Suzuki SX-4's Darker Side: New SZ-L Special Edition for UK Market

A new special edition version of Suzuki's SX4 small crossover called the SZ-L is being launched onto the UK market this week. What makes the SZ-L special is a styling package that adds a number of exterior and interior features.

Available in two colors, 'Silky Silver Pearl' and 'Cosmic Black', the SZ-L model comes equipped with unique gunmetal colored roof rails, front grille, alloy wheels and front and rear skid plates.

Inside, the SZ-L gets Alcantara seat trim in light gray plus a three spoke leather steering wheel with gunmetal stitch detailing and a standard six disc in dash CD changer.

The SZ-L is based on the SZ4 grade and is available only in two wheel drive layout with a 120HP-strong 1.6-liter gasoline engine matched to a manual gearbox. Suzuki claims the small crossover can accelerate from zero to 62 mph (100km/h) in 10.7 seconds and return a combined fuel economy of 45.6mpg UK with CO2 emissions of 143g/km.

Pricing is set at £13,145 and includes the cost of the metallic paint.

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Fire Hazard from Garmin Nuvi Prompts Recalls from Suzuki and Nissan

After Garmin announced a voluntary recall of 1.25 million units of its popular Nuvi GPS system at the end of August amidst concerns that the batteries could overheat and catch fire, Suzuki and Nissan followed with a recall on several vehicles equipped with the affected Garmin Nuvi navigation systems including the 750, 760, or 765 models for the same reason.

The recalled Garmin units can be found on certain Suzuki vehicles including the 2008-2010MY SX4 crossovers, 2010MY Grand Vitara SUVs, and 2009-2010MY Equator vehicles, and the 2008-2010MY Nissan Altima, Frontier, Pahtfinder, Rogue, Sentra, Versa and Xterra vehicles.

In both cases, the automakers will notify owners of the affected models, and the repairs will be performed by Garmin technicians who will replace the battery and insert a spacer on top of the battery free of charge.

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Tokyo '09: Suzuki Showcases Swift Plug in-Hybrid and SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki exhibited its latest 'green' concept studies for the future including a Swift with Plug-in Hybrid and an SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV). The hybrid version of the Swift is a supermini aimed at city dwellers that travel around 20 km (about 13 miles) a day and has been designed to be driven primarily on electric power.

It is equipped with 600cc engine that is used to charge a lithium-ion battery that powers an electric motor if capacity level drops. The batter can also be charged through any domestic plug socket.

Suzuki did not release any performance or fuel economy figures nor did it say if it intends to produce the Swift Plug-in Hybrid in the future.

The other 'green' study on display at Suzuki's Tokyo Motor Show booth is the is the SX4 FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) which combines a General Motors-sourced high performance fuel cell with a Suzuki developed high pressure hydrogen tank and a compact capacitor that is used to recover energy during braking and using it to reduce fuel cell loading under acceleration.

The SX4 FCV is currently under test on public roads in Japan as Suzuki plans to to commercialize the car in the near future.

Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

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Suzuki SX4 Fuel Cell Vehicle

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2010 Suzuki SX4 and SX4 Sedan Facelift Revealed in China

Suzuki's joint-venture in China, Changan-Suzuki, has released a facelift version of the SX4 crossover for the domestic market. Not surprisingly, both the hatchback and sedan variants of the updated SX4 feature the same aesthetic changes as the European version of the car that was scooped undisguised last December. These include the redesigned bumper, reworked grille and concave surfaces above the fog lights as well as a new skid-plate at the rear of the hatchback.

For those that like to pay attention to insignificant details, the China-market and, from the looks of it, the European-spec 2010 SX4's subtly redesign front-end is no different than the one found on the North American market SX4 that has been around since 2006...

The Chine-spec SX4s also feature updated interior trim and a new GPS navigation system.

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