Kizashi Club

It has been awhile since I was on this board because my family and I went though some changes with moving from Iowa to Arizona. I have to say a lot less Kizashi's in the Phoenix area then in the area I used to live in Iowa.

My 2012 AWD SLS has around 70,000 miles and I am considering my next car. I am honestly 2 years away but I like to get my search on early. I am not going to find such a great value as I did with the Kizashi. I more bring this up as a discussion but I am considering the following cars: Hyundai Genesis (Sedan or coupe), KIa Cadenza, Acura ILX, Tesla Model 3.

Things I am looking for in a car: Reliability, good acceleration (0-60 around 7 seconds), prefer good fuel economy, prefer something less everyday.
The Tesla seems the best fit as it is sport yet mature, and has good fuel economy, waiting on reliability results though so time will tell. I left off European makes because I don't feel great about long term reliability. Whatever car is next it will have big shoes to fill with the Kizashi.

Welcome back. The move from Iowa to Arizona must have been a big change. I'll be making a cross-country move myself later this year.

As for the cars, I find all of them interesting for various reasons, but only two are good buys, especially if you go lightly used.
These are obviously just my opinions, but since you asked, here they are:

Acura ILX: Avoid.
This car is universally panned by critics for its lame nature. It's essentially a glorified Honda Civic but lacks much of a performance or upscale character. It's nothing like the TSX that used to be in its place. What's sad about Acura is that they basically got rid of their beloved cars like the RSX, TSX and TL and replaced them with lackluster and problematic vehicles like the ILX and TLX. Many consider their CUVs (the RDX and MDX) as the only worthwhile Acuras these days and their sales figures apparently reflect that.

Tesla Model 3: Avoid.
Unless you put in a deposit, you'll wait a good number of years to get one, I think. Even then, you'll likely be frustrated by quality control issues and reliability. Teslas are amazing for their performance and customer service, but their reliability is quite low due to bespoke and avant-garde technology. Furthermore, they have very little car-building experience and have known quality-control issues even with very expensive vehicles like the Model S and Model X. The Model 3 is the kind of car that you want to wait a second generation for, after tens of thousands of others have dealt with the problems of this brand-new vehicle. Think about it: Tesla has a hard time with the quality control of their $75K Model X. You think their $35K Model 3 that's going to be produced at a much larger scale will fare better?

Hyundai Genesis: This one is good.
My opinions mostly pertain to getting one used. The reasons why are a combination of factors that made the Kizashi such a good used car buy. The vehicle is in transition and if you're not aware, technically no longer exists new. Hyundai recently launched Genesis as a brand to be their luxury division, much like Acura, Lexus, or Infiniti. The Hyundai Genesis was renamed the Genesis G80. The former Hyundai Equus is now the Genesis G90.
This new change means that you can get the limbo Hyundai Genesis for a very good deal. They also aren't very popular and depreciate more than Japanese and German rivals. However, they are critically acclaimed (more recent model years) and have decent reliability.

Kia Cadenza: Probably the best deal.
These are basically Hyundai Azera clones and the Azera is a notch below the Genesis. These are essentially like Camry V6 or Accord V6 fighters. Maybe even Nissan Maxima counterparts. These upscale, but not luxury, Korean cars are often going to have the best deals as lightly used cars. I actually consider the Azera and the Cadenza as probably the best Korean cars to buy (used) given their underappreciated status despite being rather impressive.
The same thing can be said of the Kia K900 which is their large luxury vehicle. I hear these can be had for a good deal given that most consumers ignore this technically-impressive luxury car given its branding.
I don't particularly care for Korean cars in the compact and midsize segment as they seem like more bland versions of Japanese cars. However, the Azera, Cadenza, Genesis, and K900 are actually quite nice cars that will undercut their competition in price, especially as used vehicles. I also think they all look quite good too. The newer Hyundai Genesis/G80 is very sharp.

Funny this came up. I'm kicking around the idea of selling my Kizashi for a Cadenza.

I must have replied to this like at least 4 times...So frustrating. Technology what can I say. Anyways I was going to say that I hope the model 3 ends up like the 3 series compared the 7. If you remember the 3 series is usually more reliable than the 7 series.

I also look to see what Acura does with the new Civic platform. Ilx has decent acceleration, and is relatively sporty.

