Climb into the inside and the round theme continues with a convectional Suzuki dash in dual tone black an beige shades, the latter dominating the larger percentage of the colour scheme. Things are kept simple and no unnecessary hideous fake wood paneling is done like the '11 accord. The waterfall centre console s the sole design factor in an otherwise plain jane dashboard and vast expanses of beige tend to soil easily, in addition to aiding a monotonous environment. The top part of the door panels could have been in black and the overall contrasting effect would then look much better.
The US style twin pod retro instrument gauge with electro-luminescent dials look superb and feature a digital fuel gauge plus a trip computer.
Ergonomics are superb and I must appreciate Suzuki's sincere efforts for keeping things simple and the overall relation of driver to the controls is brilliantly optimised and the ergonomics can be termed as class best. Controls for the dual zone Automatic Climate Control, radio and lights and wipers are simple and buttons are not hard to find. The Achilles heal is the LHD configuration of lights and wipers, which can cause distraction and may take getting used to. We had owned a matiz from 2000-2006, so I could easily adopt to it at one go, but my accompanying driver did face difficulty.
The front seats are decently comfortable, though the accord is more so, but a wide array of adjustments plus a tilt and telescopic steering wheel makes it easy to find a perfect diving position. The driver's seat is fully powered and has eight way controls (forward, backward, up, down, reclining front, reclining back, height adjustment up and down for the lower chair) and a three position memory setting which can be pre setted for three different people depending upon their driving requirements. Below the controls, there is also a discreet button for a power lumbar support for both towards and against depending upon the driver's fatigue levels.
Comfort factor is Ok, the padding is superb but lower back support is just satisfactory, as the seats do feel a tend narrow in comparison to the superb and accord. Upper thigh support is of a high order, whereas the lower thigh support is just again, about OK. Long distance driving does tend to become tiresome and some more side padding would have improved things tremendously.
The co driver's seat is again, power adjustable four ways and thankfully does not feature that crooked
danda (copyright
sam) like the Honda, present even on the 2011 accord. Sadly, memory settings and lumbar support is not present.
Legroom at front is vast and the long seat travel ensures sufficient room, even for 6 footers, though the low slung design limits the headroom for tall people. Decent but no great shakes either.
Coming to the rear, the size disadvantage is obviously felt. Compared to the sofa like seats of the accord, superb and sonata, legroom is obviously less and just slightly more than in the corolla. The seats are perfectly contoured and comfortable but underthigh support is less than steller. For sahibs and memsahibs, pushing the front seat releases huge legroom and chauffeur driven single persons would be more than happy. But the comfort factor cannot hold he candle to the EuroJap barges, clearly a class above. Cushioning is somewhere between firm to soft, decent angle of inclination, lower back support is good and lumbar support is above average. The seat's
narrow width and the high transmission tunnel (centre hump) makes it strictly a four seater. Fifth person can be accommodated but for short trips at best.
Boot space is decent and can carry three large suitcases or four medium sized suitcases for those weekend trips. Loading bay is high, but depth is sufficient. Spare wheel is of full size 17" and a 5th alloy wheel is standard.
Interior quality is best yet seen on a suzuki and feels pretty upmarket and robust with smooth plastics. Though some buttons like the OSRVM controls, power windows (auto down and up for driver and co passenger with pinch guard) and even the leather on the door pads feel cheap.
Audio:
The Kizashi comes with a premium integrated audio system with four speakers, two tweeters, a four channel amplifier and a small in built subwoofer. Sadly, the Indian market version does not come with sat-nav, nor its a Rockford Fosgate branded unit. Worse, it doesn't have standard bluetooth connectivity nor a provision for it, unlike the Honda.
MP3 single CD player, USB connectivity and an aux-in jack is standard and sound quality is decent, kind of to satisfy most daily needs. Bass is lacking, though clarity i good, and treble is again above average. Would get a 6/10 rating from me.
A high point is the sheer simplicity of the controls but the display looks old school and worse, the gloss black screen reflects badly in the sunlight, shamelessly even exposing my old school camera!
Twin pod gauge cluster looks fab.
Front seats comfy but narrow. Superb legroom and large travel.
front seat controls, with memory presets and lumbar support.
Co driver's seat is also 4 way fully power adjustable.
picture of minimum and maximum legroom
another angle of rear seat legroom-min and max.
Rear AC vents standard to keep passengers cool.
Front door pad, dull design and feels pretty cheap. Average storage space.
Rear door pad. Not much to show either, again storage space small.
Controls for dual zone automatic climate control.
Superb cooling though too early to judge in spring.
Co-driver's side view of the dash. Simple and legible.
No fake wood makes it look nice.