2007 to 2010 and sedans made from 2008 onwards.

The said loose screws are for the SX4′s outside rear view mirrors. The issue is that the three mounting screws that secure each mirror can come loose due to vibration and can fall off in the worst case scenario. Suzuki will replace the screws with newer, more secure locking items for free, of course.

Sounds minor, but no fault is too minor in the US, where manufacturers want to nip issues in the bud before something happens. Everyone wants to avoid being in the sticky situation Toyota has got itself in!

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Suzuki recalls Swift over problem with the door mirrors

October 18, 2010 at 8:16 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki

suzy swift

Here we go yet again. Suzuki announced late last week that it is recalling a total of 90,617 units of its Swift hatchback in Japan to fix a problem with the cars’ door mirrors. A further 192,000 vehicles sold globally are also possibly subject to repairs (might the cars sold here be on the list, one wonders?)

Suzuki said that over time, vehicle vibration could loosen the screws used to secure the door mirrors, causing them to dislodge or fall off. The rectification work involves using adhesive to further secure the screws. Thus far, 77 complaints regarding the defect have been reported in Japan, but there have been no accidents due to it.

The recall, which began last weekend, applies to Swifts produced between May 2007 and September 2009. It also affects 19,426 vehicles sold in Japan manufactured by Suzuki for sale by Nissan, these being the MR Wagon, Cervo and Moco.

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Suzuki Alto to be rebadged as a Volkswagen in India?

October 12, 2010 at 3:40 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

Yes, that’s true, according to Autocar India, who revealed that Wolfsburg has identified two models from the Maruti Suzuki range that it wants to rebadge as their own. The magazine’s sources said that Maruti, Volkswagen and Skoda India officials looked at the possibility of putting a VW badge on the A-star (Suzuki Alto to us) and a Skoda emblem on the high roofed WagonR in a meeting.

If you don’t already see the connection, let us connect the dots. Last December, Volkswagen bought 19.9% of Suzuki for US$2.5 billion to start “a comprehensive partnership” with the small car expert. It is without doubt that Suzuki’s huge presence in India – where there’s plenty of scope for growth and Maruti Suzuki holds close to 50% market share – made it an attractive proposition to VW, which has dreams of surpassing Toyota as the world’s top carmaker.

When they announced the deal, VW and Suzuki said they were “focused on achieving synergies in the areas of rapidly growing emerging markets as well as in the development and manufacturing of innovative and environmentally friendly compact cars.”

Autocar India further said that high level cooperation between VW and Suzuki has already begun and an organisation structure has been put in place for regular interactions between teams from Wolfsburg and Hamamatsu to work together. The Germans want the rebadging exercise to start ASAP, targeting for the “new” A-star and WagonR to be in showrooms as early as 2012.

There won’t be a unique dashboard or sheetmetal, just new lights, bumpers and grilles, which means that the Euro badged cars will still look very much like the Suzuki originals. Would the differentiation come under the hood then? Maruti doesn’t have its own diesel engines and currently purchases them from Fiat, but it’s argued that it will be cheaper to continue doing so, even after factoring in license fees, as the Multi-jet is highly localised.

Source

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Maruti Suzuki planning a 2-cylinder Alto to challenge Nano

September 17, 2010 at 2:49 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki

As we’ve reported before, while Maruti Suzuki is still the clear market leader in India, its market share is slowly declining and has gone below the 50% mark in the previous quarter. The company is fighting back with some aggressive plans though – it launched a range of CNG powered cars and the A-Star automatic last month and now, news of Maruti preparing a stripped down version of its best selling Alto has emerged (the Alto in the Indian context is the fifth generation Suzuki Alto, the Suzuki Alto sold in Malaysia is called the A-Star in India).

The new model will be priced 20-25% cheaper than the Rs 2.53 lakh (about RM17,000) Alto Standard. The entry level Standard has an 800 cc three-cylinder engine with no air con and power steering, but the Tata Nano standard version is still Rs 1.3 lakh cheaper. The new base model Alto will narrow the price gap between the Alto and the world’s cheapest car, although Suzuki has said before that it has no interest in making a Rs 1 lakh car.

The planned super basic Alto will be powered by a two-cylinder engine codenamed YP3 and parts sourcing has already begun. Vendors involved in the process say that the car will be launched by the second half of 2011. These haven’t been confirmed by Maruti, but it ties in nicely with the recent phasing out of the Maruti 800 from 13 cities as it does not comply with Bharat Stage IV emission regulations. The 800, Maruti’s cheapest car, is a very old Suzuki Alto that used to be India’s best selling car before the current Alto took over that title.

