New 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack by RoadRace Motorsports

If we believe that the production of vehicles that can serve as a daily driver and weekend athletes, Lotus Exige, Mazda MX-5 Miata and Porsche Boxster comes to mind. There is light, agile and difficult road conditions to cope with the demands of the job. So we had a laugh when in 2010 Suzuki SX4 Road Race is change "has come to our program for the vehicles to see. As we drove SX4 Sport and 2008, we found that "sporty feel and a relatively quick reflexes, but the chassis is quite a low limit and can not imagine that the squat hatch fun on the court.

But we were curious how he jumped on the SX4 in particular will play in 2010 under the guise of WE, of which seven more horses (143 to 150 hp) and the transfer of the add-speed manual gearbox. Suzuki has billed its new five-door as a worthy competitor of the world's best hot hatch, but it really can make world-class combination of practical and sport? With a few days back roads of Southern California have been marked down on our schedule, we try to find out.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it can be important in the background Motorsports road race, the company that built the SX4 Sport. Based in Southern California, RRM made a name for itself building high-performance Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in particular. In recent years, turned his attention to RRM Suzuki, the development of parts and power lines Kizashi SX4, and construction projects, several vehicles, including the lid. Are part of our catalog includes everything from carbon fiber aero parts turbo.

Part of the SX4 Sport looks, along with Vivid Red paint job and aftermarket stripe kit ($ 149 of the RRM), an empty circle on the car number. It's a bit too boy racer street application, but talks about trust road race hotted up SX4.

Even without the rail, the Sportback a more observer from the factory. Gone is the roof rack with the SX4 Crossover as a new front spoiler, side skirts and roof spoiler complete exterior mods. The suspension is lowered 15 mm all around and a number of attractive 10-spoke 17-inch wheels instead of the rather mild factory 16-inch. The result is a strong five-door that would not look (completely) out of place when a row in Europe with the best hot hatches.
The interior of the SX4 Sportback is by no means luxurious, but gives no-nonsense environment with a refreshingly simple design. There are hard plastic on the dashboard and doors, but they do not feel offensive to the touch and can still be seen as very attractive. Chairs are made of soft fabric and comfortable, gives good back support, while the fat steering wheel is comfortable to hold and house only the most necessary buttons (volume, shipping, etc.). The center console is fixed for the traditional and intuitive way, with CD / control AM / FM / XM above and below the air conditioner. No pop-up NAV system cost increases from the top of the dashboard, and when it does not look as fancy dashboard, gets the job done with a simple touch screen. There are also some nice touches to the cabin to feel a bit more luxury, especially aluminum pedals with Suzuki logo and comfortable black outline with white lettering and red and blue accents.


We expect that very few benefits of modern hot hatch, disappointed SX4 Sportback. He has good feet in the back, though all of the northern six meters high, you probably do not want to commit to travel in the rear. The luggage compartment offers a good amount of storage space and the 60/40 rear seats folded down to make room for bigger things.
2010 SX4 Sportback front with an updated version of its 16-valve DOHC 2.0-liter inline four producing 150 hp and 140 pounds-feet of torque, compared with 143 hp and 136 lb-ft of last year. It's a big increase, but such a modest level, every little bit helps. Our specially-equipped car also came with an open element air intake ($ 199), ECU upgrades ($ 399) and a freer flowing exhaust, so we guess it's a slightly better performance than the stock. Most of the time, energetic four pot to provide enough motivation to work in a relatively rapid manner, especially at low speeds around town. The engine is built to redline without falling into power, but lacked the enthusiasm, even on small slopes, especially below 3,000 t / min


Also new for 2010 is a six-speed transmission and the possibility of further training, either on the console, shifter and paddle shifters. Additional reporting helps to improve fuel consumption and the Sportback is designed to 22/30 for the manual and 23/30 for the CVT. Fortunately, our tester was equipped with a standard transmission, which is a beautiful, precise shifts gave even the slightest hint notchiness. During our time with the car, we found that the SX4 more aggressive rate response, and we really enjoyed the break from one device to another. The only problem we encountered was too sensitive to gas and it is very difficult in the car is smooth because the first unit.
Sportback is equipped with MacPherson struts with a torsion beam rear Road Race Motorsports rear first order of business was necessary sport suspension ($ 499) and a set of ultra-sticky Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 215/45R17 tires ($ 528). Result: boatloads of friction. constantly opening the bold front-wheel-drive system has surprised us with his ability to even the most challenging corners with ease to solve. Body roll is almost gone, and do not pull the steering accuracy.

Modified suspension came with a downside - a big one. The suspension is so stiff that it almost undrivable SX4 on even slightly rough roads. It goes beyond the shock causes often provoked a UN grunts and groans, and at one point, a dash-mounted navigation system with a specially sprung open for a rough road. While we enjoyed the ride up and down the canyon, it's a day-to-day tasks nearly unlivable for all of us how well-balanced road race "way" and "Race" mission in the SX4.
Putting performance parts of the budget Sportback hatch as SX4 would work in the early '00s, but as tuners and compacts are more accurate, drivers expect a better balance. Suppose that a base price tag of $ 17,999 (plus $ 795 in destination charges), and of course it is especially SX4 will appeal to budget-minded buyers looking for comfort and dosage in sports daily driver. Modified suspension on our tester made it impractical as a daily driver but it is far from the track dedicated to toys.

This means we can see many customers take SX4 rare quality directly from the factory. 2.0-liter engine is a bold, if not sports, and new transmission now offers decent fuel. Frankly, I would probably suggest buying the SX4 crossover model because it not only today, more can - and unique - with a proposal, with all-wheel drive, it is inexplicable, and much cheaper at $ 15.899. This means that Suzuki Sportback is packed with striking exterior and interior appeal, it's something to look very cheap. But when it comes to change, we will promote the exchange of a number of new tires and leave a key hidden in a drawer.