Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Suzuki and rear in the case of the Lexus). The first one has a Suzuki-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 178hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 207hp engine designed by Toyota.

The fact that the Lexus got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Lexus IS offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Suzuki does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Suzuki with an average rating of 4.6, and models under the Lexus badge with 4.9 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Kizashi as average reliability-wise, and IS is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Kizashi rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Lexus is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 230 kilometers per hour, 25km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Kizashi, averaging around 8.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (34 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 18% difference compared to Lexus IS.

Suzuki appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Lexus IS beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Lexus outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Lexus. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.