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Suzuki SX4 steps into the dark side for UK special edition

September 17, 2010 at 3:44 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki


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The Suzuki SX4 is a nice urban runabout that has done pretty well in the Klang Valley since its launch in 2007. Its funky pseudo SUV looks attracts those who are adventurous enough to look beyond the usual Japanese B-segment sedan and those who like the Swift but find it too small. Being an affordable CBU from Japan car with good agility and a stylish cabin helps too.

There are quite a few white examples running around, but here’s how an SX4 will look like in an all black scheme. This is a Special Edition for the UK market badged SZ-L. To contrast the black, the roof rails, front grille, alloy wheels and front and rear skid plates are in Gunmetal. Less cuddly and more sinister (slightly). Inside, there’s a new Alcantara trim in light grey while the leather steering gets Gunmetal stitching. No image of the cabin released though.


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The SZ-L comes with a 118 hp 1.6-litre Euro 5 engine with manual transmission. Suzuki claims 0-100 km/h in 10.7 seconds and 16.1 km/l combined fuel economy for their facelifted Euro spec SX4. Our market gets the pre-facelift model with a 110 hp/150 Nm M16A engine and a 4-speed auto. It’s priced at RM89,988 OTR with insurance.

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2010 Suzuki Kizashi reached 327km/h at Bonneville!

August 19, 2010 at 8:27 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki

The turbocharged Ferrari Enzo wont be the only thing making a bang at the Bonneville Salt Flats this week. Suzuki America has officially pitted their Kizashi model against the best and most innovative this year. Driven by Road & Track’s Sam Mitani, they’ve successfully attained the title of fastest car in the Blown Gas Coupe Category.

Managing an average top speed of 203.72 mph (327.9 km/h), the figure was made out of two high speed runs. Looking at the numbers produced so far, it is quite obvious that the Kizashi model in question didn’t just roll off the assembly line.

Suzuki kitted up the 2.4-litre four cylinder engine with a Turbonetics Turbocharger and a new ACT clutch. This gave the car a total power output of 500hp and 569Nm of torque. A standard engine wouldn’t be able to take all that power so a new intake manifold, forged rods and pistons had to be used.

The insides were turned into a proper race car as it featured a roll cage, an aluminum bulkhead in the rear, racing seats, seat harnesses and window nets. An air dam, new coil-overs, steel wheels with welded seams, specialised Goodyear Front Runner tires, and a parachute completed the Kizashi’s Bonneville kit.

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Maruti Suzuki’s Indian market share dips below 50%, launches A-Star auto and CNG range as response

August 17, 2010 at 3:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, India, Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki saw India’s potential long before it became small car central, and is the undisputed market leader in the country of 1.18 billion people. However, homegrown brands and big players like Hyundai are beginning to chip at Maruti’s market share, which has fallen below 50% for the first time ever. It sold 282,488 units from April-July 2010, which is 47.68% of the total market. This is down from 53.13% (440,069 units) achieved in the same period last year.

The downward trend might be reversed come next quarter. This is because the company has boosted its large lineup with a CNG range and the A-Star automatic. Named after the 2008 concept, the latter is what we know as the Suzuki Alto (Alto name is reserved for the fifth-gen Alto, India’s most popular car). Previously only available in manual form, the A-Star auto pairs a 4-speed auto ‘box to the 60 bhp/90 Nm K-series engine. It’s essentially identical to our RM49,888 Alto GLX – so it’s surprising that we got an Indian made car a week earlier than India itself.

Maruti also just introduced compressed natural gas (CNG) tech featuring “intelligent-Gas Port Injection” or i-GPI on five popular models – SX4, Eeco, WagonR, Estilo and Alto. Maruti says that i-GPI cars are safer and offer more power than retrofitted CNG vehicles. All i-GPI cars go through the same quality checks, processes and systems as any car manufactured at Maruti Suzuki plants and get full warranty plus official after sales back up. The CNG cars are about RM3,000 costlier than the normal versions.

i-GPI is a Dual ECU tech that delivers accurate amounts of gas to the engine via separate injectors for each cylinder. Metered CNG quantity is injected into the engine through gas ports, controlled by a dedicated ECU. Each i-GPI model goes through 200,000 km real world tests in addition to over 3,000 hours of bench tests.

