Digestible Collectible: 2009 Suzuki SX4

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

At least in the U.S., Suzuki always operated on the fringes of the auto industry. Save for those vehicles it rebadged for General Motors, Suzuki never seemed to match up well against the competition. The cars were either a half-size smaller than the competition — see Kizashi — or had no discernable competition whatsoever, like the inexplicable X-90.

Likewise, the dealers never had the best real estate, at least from my experience. Here in Columbus, for example, the local Suzuki dealers were set up in corners of Budget Car Rental locations. Hardly a recipe for success.

Shame, really, because Suzuki built some wonderfully interesting cars.


I mentioned the Kizashi, which I found to be a fun — if a slightly small — family car. I’d love to find an old Swift GTi as a cheap hot hatch, and the current Swift sold overseas is said to be spectacular. But today, we look at a model sold here recently, the 2009 Suzuki SX4. With some wrench time, this could be a fascinating alternative to other all-wheel-drive sports sedans.

Bear with me. The funky, high-top sneaker styling of the SX4 is cool and functional, with plenty of cargo room. But despite the departure of Suzuki from our market, there remains a tuner culture around this car, ready to take the SX4 to street machine or off-road adventurer. Road Race Motorsports, best known for Mitsubishi tuning, offers plenty of options, including a turbo kit that should produce around 220 horsepower.

Realistically, this is folly. It would likely take $8,000 in parts to make this aging hatch perform similarly to a Subaru WRX, which still has factory support, a huge aftermarket, and a massive online community of enthusiasts. But the appeal of standing out from the pack is ever present.

For those who choose to venture down the rocky path without thousands of forum fanboys to assist, I salute you.

Chris Tonn is a broke classic car enthusiast that writes about old cars, since he can’t afford to buy them. Commiserate with him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Rod Panhard Rod Panhard on Feb 18, 2016

    This car was jointly developed by Suzuki and Fiat, and sold as a Fiat in Italy. It really is a good car. However, it's exactly why I said, many moons ago, why Fiats would not sell in the US. It doesn't matter how good it is.

    • Pecci Pecci on Feb 18, 2016

      It was designed by Fiat and funded by General Motors for Suzuki to build it.

  • Jdmcomp Jdmcomp on Feb 18, 2016

    Drove one thinking it looked good but it turned out to be a 4 wheel motorcycle with all the drawbacks one could think of. Still looks good but driving would have been horrible except in slow city traffic.

  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
  • Wjtinfwb If you've only got 5k to spend on transportation, I cannot imagine a worse way to spend it than on a GM orphan from Sweden that's 15 years old with 150k on the clock and limited plus expensive parts availability and dwindling techs who'd even want to work on it. Go find a similar vintage Camry or Accord with 150k miles or even a Ford or a Chevy, whatever. Hell, even an old Jaguar is less of a crapshoot than a Saab. At least you can still get parts.
  • Kwik_Shift Brands that were considered from China include BYD, Dayun, Great Wall Motors, Maxus, Nio, Omoda/Chery, Seres, XPeng, and Zeekr. KG Mobility from South Korea also made the list of candidates.That's a lot of car companies from there ready to head here.
  • Analoggrotto Clean sweep and unanimous victory for the world affluence engine of 22nd century : Hyundai/Kia/Genesis. Toyota and Lexus, for 120 years of history have not been able to capture the zenith superlative status of Hyundai Motor Corporation the most awarded, decorated and revered automotive corporation in the history of historical. Featuring best ever, first ever and greatest ever e-ATPs the Hyundai Genesis Kia lineup is posed to become the envy of every country club, ivy league college and fortune 500 corporation in the world. I've been taking a roadtrip in my loaner Elantra N, visiting colleges from east to west, elite universities of higher learning to inspect their parking lots. WHat did I find? Leagues of Genesis models, outnumbering Lexus 3 to 1. When I interviewed faculty and staff at these places of greater learning, their response was unanimous : they chose HMC for the ATPs.
  • Mikey 2019 Chevy Impala Premier FWD with 20 inch factory Bridgestones. I'm looking at replacing tires at the 65,000 KLM's (40,000 miles ) mark ....It doesn't thrill me .. I'm pricing Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires ouch !! ..Up here in Canuckastan ....Big $$$$$
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