Suzuki Serves Up a Sumo-Sized SUV
Yell “Suzuki” in a crowded room in this country and, chances are, most people will look around for a motorcycle.
But the company also makes cars and sport-utility vehicles. In fact, Suzuki is the 11th-largest auto maker in the world, with 1999 sales of 1.8 million units around the globe. It even has the top-selling car in Japan (a mini-wagon unavailable in the United States).
And as with the products in its other lines--whether motorcycles. all-terrain vehicles or outboard motors for ski, pleasure and fishing boats--Suzuki’s cars and trucks seem to get better with each new generation.
Which brings us to the 2001 Suzuki XL-7: the “XL” for extra large and “7” for the seventh sport-utility design the company has introduced in the U.S. since it created the mini-SUV category 15 years ago with the ill-fated Samurai.
The newest Suzuki is no Samurai.
That one looked like a miniature Jeep, cost about $5, barely carried four people in a spartan interior and rode like it was mounted on an unsprung chassis. But now and forever, it will be remembered less for those qualities than for its central role in a protracted legal fight with Consumers Union over a review that condemned it as unsafe.
The XL-7, due in showrooms next month, still is relatively inexpensive. Prices (including destination charges) run from $20,199 for the base two-wheel-drive model with five-speed manual transmission to $24,999 for the four-wheel-drive, automatic-transmission Touring model. But it holds up to seven people, has a fat list of standard features that are options on many competitors and rides quite well--on road and off. And it looks nothing like a Jeep; instead, it’s a cross between a modern SUV and a minivan. (Suzuki calls it a “sleek, contemporary” style.)
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The XL-7 is the latest entry in that growing field of SUVs for the minivan- and wagon-averse. The difference is that this one is still a real SUV.
It comes with a rugged, off-road-ready truck frame and part-time four-wheel drive with a low range. Most of the so-called compact or mini-SUVs with which it will compete are crossovers that use car-like unibody construction for a gentler ride and get rid of the bulky off-roading transfer case on the theory that nobody really takes these things o’er hill and dale anyhow.
At 183.6 inches long, with a 110.2-inch wheelbase, the XL-7 is Suzuki’s largest SUV ever. It has a full 18 inches on the 2001 Toyota RAV4, almost 10 inches on the new Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute and Hyundai Santa Fe, and 7 inches on the Honda CR-V--all vehicles Suzuki considers competitors.
And although the XL-7 is built on a tough steel ladder frame that lets it be truly an off-road sport-utility, its longer wheelbase, coupled with fat P235/60R16 tires, give it a fairly nice demeanor on the asphalt.
It is still a tallish SUV with a high center of gravity--the four-wheel-drive model stands 67.8 inches from road to rooftop and has 7.5 inches of ground clearance--and it shouldn’t be hurled through corners like a sports car.
But the long wheelbase and 59.1-inch track, front and rear, gives the XL-7 a stable foundation, at least as we experienced it during a recent media test drive in Las Vegas. That extra length also provides for at least one creature comfort--rear-seat legroom--missing in some small SUVs.
In fact, the “7” in XL-7 also could stand for the seven passengers, spread over three rows of seats, who can fit into this stretched, strengthened and streamlined big sister to the Grand Vitara SUV that Suzuki introduced in 1998.
One neat trick that ought to become an industry standard as third-row seating becomes more prevalent in SUVs is the XL-7’s sliding second-row seats.
Suzuki engineers mounted the split middle seats on spring-loaded tracks that enable them to be moved forward almost 4 inches with the flick of a switch. The sliders also have three fixed stops, so the mid-row seats can be individually adjusted to accommodate passengers with varied legroom requirements.
The XL-7’s power plant is Suzuki’s aluminum V-6, bored to 2.7 liters from the 2.5-liter version that comes standard in the Grand Vitara. The engine here is boosted to 170 horsepower and 178 foot-pounds of torque from the smaller engine’s 155 ponies and 160 foot-pounds.
Standard features include micron-filtered air conditioning (with separate controls and outlets for back-seat passengers in all but the base models), power windows and door locks, remote key-less entry, power mirrors, cruise control, tilt steering wheel, halogen headlights, tinted glass and under-seat storage bins.
From the driver’s seat, the XL-7 comes across as a well-mannered vehicle with plenty of acceleration, good brakes and a smooth-shifting automatic transmission that knows when to kick down into passing gear and, best of all, knows not to let up too soon. Acceleration from 65 to 80 mph is surprisingly strong.
