New year, new livery for Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4

Monster Tajima Suzuki SX4 hill-climb special

We assume that Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima is already thinking about his next run up Pikes Peak. His Suzuki SX4 hill-climb special is one step ahead and wearing a fresh new livery courtesy of sponsor GoPro. The car looks as unique as ever and our eyes are particularly drawn to the icy blue HRE wheels. They’re custom-forged 20-inch rollers built to take the abuse that 910 horsepower and Mr. Monster throws at them. Hopefully at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, we’ll see this bright white-and-blue blur streak by on its way to a record-setting run.

[Source: HRE]

New year, new livery for Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports

Filed under: Aftermarket, Budget, Performance, Hatchback, Suzuki, Reviews

The aftermarket put some more heat in Suzuki’s hot hatch

2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports

2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports – Click above for high-res image gallery

When we think of production vehicles that can double as daily drivers and weekend racers, the Lotus Exige, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Porsche Boxster come to mind. They’ve got to be light, nimble and handle the rigors of the road along with the demands of the track. That’s why we had a little chuckle when a 2010 Suzuki SX4 with “Road Race modifications” came up on our schedule for vehicles to review. When we drove the 2008 SX4 Sport, we found it to have a “sporty feel and rather quick reflexes,” but the chassis had fairly low limits and we couldn’t imagine the squat hatch being that much fun on track.

Still, we were curious how a hopped-up SX4 would perform, particularly in 2010 MY guise, which adds seven additional horsepower (143 to 150 hp) and a six-speed manual transmission. Suzuki has billed its new five-door as a worthy competitor to the world’s best hot hatches, but can it really deliver a world-class combination of practicality and sportiness? With several days of Southern California’s back roads marked down on our schedule, we aimed to find out.

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Gallery: Review: 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports

Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

Continue reading Review: 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports

Review: 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear America’s Reasonably Price Car outed as Suzuki SX4

Filed under: Budget, Etc., Hatchback, Suzuki, Celebrities

U.S. Top Gear Big Star in a Small CarHere in the good ‘ole United States of America, we like things big… and small. Over in UK, they can have their reasonably priced cars, we don’t need ’em. We’re putting a Big Star in a Small Car instead.

Naturally, the premise is the same. Take one name-brand celebrity and place them behind the wheel of a run-of-the-mill car available to the masses here in America and send them around a makeshift race track. While the British version of Top Gear currently uses a Kia Cee’d for star-shuttling duty, America’s TG spin-off will feature a Suzuki SX4.

For what it’s worth, we had a couple of guys in the audience during the taping of the U.S. show’s first episode and we had signed statements restricting us from publishing this information. Apparently, though, it’s been leaked by either someone at Top Gear or by Suzuki.

In any case, we genuinely like Suzuki’s little runabout. It’s not particularly fast, but it’s an able handler and it has the beans to pull itself around a track quickly enough. Plus, it’s pretty reasonably priced… not that we care, of course. And, as you’d expect from any show that carries the name Top Gear, there will indeed be an American Stig. Current internet rumormongering suggests that F1-ace Rubens Barrichello is the American Stig, but that hasn’t been, nor is it likely to be, officially confirmed.

In related news, some of the American stars that will be piloting the SX4 include Tim Allen, Buzz Aldrin, Ty Burrell, Tony Hawk, Bret Michaels, Dominic Monaghan, Kid Rock and Michelle Rodriguez. Suitably big stars?

[Source: Variety]

Top Gear America’s Reasonably Price Car outed as Suzuki SX4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suzuki SX4 blacks out for UK special edition

Filed under: Hatchback, Suzuki, UK

Suzuki SX4 SZ-L

Suzuki SX4 SZ-L – Click above for high-res image gallery

Suzuki has released details on a new special edition version of its SX4 for the UK. Called the SZ-L, the five-door will come from the factory wearing a host of appearance upgrades aimed to give the vehicle an urban flair, including a few splashes of gunmetal accents on the roof rails, grille, wheels and skid plates. The gray theme continues on inside with Alcantara trim in all the right places and ghost stitching around the leather steering wheel. Unfortunately, as awesome as all of the menacing gunmetal trim is, the hatchback’s mechanicals leave something to be desired.

