Suzuki's SX Appeal
New compact sedan and other upcoming models help expand lineup

By KATHY JACKSON | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

Thanks to the new SX4 hatchback and the redesigned XL-7 mid-sized SUV, Suzuki is headed for its second straight 100,000-sales year here in 2007.

Suzuki will add a small SX4 sedan this fall and expects the SX4 nameplate to be its best-seller in the coming years. The company also will get its first pickup, a version of the Nissan Frontier.

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Aerio: The 2007 model year is the last for the Aerio sedan.

Reno: A freshening is scheduled for the 2009 model year. Suzuki is considering a high-horsepower engine for the vehicle.

Swift: The Swift was last sold here in 2002. It will return to this country as a hatchback for the 2011 model year. There also may be a hybrid sedan.

Forenza: A freshening is planned for the 2009 model year.

SX4: A sedan will join the SX4 five-door hatchback as a 2008 model. Like the hatchback, it will be powered by a 143-hp, 2.0-liter, inline four-cylinder engine. Unlike the hatchback, which comes with standard all-wheel drive, the sedan will be front-drive only.

Awd "was good for the dealers in the Northeast, but it made the car more expensive," says Gary Linam, an Alabama dealer who is a member of the Suzuki dealer council. "A lot of dealers wanted the sedan to come with fwd."

New sedan: The Verona, built by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., was plagued with quality problems and killed after the 2006 model year. Sources say Suzuki is designing a Verona-sized sedan that could be on sale here for the 2010 model year.

Grand Vitara: The small SUV is due for a freshening for the 2009 model year. A hybrid version may be available by the 2010 model year.

XL-7: The vehicle was redesigned for the 2007 model year; no more major changes are planned.

Pickup: Suzuki's version of Nissan's Frontier small pickup goes on sale next year as a 2009 model. It will be built at a Nissan plant in Mexico.

So the Epica, which in the last gen was the same as the Verona, won't be replacing it? I guess it sucks so bad that not only do Holden buyers trade it back for a Commodore, but that Suzuki doesn't even want it.

i saw an sx-4 the other day.... parked at a house, but kinda stood out, haha

The Suzuki truck is a new...I hadn't heard anything about until I read this. Weird. I wonder how well it will sell *coughradiercough*.

Well, good news is that the Swift is coming.

The current Swift in Europe has won rave reviews

I like the new Suzukis they are pretty sharp looking.