2010 Suzuki SX4 - Styling Review

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The pert, truncated tail of the 2010 Suzuki SX4 Crossover and its sportier front-wheel-drive twin, the SX4 SportBack, give them both a look that's cheerful and distinctive. Unlike many similar vehicles, the 2010 SX4 Crossover avoids looking tall and tippy, and the SportBack-with its roof rack removed, a subtle aero kit, and suspension that's half an inch lower-appears even closer to the ground. The SX4 sedan, on the other hand, loses the visual spark of the hatchback's blunt rear. It will vanish immediately in the sea of silver subcompacts found in any mall parking lot. The instrument panel is styled simply but attractively, and both materials and plastic trim look and feel more expensive than the SX4's price would lead you to expect. The instrument cluster is new this year, with aluminum trim surrounds, and the large, knurled knobs for the ventilation system are simple and intuitively easy to use.

Most like what MyRide.com calls the "cute mini-SUV" styling of the Crossover. Kelley Blue Book reviewers report that the Suzuki SX4 hatchback is a "product of the world-renowned Italdesign styling studio" and the "mildly wedge-shaped bodywork matches form with function." Edmunds describes the Suzuki SX4 as "a compact car available in four-door hatchback and four-door sedan body styles." Along with a conventional sedan in standard and Sport models, the all-wheel-drive hatchback is called the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. It is joined for 2010 by the more performance-oriented front-wheel-drive SportBack model using the same hatchback body. "We especially like the rally-esque hatch spoiler" of the new-for-2010 SX4 SportBack, says Motor Trend, which concludes it has a "racier look" and a "more athletic stance."

Kelley Blue Book says the "nicely finished and feature-rich cabin" is complemented by a "black and silver color scheme" that has "brushed aluminum accents, clearly legible instruments and well-positioned switchgear," all of which "highlight its suitably sporting look." Overall, the "Suzuki SX4's cabin has a clean design," Edmunds observes, and other reviews read by TheCarConnection.com agree. "Everything is well placed" and "three easy-to-use climate control knobs" are located on the center panel, MyRide notes. Even the reserved reviewers at ConsumerGuide remarks the Suzuki SX4's interior boasts "an orthodox dashboard design [that] holds large, legible gauges and simple, handy minor controls."