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 (rear for the Lexus and front in the case of the Suzuki). The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 207hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 178hp engine designed by Suzuki.

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. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Lexus IS offers a considerable difference of 10% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Suzuki does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Lexus with an average rating of 4.9, and models under the Suzuki badge with 4.6 out of 5. Independent research findings rank IS as average reliability-wise, and Kizashi is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Lexus IS rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Suzuki is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 215 kilometers per hour, 15km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Kizashi, averaging around 7.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (36 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 24% 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 offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. 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. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.