The Suzuki SX4 is a strange thing, to this day i still can’t really work out what it is.
People say it’s a crossover. Meaning part 4×4, SUV and compact shopping car. That’s all very well but i just can’t get sweaty about it, mostly down to its high foreheaded styling, general drabness and what it has to compete against and i would have thought that other car of Suzuki’s, the Swift would be one of them. Of course i have never driven one.
What has piqued my interest though is the long awaited performance version. It`s been rumoured for a while and the perception was that it would receive a turbocharger like it’s rally counterpart. However recent reports suggest that Suzuki will go down the normally aspirated route by using a tuned version of its J20A 2.0 lite engine presently available in the SX4. The J20A produces 145ps but for the fast SX4 170ps is considered tuneable.
When the car makes an appearance next year in the spring it should look the part, suitably slammed with some add on bits to the body as well as upgraded tyres and perhaps a bit of a naughty sports exhaust.
Expected selling price in Japan will be from 2 million yen. No idea where else it is going to sell but i imagine the Americans and Europeans could get into it.
When researching this, what suprised me was that the current sedate SX4 has the option of a 2.0 litre engine. it strikes me as a little excessive for such a small car and for the class or classes i should say (crossover and all) that it tries to compete in. I just can’t imagine anyone ordering a 2000ccc SX4 with automatic transmission (M/T not available on this model in Japan). Must be some eccentric people out there.
The upcoming SX4 Evolution (might be called that) i can understand though.
Below pic is not of the Evolution model but of the current highest spec SX4.
current 2.0 SX4