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Suzuki Alto launched – 3 variants, RM44,888 to RM54,888

August 10, 2010 at 12:26 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Suzuki

Suzuki Malaysia Automobile (SMA) has added a new model to its local range – the Alto, which is an A-segment rival to the Perodua Viva and Hyundai i10. This subcompact is imported CBU from Maruti Suzuki in India, which is the global production hub for this model.

Powered by a 996cc three-cylinder engine, the lightweight Alto (880 kg for the manual, 915 kg for the auto) is pushed on by 67 bhp and 90 Nm of torque. For comparison, the Viva EZi weighs 810 kg and has 60 bhp/90 Nm from its 989cc triple. The Alto’s K10B engine is paired to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The latter features a gated shifter, just like in big brother Swift.

I remember seeing the Alto in concept form (it was called A-Star) at the Delhi Motor Show, and it looked nothing like this finished product. While the basic shape is there, crisp and bold styling gave way to a cute and cuddly image that should go well with the ladies, who we presume will also dig the Fortune Rose Pearl Metallic colour shown here. Five other hues are available.

The Alto’s 3,500 mm length is 75 mm shorter than the Viva, while its 2,360 mm wheelbase is 30 mm shorter than the Perodua. The locally made car also has a 60 mm taller roof. All these are obvious when you see the Alto in the metal – its shape is more rakish and “sportier” (0.30 drag coefficient) than the box-like Viva. The Suzuki is also significantly wider. Under the skin, the Alto sits on MacPherson struts up front and a 3-link rigid axle at the back. The front ventilated discs brakes work with rear drums. It rides on 155/65 R14 Goodyear GT3 tyres.

The super basic RM44,888 (OTR without insurance) GA manual variant has a folding rear bench, dual airbags and a pollen filter, but misses out on the automatic GLX model’s fog lamps, coloured wing mirror caps, tachometer, front power windows, 50:50 split folding rear seats and ABS/EBD. The GLX costs RM49,888. There’s also a RM54,888 GXS spec that adds window tint, leather seats, door visors and a bodykit.

Rear windows are self winding and wing mirrors manual in all variants. The Alto has only 2 sets of seatbelts at the back, making it a four-seater officially, but there are two ISOFIX child seat anchorages. Live images from the launch after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Maruti Suzuki to make cars for Volkswagen?

August 6, 2010 at 1:38 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

Maruti Suzuki may manufacture cars for Volkswagen’s global market on a contract basis, according to reports by three publications which included the Economic Times and Hindu Business Line newspaper.

“The talks with Volkswagen are going on at a global level and there is still no clear picture. There is a possibility of an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) supply contract with them, like we have with Nissan,” said Maruti Suzuki managing director Shinzo Nakanishi to Indian newspaper HBL.

The Economic Times also reported Nakanishi as saying that there was definitely no possibility of platform sharing due to Volkswagen’s production and product development costs being too high. This wouldn’t work for Maruti who would like to produce an end product that’s much more affordable to its target market.

Volkswagen AG bought a 20 percent stake in Suzuki in January in the amount of $2.5 billion. The fact that Maruti has done such a deal before with Nissan (which doesn’t hold a stake in Suzuki) will be more reason for the deal to be plausible.

Maruti Suzuki have a three year contract to supply Suzuki A-Star hatchbacks which are rebadged as Nissan Pixo’s for the European market. This contract exports a minimum of 35,000 units a year and is due to expire in 2011.

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2011 Suzuki Swift – more pictures released

June 22, 2010 at 11:24 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki

Suzuki have released new pictures of the 2011 Suzuki Swift that was just revealed earlier this month. The new pictures include interior shots and gives you a better idea of the Swift’s design, as it includes rear end shots that were not available before.

The engine options available so far for the European market include a 1.2-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre turbo diesel, which we now know produces 75 horsepower at 4,000 RPM, while 190Nm of torque is produced at 1,750 RPM. A five speed manual gearbox will be offered as standard with both petrol and diesel engines, and there is an optional four speed automatic transmission for the petrol engine.

The diesel powered engine only sips 4.2 litres for every 100 kilometres travelled, while the petrol engine consumes 5.0 litres of fuel for every 100 kilometres travelled. Included with the new pictures is a spec sheet for both the 5-door and the 3-door models.

Look after the jump for the gallery.
[Read more...]

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