Start with what the Suzuki SX4 is: a 5-door hatchback / 4-door Sedan (automobile) / sedan with Petrol engine, built from 2006, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign.
Where it came from
The Suzuki SX4 is a subcompact car and crossover produced by Japanese automaker Suzuki since 2006. A successor of the Aerio tall hatchback and sedan, the first-generation model was available as a hatchback and sedan, with the former available in both front- and four-wheel drive. In Europe, it was sold alongside a rebadged version called the Fiat Sedici. In 2013, the second generation was launched, called Suzuki SX4 S-Cross (or Suzuki S-Cross in India)— now exclusively a subcompact crossover SUV. The first- and second-generation SX4s sold alongside one another until 2014.
The SX4 sedan was replaced with the Suzuki Ciaz. The third-generation model was introduced in 2021 as a heavily modified version of the previous model and was only produced in Hungary for the European market. For the Indian market, the S-Cross was replaced by the taller Grand Vitara. The SX4 is an abbreviation of "Sports X-over 4 Seasons". The SX4 designation was previously used by American Motors Corporation (AMC) from the 1981 through 1983 model years for a sporty liftback model in its line of all-wheel-drive AMC Eagle passenger cars. While the "S-Cross" suffix is an abbreviation of Smart Crossover.
Under the skin
The engine is Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 1170-1425 kg. Drive goes through a 5-speed manual transmission / manual / 6-speed manual / 4-speed automatic transmission / automatic / Continuously variable transmission / CVT (2010 model). The wheelbase is 2500 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Suzuki line-up the Suzuki SX4 has a clear place: it replaced the Suzuki Aerio/Liana / Suzuki Forenza/Reno; it handed the line to the Suzuki Ciaz (sedan); the factory was Esztergom. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Audi R8, the Nissan Qashqai, the Hyundai i30. Nearby in the Suzuki catalogue sit the Suzuki XL-7 and the Suzuki Landy.