Instead of pairing the blacked-out goodies with the company’s bones-cheap all-wheel drive system, the SZ-L is only available with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine powering the front-wheels. That blows one sad trombone in our book. The upshot is that Suzuki is only offering the special edition with a five-speed manual, so slusher fans need not apply.

The Suzuki SX4 SZ-L starts at $20,533 in the UK (at current conversion rates) and there’s no word as to whether or not a similar model will show up on our shores. Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: Suzuki SX4 SZ-L

[Source: Suzuki]

Continue reading Suzuki SX4 blacks out for UK special edition

Suzuki SX4 blacks out for UK special edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suzuki recalls SX4, Grand Vitara and Equator for overheating Garmin sat-nav units

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Technology, Suzuki

Suzuki SX4 Sport sedan

Suzuki SX4 Sport with Garmin navigation system – Click above for high-res image gallery

Suzuki SX4 with Garmin navigationWhen Garmin issued a recall on its Nuvi portable navigation system a couple of weeks ago, Japanese automaker Suzuki informed us that it would need to issue a follow-up recall for a few vehicles in its lineup. After all, Suzuki offers dashboard-mounted Garmin GPS units in its Equator, Grand Vitara and SX4 models, and unfortunately, the Nuvi navis supplied to Suzuki are among the ones that need repair.

Approximately 20,692 Suzuki vehicles are affected by this recall – specifically the 2008-2010 SX4, 2010 Grand Vitara and 2009-2010 Equator equipped with Garmin Nuvi 750, 760 and 765 navigation systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates that the batteries in these nav units can potentially overheat which could result in a fire.

Garmin technicians will replace the existing batteries free of charge and owners will be notified within the next few weeks. The official recall notice from NHTSA is available after the jump.

Gallery: Review: 2008 Suzuki SX4 Sport with TRIP

Photos Copyright (C)2010 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL

[Source: NHTSA]

Continue reading Suzuki recalls SX4, Grand Vitara and Equator for overheating Garmin sat-nav units

Suzuki recalls SX4, Grand Vitara and Equator for overheating Garmin sat-nav units originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

“Monster” Tajima’s Pikes Peak assault – Click above to watch video after the jump

This is the kind of video that should be in the core curriculum for auto enthusiasts: A 2,618-pound Suzuki SX4 with a 3.1-liter twin-turbo V6 blown out to 897 horsepower and 654 pound-feet of torque. The pilot: Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima. No theatrics, no gimmicks, just 11 straight minutes of speed, dirt, opposite lock and ghastly mechanical fury. Follow the jump to watch the vid.

[Source: Falken Tire]

Continue reading Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run

Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArmorTech BMW X6 is the AMC Eagle SX/4 of your dreams

Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Crossover, BMW, Russia, Luxury


ArmorTech BMW X6 coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

It’s been tried before, making a coupe out of an SUV – or an SUV out of a coupe. AMC tried it back in the early ’80s with the Eagle SX/4. Both DC Design and Merdad tried it with the Porsche Cayenne. And of course BMW tried it with the X6. The trouble with the X6 is that it has two doors too many to be considered a coupe. The solution? Off with their doors, courtesy of aftermarket firm ArmorTech.

In the process, the Russian coachbuilder crafted longer front doors, jockeyed the positioning of the B-pillar and side glass, and fitted new front seats that can tilt and slide forward to gain access to the rear seats, the access to which never having been a strong suit of the factory X6 to begin with. A number of additional enhancements are also on offer, from suspension, wheels and brakes to exhaust, body kit and custom upholstery.

So, does the removal of the rear doors make the X6 look any better? Give us your thoughts in ‘Comments.’

Gallery: BMW X6 coupe by ArmorTech

[Source: ArmorTech via World Car Fans]

ArmorTech BMW X6 is the AMC Eagle SX/4 of your dreams originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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