The Suzuki Kizashi saloon has been declared overall winner of the 2010 AA Motoring Excellence Awards, mirroring the international acclaim for the new model.
Not only did the Kizashi take out top honours in the medium size car class, it was judged the Supreme Winner in the annual award which is regarded as one of the most important in the New Zealand motor industry.
Launched locally in May 2010, the European-inspired Kizashi has been praised by North American and Australasian writers and is already the recipient of several international awards.
Sixty new model vehicles were assessed by an independent team of local motoring writers during a five-day test programme within the Taupo region. Seventeen brands of cars were evaluated in the latest award which is in its fifth year.
Beating a class field of rivals that included the Subaru Outback 2.5, Subaru Legacy 2.5 Sport Wagon, Hyundai i45 2.4 Elite, Volkswagen Passat CC TDi, Skoda Octavia 2.0 TSi DSG and Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Kizashi impressed the expert panel of judges.
The Automobile Association says the results are intended to assist New Zealand motorists with their car purchases, with voting criteria including design, performance, dynamics, practicality, execution, value for money and safety.
“Kizashi is Suzuki’s first entrant into the medium segment class which has a number of very strong competitors,” said Tom Peck, General Manager of Marketing for Suzuki New Zealand.
“We knew the Kizashi was a great all round car but to have the AA Motoring Excellence Award judges confirm this is a highly special result,” he said.
“Suzuki especially values the outcome of the Automobile Association award because the results are determined by a panel or judges rather than the assessment by just one journalist,” said Tom Peck.
The award was made to the GLX, manual 6-speed version of the Kizashi which the judges said was “a very good affordable vehicle”.
The judges praised the car’s refinement, quietness and comfort and said dynamically it was easily the best in the medium car class. They were also impressed by “the astonishing attention to detail both inside and out”.
Tom Peck said Suzuki wanted to build a world-class sports sedan with superb dynamics at a price the average motorist could afford.
“A huge engineering investment by Suzuki shows what can be achieved,” he said. “As Suzuki’s first world-class medium car in its 100 year history, the Kizashi had to be right, first time out.”
“We are convinced the 2.4-litre Kizashi is the best handling, best value mid-size sedan in New Zealand and the outcome of the AA awards simply confirms this,” said Peck.
Five versions of the premium four-door Kizashi are available in the local market, with prices starting from $35,990 for the GLX manual model.
The range includes a Sport AWD variant with selectable four wheel drive and a lavish level of standard appointment.
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