Suzuki Kizashi: A Good Car, But About That Name...

Suzuki has introduced a new mid-sized sedan.

That's good news. This brand continues to struggle for recognition, and new products, especially if they are good, can help garner recognition.

More good news. The new sedan is good. It drives nicely and is styled somewhat attractively and priced very affordably.

But there's bad news. The sedan is called the Kizashi. 

The Kizashi.

Suzuki Kizashi. Just rolls off your tongue, doesn't it?

Kizashi, I'm told, is the name of the Japanese engineer who designed the car.

In no way would I denigrate anyone's name. A person's name should always be respected (although I don't mind if you make fun of my name -- Douthit -- because people often have a hard time pronouncing it).

But what I am saying is that if you are trying to sell cars in the U.S. auto market, you label the cars with a name that will be much easier for large numbers of consumers here to pronounce and remember.

If I designed a car to sell in Japan, no way would I call it a Douthit. Heck, if I was trying to sell cars in the U.S., I wouldn't call it a Douthit.

But enough on the Kizashi's name. Suzuki will have to deal with that.

If you glance at its numbers, the Kizashi looks decent, with its 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine that makes 185 HP and 170 pounds feet of torque.

That powerplant can generate a 0-60 MPH time of just 7.5 seconds.

Gas mileage is pretty good, too: 23 mpg city, 31 highway with the continuously variable transmission and front-wheel drive or 20/29 in manual FWD mode.

On the inside, the new Kizashi is well featured for its starting price of under $20,000, offering iPod connectivity, soft-touch plastics everywhere, steering wheel audio buttons, dual-zone climate control and comfortable seats. Move up through the trims and you'll add a thumping 425 watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with Bluetooth music streaming and hands-free calling. 

Handling is pretty nimble with the Kizashi. It takes twisty roads with a nice spirit of fun, yet still won't have you losing you lunch.

Power in the early gears is a little tepid, but at higher speeds is more than adequate.

Falling in between a compact sedan and the current mid-size market, the car is actually more likely to appeal to people who want to upgrade from a subcompact, but don't want some of the larger mid-size sedans.

It's hard not to notice that the Kizashi, which went through three iterations of concept cars before the reveal, is seemingly incongruous with the company's recent expression of outdoor, X-game lifestyle vehicles built on their marine, motorcycle and ATV sales. The new Equator can haul Suzuki bikes, the SX4 can take you rock climbing and the the Grand Vitara can haul your boat. The Kizashi doesn't do any of those things.

Like the SX4, the Kizashi is part of a rapidly improving family of vehicles few American consumers are aware of, so the failure or success of it is going to be more heavily dependent on marketing than the vehicles themselves. If Suzuki can make people aware that this car exists, and teach them how to pronounce its name, they should be able to sell a fair number of them.