{"id":2734,"date":"2017-01-30T10:55:34","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T10:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=2734"},"modified":"2017-01-30T19:07:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T19:07:08","slug":"ciaz-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/ciaz-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Ciaz in focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

To be blunt, the first time I \u201cencountered\u201d Suzuki Ciaz was through an ad \u2013 there, the model unit was tan-colored (apparently they refer to this shade as \u201cPrime Dignity Brown\u201d) that, at any other time, may look okay, but didn\u2019t do it for me because the shade reminded me of (sorry to say this) poop. So it was with abated breath that I waited for the unit to drive test to arrive (at my tita<\/em>\u2019s place in BF Resort Village in Las Pi\u00f1as). A white unit (they call the shade \u201cPearl Snow White\u201d) arrived, and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn\u2019t look \u201cwedding-y\u201d; it was actually a pretty car (it isn\u2019t drop-dead gorgeous, yes; but it\u2019s not ugly at all).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ciaz2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And so I was exposed to Suzuki Philippines\u2019 entry in the sub-compact sedan segment, the Ciaz.<\/p>\n

Ciaz \u2013 said to be an acronym for \u201cComfort-Intelligence-Attitude-Zeal\u201d, and which actually replaces Suzuki\u2019s SX4 sedan \u2013 is, to my surprise, a nice looking car, with no out-of-place parts.<\/p>\n

On the outside, the car is elegant \u2013 e.g. there are no lines out of place\/un-sexy edges (making it look even sleek\/sporty), unnecessarily large grills (as if calling for attention), unsightly headlights (as if they\u2019re too big for the model; this one has projector-type headlamps), et cetera<\/em>. Particularly when considered front-facing (complete with the signature Suzuki \u201cS\u201d logo in front), Ciaz looks like an executive sedan.<\/p>\n

Inside, the Ciaz continues to be not bad. Some features worth highlighting:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start with the all-black interior. Some may find this boring, but you know, black=class, at least most of the time. An issue for me here, though, is how easy it is to leave marks on\u2026 just about everything. I placed Baliwag chicken (inside a plastic bag inside a supot\/<\/em>paper bag) beside me, and upon removal, the mark left didn\u2019t come off easily (no stains; but removing the mark was tedious).<\/li>\n
  2. The gear stick is \u201csupported\u201d by the dashboard \u2013 i.e. you can see what gear you\u2019re on right on the dashboard, as opposed to other cars that: A) relies on you \u201cknowing\u201d your car enough to trust your shifting; or B) somewhat forces you to look at the light that appears beside the gear. The somewhat tricky part here is when you\u2019re turning (and may have to change gears), and the dashboard is covered by the steering wheel.<\/li>\n
  3. The enhanced leg, head and shoulder room for all occupants (and I mean all). Ciaz claims to be the longest car in its class, measuring 4,490 mm (length), 1,730 mm (width) x 1,475 mm (height), with the car getting an extended wheelbase of 2,650 mm. Particularly when you check the back seats, the space is impressive \u2013 it ought to seat three, but four (admittedly slimmer) friends didn\u2019t find the back tight at all. There are minute details worth mentioning \u2013 e.g. rear headrests don\u2019t adjust \u2013 though these become trivial\/appear like we\u2019re nitpicking, considering that the back also has an armrest (as needed).<\/li>\n
  4. A keyless push start system \u2013 i.e. \u201cLook, ma, no keys!\u201d.<\/li>\n
  5. An Android OS-based multimedia system with mirror-link capability and GPS navigation (As a friend said, \u201cIt\u2019s like having a tablet there.\u201d). It\u2019s not iPad-fast (or since it\u2019s Android, Samsung-like); but considering that other at-par cars aren\u2019t even touchscreen equipped, can\u2019t complain on this one.<\/li>\n
  6. The trunk space isn\u2019t bad \u2013 e.g. I carried three sacks of gravel (over 15 kilos per bag) alright; and another time, a bicycle (with the wheels removed) fitted inside nicely (plus some bags). Forget trunk space flexibility, nonetheless, since the rear seats don\u2019t fold in any way.<\/li>\n
  7. Equipped with dual SRS airbags and ABS with EBD (on all variants).<\/li>\n
  8. It even has a heater – sorta (initially) out of place in a tropical country, though coming in handy when heading to places like Tagaytay or Baguio City.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Ciaz is powered by Suzuki\u2019s K14B 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, and come with VVT (variable valve timing; with the VVT emblazoned at the side of the car) to generate up to 92 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 130 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. Obviously depending on the variant, the engine can be mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic.<\/p>\n

