New Suzuki SX4 is Bigger, Bolder and Better, Sets its Sights on the Qashqai [w/Video]

If you’re reading these lines from the States, you might as well move along as Suzuki’s automotive division has given up on the U.S. market, but for the rest of the world, the Japanese carmaker has reimagined its SX4 crossover and it’s displaying the new generation of the model at the Geneva motor show.

Previewed by last year’s S-Cross Concept, Suzuki is repositioning the new SX4 from the B-segment (sub-compact) to the C-segment (compact) where it will go head to head with the likes of the Nissan Qashqai.

At 4,300 mm long, 1,765 mm wide and 1,575 mm tall, the new SX4 is 165mm longer, 10mm wider and 10mm taller than the crossover it replaces, while also riding on a 100mm longer wheelbase at 2,600, which should improve passenger space. It also has a much larger cargo compartment at 430 liters vs. the outgoing model’s 270 liter boot capacity.

When it goes on sale in Europe this fall, the initial engine range will include a 1.6-liter petrol and a 1.6-liter diesel, both of which are offered with front- or all-wheel drive configurations, the latter with Suzuki’s new ALLGRIP technology that offers four different driving modes.

Transmission options include a five-speed manual for the petrol unit and a six-speed manual for the diesel, while a CVT is offered as an option.

European production of the new SX4 will commence at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary later this year.

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