Last month I attended the first ever Suzuki MomFest in St Charles, Illinois, a town recently selected as one of the 10 Best Towns For Families by FamilyCircle. We stayed at the Hotel Baker, which has a beautiful view of the Fox River.
On our first night we were treated to some yummy dinner in the Waterfront Room of Hotel Baker, as well as a roundtable on cars and car shopping. I thought it was great that a brand actually wanted to know what we wanted and needed in a vehicle, as well as our thoughts on the whole car buying experience in general.
The next morning, after breakfast at Rox City Grill, we attended an overview presentation on Suzuki vehicles. Did you know that Suzuki made cars? Yes, Suzuki makes vehicles, not just quads and motorcycles! I did know that they made the Grand Vitara, but I didn’t know that they have other vehicles as well. Their current lineup is completely made up of AWD vehicles including:
- Kizashi
- Grand Vitara
- SX4 Crossover
- SX4 Sport
- SX4 Sportback
- Equator – crew cab and extended cab truck
The Suzuki vehicles are certainly very well priced. But for some things like car purchases, price isn’t everything. Warranty is something I’ve always kept in consideration when purchasing a vehicle, whether new or used. When it comes to cars, I believe that a warranty is a good thing. For every used vehicle I’ve bought I’ve purchased a warranty. Why? Because most of the cars didn’t come with one or it was almost up. One of the most impressive things that I learned about Suzuki is that all of their vehicles come with a 7 year – 100,000 mile warranty for the engine, transmission and drive system. That’s longer then any other car manufacturer that I’m aware of, which is why it’s the #1 vehicle warranty in this country. And that wasn’t it. That warranty has a $0 deductible AND is fully transferable to anyone that buys that vehicle within the warranty period. Now that’s awesome! And, the warranty also includes roadside assistance for 3 years or 36,000 miles. This is not only a huge buying feature, but also something to think about if you sell your vehicles instead of trading them in.
After that we were off to test drive some of the Suzuki vehicles, as well as participate in a scavenger hunt in Target. We spent some time doing walkarounds with the vehicles, and driving them through beautiful St. Charles and surrounding areas.
The first car I was in was a red SX4 AWD Crossover.
The Suzuki SX4 AWD Crossover is a crossover vehicle that would be compared to an Impreza or Matrix. It seats up to 5 and has a starting MSRP of approximately $16,999. It’s got standard AWD (did I mention standard AWD?) and the 11.9 gallon vehicle gets 22 / 30 miles per gallon. The back of this vehicle is designed to be flexible enough to carry people or stuff, as it has 60/40 split folding rear seats that allow you to carry oversized items. It’s got 8 airbags, standard. Oh, it’s got 6 cup and bottle holders too. I was a passenger for this ride. From my side the ride was more comfortable then I expected. I do prefer a slightly larger car myself but I didn’t feel cramped in the front passenger seat.
The SX4 is also available in a Sport and Sportback configuration.
After that we switched to a gray Kizashi.
The Kizashi is a very sleek and attractive AWD sport sedan that would be compared with the Accord, Fusion and Altima. The Kizashi has a starting MSRP of approximately $18,999. It’s similarly styled but is a couple thousand less then those other cars in the class. The Kizashi had an interesting feature called the smart key, which is a system that allows you to open the cars from a certain distance without actually holding the keys. No more digging in your purse for a remote or keys, as long as they’re in your purse the door will unlock. It’s got 8 airbags standard, and its braking system was designed by the people that make the brakes for the bullet train. I drove this car for a short while. The 10-way power seats were comfy and the drivers space was roomy enough to accommodate me and my inner fat girl (remember, I used to weight 374 pounds). I found the ride to be very smooth and quiet. Did I mention the Kizashi has standard AWD? And six cup and bottle holders too, as well as built in USB and power ports.
The last vehicle we were in was a silver Grand Vitara.
The Grand Vitara is an SUV that would be compared with the Escape, Tucson or CR-V, and has a starting MSRP of approximately $19,499. This model has a 17.4 gallon gas tank that provides 19 – 26 mpg. The vehicle seats up to 5 and is built on what’s called a ladder frame, which is the type of frame used on premium SUVs such as the Mercedes Benz M-class. It’s got a nice standard navigation system that can also be removed from the car and used on foot. I drove this vehicle for a little while also. The 6-way adjustable drivers seat was comfortable, I was even able to adjust the height. The interior and drivers space had enough room to fit drivers of all shapes and sizes. I found the ride to be very smooth and quiet. Speaking of quiet, I loved the audio controls on the steering wheel that are standard for this model. I found the back door interesting, it opens like a car door instead of lifting up like most SUV doors do. Behind that door is a cargo space, which can also be accessed if you fold down the 60/40 rear seat – a very nice feature for those trips to the home improvement store. It’s got six cup and bottle holders too.
Our drive came to an end with our arrival at the ZaZa Trattoria restaurant and Kizashi Kicks Roadshow. I had to leave early to catch my flight home so I missed the Roadshow but I have no doubt it was as enjoyable as the delicious lunch we had and the rest of the day’s events.
I enjoyed the #SuzukiMomFest, from meeting the other bloggers to learning about the cars to driving the cars. I especially liked the test drive of the Kizashi and the Grand Vitara. I’d love to try driving either of them at home, to put them through the paces of my own routine and surroundings.
If you’d like to learn more about Suzuki automobiles, visit their site www.suzukiauto.com. The Suzuki line is loaded with the best premium features without costing a premium price. Their lineup is perfect for individuals and couples, as well as small to medium sized families. I personally hope that in the future Suzuki comes out with a larger SUV that can fit families of more then five, as it isn’t unusual at all for my family to be traveling in a group of 7-8 minimum. If you’re shopping for a vehicle it’s definitely worth stopping at the Suzuki dealer in your area for an up close look-see and test drive.
Be sure to stay tuned to Mom Knows It All, as I’ll be offering a Suzuki Junk In The Trunk giveaway with a prize package valued at about $100 that consists of the items I purchased during the scavenger hunt.
UPDATE – MY #SUZUKIMOMFEST JUNK IN THE TRUNK GIVEAWAY IS NOW LIVE!
MORE INFO
Suzuki on Facebook
Suzuki on Twitter
Suzuki YouTube channel
Airfare and accomodations for the Suzuki MomFest Blogger Event were provided by Suzuki. As always, please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.
That transferrabler warreantee feature is great as long as it goes foer all the mileage not just some.
When we were shopping for a used car for my oldest daughter, there was a Suzuki on the list. I forget which one, but it had great reviews and good gas mileage. We ended up getting her a Corolla, not because we didn’t want the Suzuki, but because we could not find any of this one car available. I guess they were so good that people were not selling theirs.
I almost drove down to St. Charles to see ya.. I shopping around for another vehicle and want to test drive the Grand Vitara!