    But for me, more than the nimble performance, Ciaz also fares well because it offers a quiet(er) and smooth(er) ride. If you\u2019re heading to Las Pi\u00f1as coming from Pasay\/Baclaran via Coastal, and turn right at BF Resort Drive at Casimiro\/Alabang-Zapote, you\u2019d encounter oh-so-many humps (not to mention potholes). Braving these (humps and potholes) didn\u2019t bother me (and my passengers) at all. Turns aren\u2019t problematic either (stable and quite sharp).<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s this quietness that I also remember even in longer drives (e.g. Tagaytay) \u2013 though as my cousin (who also tried the unit) said, \u201cthis calm is tricky\u201d as it \u201ccould cocoon you into a false sense of being secured\u201d. More than once, I got a sense that Ciaz is a lightweight car (curb weight is 1,010-1,040 kilograms) because I could \u201cfeel\u201d big (e.g. trucks) or speeding (e.g. jeepneys driven by barumbado<\/em> drivers) vehicles \u201cpushing\u201d me, so that I had to cut speed (then at 80kph). And you know that oft-repeated stories about smaller cars, that when you reach a certain speed, your control over it lessens faster, too? I had some\u00a0moments like those in Ciaz, too\u2026<\/p>\n

    Fuel use isn\u2019t fixed. In ideal (and I\u2019d say often city driving) conditions, just as when I received the unit, the dashboard boasted that consumption is at 8.8L\/100 km. Driving around the city (e.g. from Las Pi\u00f1as to Quezon City), this went to 8.1L\/100 km. And on the way to Tagaytay, this went up to 9.1L\/100 km. I\u2019d say more than acceptable\u2026<\/p>\n

    To sum up, this isn\u2019t gonna be on everyone\u2019s must-have car (particularly with cars fast mimicking tech goods, with newer units released before you can say \u201cHELLO!\u201d). There\u2019s bound to be a model (or two, or three \u2013 depending on needs and budgets) that one would want to get hold of. But having said this, Ciaz is not at all a bad car particularly in its category. Sleek (even sexy), not-a-bad performer, no voracious gas guzzling, et cetera<\/em>, it\u2019s not surprising for Ciaz to be noticed. And so, yes, I do see you Ciaz\u2026<\/p>\n

    The Suzuki Ciaz is available in five colors (Pearl Snow White, Metallic Star Silver, Metallic Mineral Grey, Pearl Super Black, and Prime Dignity Brown), and sell for P738,000 (GL M\/T), P773,000 (GL A\/T), and P888,000 (GLX A\/T).<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"Ciaz3\"
    \n\"Ciaz4\"
    \n\"Ciaz5\"
    \n\"Ciaz6\"
    \n\"Ciaz7\"
    \n\"Ciaz8\"
    \n\"Ciaz9\"
    \n\"Ciaz10\"
    \n\"Ciaz11\"
    \n\"Ciaz12\"
    \n\"Ciaz13\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A closer look at Suzuki Ciaz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1227,1541,145,1540,110],"class_list":["post-2734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-showcase","tag-adventure-travel","tag-ciaz","tag-green-travel","tag-suzuki","tag-travel-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2734"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2740,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734\/revisions\/2740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}