Suzuki and Fiat joined their forces and introduced the SX4 and Sedici models in 2006, but the Japanese carmaker decided to go on its own with a sedan version.
While Fiat already had a well-developed range of vehicles on the European market, Suzuki lacked a few models, such as a compact-segment sedan. Thus, it took the same platform from the SX4 and changed the bodywork resulting in a three-box vehicle.

Even though it hired a known designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, the result was not the best-looking car in its segment. It was not even average, but in the sedan shape, it was even worse. While the front fascia looked fine with its swept-back headlights and reversed trapezoidal grille with rounded corners, the car’s profile was a different story. A story where the greenhouse and the trunk were too tall for the car’s length and the flared wheel-arches carried over from the SX4 crossover didn’t look that good.

Inside, the rounded dashboard featured an instrument cluster with a wide speedometer in the middle and by the tachometer on the left. The instrument cluster hosted the fuel and coolant-temperature gauges on the right side of the panel. Suzuki carried over the same center stack from the SX4 crossover, with round dials for the climate control unit and a CD stereo on the upper area. In the back, a split-folding seatback, unusual for the budget segment, extended the 515 liters (18.2 cu-ft) trunk space to the cabin so that the owner could load longer items.

Under the hood, Suzuki kept the gasoline engines developed by Fiat, ranged between 112 hp and 152 hp, depending on the market. A five-speed manual was fitted as standard, while a four-speed automatic or a CVT was on the options list.