Some other pluses: The anti-lock braking system works as it is supposed to. Instruments are clear and easy to read. The center stack with stereo and climate controls is fairly easy to use (although the controls on the standard AM-FM radio with cassette are a bit small).
Steering is tight and responsive, and though you know you are driving a truck-based vehicle when the road surface gets the least bit rough, it is a truck you can drive. You don’t have to fight it on every bounce and at every turn, and 10 miles of bad road won’t turn your biceps to jelly or your kidneys to goo.
The XL-7’s suspension is stiff enough to give it good off-road performance but not so stiff as to render it useless as a daily driver.
Off road--and Suzuki provided us several hours of time on a mild off-road course in the red-rock canyons northeast of Vegas--the XL-7 holds it own with most other SUVs.
We didn’t get a chance to put its suspension to a real test, but the washboard surfaces, gravel and sand tracks, steep hills and deep gullies we covered posed no problems. On a 50% downhill slope in low gear, the automatic transmission and engine worked well together to keep our speed from building without our having to resort to the brake pedal. And though a bit more power would have been appreciated, the engine did pull the SUV up that same steep slope.
On the downside:
* The XL-7 is about 400 pounds heavier than the Grand Vitara and, even with the slightly larger engine, is working pretty hard--about 3,000 rpm--at freeway-cruising speeds. That means that this biggest Suzuki is unlikely to win prizes in the fuel-economy sweepstakes. In all but one configuration, it is government-rated at 17 miles per gallon in the city and 20 on the highway. (The two-wheel-drive, manual-transmission model is rated 18 mpg in the city.) The 200-horsepower, all-wheel-drive Ford Escape V-6, by way of comparison, is rated at 20 mpg city and 24 on the open road.
* The air-conditioner vents for the second-row seats are positioned in the roof behind the seats--meaning they can shoot cold air right down the backs of passengers’ necks if not adjusted just right--and most assuredly will be blowing an ill wind for someone if there are three people in that row.
* Although there is plenty of cargo room, especially with the second and third rows of seats folded down, the cargo floor isn’t flat and there is a large, deep gap between the middle and third-row seats that is sure to gobble up smaller items.
* Suzuki’s “sleek, contemporary” look isn’t going to appeal to everyone, and there seems to be a bit of split personality at work in the marketing message.
By building it on the truck frame and emphasizing its off-road and towing capabilities as well as its kid- and grocery-hauling abilities, Suzuki seems to be marketing the XL-7 as much to men as to women. Yet by eschewing the body side cladding that gives the smaller Grand Vitara a beefy, muscular look, Suzuki ensured that the long-bodied XL-7 would have a visual kinship to a minivan and thus would appeal most strongly to women. One problem in trying to please all is that you can end up sending out confusing signals that satisfy only a few.
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Final words: It’s a good little SUV that will probably sell well to those in its target audience impressed with the long list of standard features and the extra capacity.
But the two-wheel-drive models will be competing with smoother-riding mini-SUVs from better-known manufacturers, and the four-wheel-drive models may be too subdued and too family-oriented to catch on with real off-road enthusiasts. After all, few of them haul seven people or huge loads of cargo when gallomping across the desert or through the hills.
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Times staff writer John O’Dell can be reached at john.odell@latimes.com.
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2001 Suzuki XL-7
Cost
As tested, $24,999: Standard equipment includes AM-FM stereo with cassette, tilt wheel, cruise control, micron-filtered air conditioning, power windows and door locks, remote key-less entry, power mirrors, fold-flat third-row seating, halogen headlamps, privacy glass, first-aid kit, 16-inch tires and steel wheels. Touring model adds rear air conditioning, in-dash CD player, 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, anti-lock brakes, power sunroof, fog lamps, four-wheel drive with two-speed “on-the-fly” transfer case.
Type
* Front-engine, two- or four-wheel-drive compact sport-utility vehicle with seating for up to seven.
Power Train
2.7-liter aluminum V-6 engine with 24 valves, quad overhead cams, two-stage maintenance-free timing chain and direct ignition, rated at 170 horsepower with 178 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. Transmissions: five-speed manual or four-speed automatic with overdrive.
Other Specifications
* Cargo Capacity: 6.6 cubic feet with all seats up; 37 cubic feet with third row folded; 73 cubic feet with second and third rows folded.
* Towing capacity: 3,000 pounds, all models, with no special tow package required.
* Fuel consumption: 18 miles per gallon city, 20 mpg highway, with two-wheel drive and manual transmission, as estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency. All other models rated 17 mpg city, 20 highway.
