Suzuki tries to keep itself relevant in the Philippine car market through some pretty interesting offerings.
Those looking for the (very) cheap can opt for the Alto. The sort-of-sporty options comes in the form of the Swift. The cheap, small but tall option is with the Jimny. If you’re looking for a reasonably-priced subcompact that’s all the rage among yuppies, starting families, and taxi companies, Suzuki has the relatively unpopular SX4 sedan.
The SX4 competed quite poorly in the very ruthless subcompact sedan category that’s currently occupied by the likes of the Toyota Vios, Honda City, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, and Mitsubishi Mirage G4. Probably they’re hoping that the 2016 Suzuki Ciaz would fare better.
The Ciaz is powered by a 1.4L gasoline engine. The engine packs 92 hp and 130 Nm of torque. Not impressive but it’s pretty much what you can expect from a displacement a 100 mL short of a family-sized Coke bottle.
As for variants, the Ciaz is available in GL MT (PhP 738,000), GL AT (PhP 773,000), and GLX AT (PhP 888,000). At these prices, it can comfortably slug it our price-wise to its competitors. The range-topping models of the Vios and the Jazz flirt with the PhP 1M price tag. Though available with the diesel variants elsewhere, only gas variants were announced. If they decide to bring them in, it would compete with the Accent’s diesel variants.
Perhaps the best draw of the Ciaz is its size. With dimensions pegged at 4.49m long, 1.73m wide, and 1.485m tall, it’s supposed to be the biggest in class. It also features trunk space of 510L that’s enough to stash an extra kabarkada comfortably for those impromptu gimik nights.
Interesting tidbit, the “Ciaz” name apparently stands for “City, from A to Z.”
Whatever.