The cadenza and the Genesis are sweet rides, only thing for me is that both are large and have sub-par fuel economy.

I might look into the i3 more. Yes it is weird looking, but reviews say it handles well and does seem to have okay acceleration. Not sure on BMW reliability.

Man replacing the kizashi is tough. Hard to find affordable and not too common sports sedan.
Golftango if you get a cadenza I would appreciate a review on it compared to the Liz.

Kuro good luck in the move hope it is all that you hoped for.

Okay just looked BMW i3 reliability stinks, not looking good for getting an electric car this go around.

Sounds like Genesis/Cadenza the way to go for bang for buck.

I test drove a Nissan Maxima recently and was pretty impressed with the get up it had. Believe it was the SR edition, was pretty sporty. I know Nissan has pretty decent reliability too ..as far as gas mileage though if youre going highway mostly around 30. And I do like honda/acura but I do feel that Acura is just a more luxurious Honda....which even then don't come with a lot of features etc.. Feel like you'd be better off going cheaper with a honda and just getting more towards a top trim if going with an Acura at times.

Knightstruth wrote:Okay just looked BMW i3 reliability stinks, not looking good for getting an electric car this go around.

Sounds like Genesis/Cadenza the way to go for bang for buck.

I think the electric car to get would be the new Chevy Bolt. It's getting good reviews but it's a new car so it needs time to prove its reliability. The Nissan Leaf has the highest depreciation rate of any car so while it's a terrible buy as a new car, it's quite good as a used second car. Depreciation is over 40% in its first year and some people are getting theirs with under 30,000 miles for under 10 grand. That being said, I think it makes a decent short-range urban commuter or second car given the range issues with the Leaf.

And I continue my search for another very-low-mileage Kizashi......

There are many nice cars out there, but I think I'll hang on to my Kizashi for a long time. I keep thinking about alternatives but it's really the best way to get the most out of the Kizashi. It's comfortable and refined but fun to drive and keeps me satisfied. It's quite durable and reliable too. I now have 63,000+ miles on it and the only things that really went wrong mechanically were the rear shocks that were covered by the warranty in a simple, hassle-free experience at my nearest Suzuki service dealer.

I don't think I'll replace my Kizashi with another one given I'd rather get a different kind of vehicle next (CUV with AWD), but keeping it for a long time makes the most sense to me. This way I'm mostly immune from its dismal resale value while enjoying it for its inherent characteristics and high intrinsic value. Even when I look at new cars at auto shows, none really feel like they are significantly better to justify getting out of the Kizashi and incurring additional costs. Sure, they have more power and luxury features, but I can't justify car payments and other higher costs over the Kizashi which I fully own. It would take a new type of technology to do that for me, I think. Maybe this is why I'm interested in hybrids and PHEVs as a next vehicle.

While my biggest gripe with the Kizashi is the fuel economy, it's actually not too bad considering other factors. Gas is the cheapest it's been in a very long time and when driving conditions are optimal, it does return around 30 MPG. It's just the city traffic that cuts my MPGs down to an average of about 23.5 MPG. Operating costs on just fuel are about 10 cents a mile according to my Fuelly account. I wish it was better like newer midsize sedans, but the Kizashi is still saving me money given I own it. Also, MPG is a misleading fuel economy measure, especially when using it as a comparative measure. Take the example below:

My Kizashi averages roughly 24 MPG. Not very good for a midsize sedan these days. Let's say I drive the US average of 12,000 miles a year and fuel costs an average of $2.25 a gallon. With these factors, my annual fuel costs are $1125.

Now let's say I get a newer vehicle that averages 30 MPG. That's a lot better, right? Seems so. I drive 12,000 miles in a year and pay an average of $2.25 a gallon. With these figures, my annual fuel cost is $900. Sounds better until you realize that the difference between the 24 MPG vehicle and the 30 MPG vehicle is merely $225 in an entire year. That's about a car payment for one month for a midsize car!

By doing some number crunching like this, you realize that it's really not worth it to get something newer and better unless there is a real need for it over just wants. Given I own my car, it seems rather foolish in my case to get something else when I'm rather happy with it. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard that really likes getting a good deal but the Kizashi has been too good in so many ways to justify parting with it anytime soon... as in before 200,000 miles.

And your $225 in savings will be totally eaten up in increased insurance cost for the newer vehicle.