Suzuki Kizashi No. 1 with satisfied owners in AutoPacific survey

“This is (a) great accomplishment,” said Steve Younan, American Suzuki's director of product planning and marketing.

“This recognition from our owners remains a strong testament to the hard work that our engineers and designers have put into this vehicle.”

Besides the recognition from consumers and auto critics, Suzuki is making inroads with the sporty Kizashi sedan on the race track also.

A special version of the sports sedan is now the Official Safety Car of the Formula 1000 Championship Series.

“This is an opportunity for Suzuki to show off the Kizashi’s sporty characteristics in the auto racing realm,” said Jeff Holland, Suzuki's director of public relations and social media. “F1K is a fantastic series for the Kizashi to shine in a performance-oriented light.”

The Kizashi Safety Car will be present at all SCCA Pro Racing sanctioned F1K Series events and promotional activities from now on, accompanied by a Suzuki Equator pickup that will tow the Safety Car by trailer to events.

“Beyond being an outstanding sport sedan, the Kizashi is the perfect car to pace our field, as Suzuki’s GSXR-sourced powerplant is also the preferred engine of the majority of teams running in our championship,” said Jon Lewis, F1K managing director.

The Kizashi runs on a 4-cylinder, 2.4-liter engine that generates 185 horsepower.

AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award is the result of surveys with 68,000 new vehicle owners.

You can reach TorqueNews.com's Hawke Fracassa at [email protected].

Related story: http://www.torquenews.com/1063/suzuki-giving-away-spending-money-relaunched-web-site

Image source of Suzuki Kizashi: American Suzuki