2011 Suzuki SX4 Sportback

The name of the 2011 Suzuki SX4 Sportback is a bit misleading. There really is not much in the way the sport is behind the wheel of this little four-door. The power and handling is suitable for travel, not sculpture explosion angle in a coastal road. It looks nice, low operating costs, and a spacious interior are the strengths of the SX4, think of it as an economy car with a backpack, and you will appreciate that the SX4 has to offer.

I tried small cars, small vehicles and fuel are drinking relatively easy to park and painless fuel pump. Thus, when the Suzuki SX4 Sportback came out of my apartment building in New York, he was delighted to tiny proportions of the car and the economy of a 150-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder. A bright red paintjob also adapted the cartoon style of the car.

The economy of the SX4 is good but could be better. An average of 22/30-mpg city / highway driving was crushed by competitors like the Honda Civic, Kia Soul and Chevrolet Cruze. A small 11.9 gallons of fuel also limits the total driving range. While reasonably peppy, Suzuki four-cylinder may seem gross collection during the long road - especially compared to the almost silent cabin offered by the Cruze.

The SX4 claw back points when it comes to baggage or cargo in my case, a large niche of the pug and greater. There is plenty in the SX4 to both and, if necessary, the rear seats fold down to create a huge 51.8 Cu. feet of space. Visibility is also excellent, thanks to the high greenhouse SX4. Four-wheel traction is optional, though my test car did without this feature snow environment.

My test car did not come loaded with safety features like ABS, electronic stability control, traction control and six airbags. Garmin satellite navigation was also returned to the top of the dashboard - a pleasant surprise in a car in this class. The interior plastics were quite basic, although the main controls are well established and remained comfortable seats for readers of 1-2 hours.

But two things that let me down during my week with SX4: the manual transmission and a six-speed ride quality. To find a steady pace between the clutch and the accelerator was almost impossible, the change was stubborn, and progress has been regularly jerky. A CVT automatic is optional and highly recommended. Holes and the streets of the city also brings out the worst in ride quality SX4. The bumps and ridges I never knew existed (in some very famous street) had a bucking bronco Suzuki.

At $ 17.994 for the model I tested, SX4 is still a bargain compared to many other small cars, the sticker price seems a little double tick sheet options. But many of its competitors by offering engine smoother and more powerful, better fuel economy and quieter cabin. Suzuki needs to give his car a Wee mechanical metamorphosis before it became an also-ran in the small car market.