does anyone think that this is a good SUV?

[Iceman31]

I just yesterday bought a 2004 XL7 - so far I love it!

[btdevo]

I love my XL-7! I drive it like I stole it, and it can handle me, fast turns and off-ramps, and I haven't had any problems yet in 26,000 mi. Just finished packing it up for vacation, and it rides even better!

[OrigJunior]

Folks,

Looking for any and all contructive inputs on the XL7, its pluses and minues and why. Its comparisons to Honda CRV, Toyota RAV, Ford Escape and Nissan Exterra. As you can see, Im in the market for a small/mid size SUV and want to basically get my $ worth. I've reviewed HSTA and Insurance Institute for comparative safety info. But need feedback from current owners who, if they had to do it again, can tell me whether they'd buy another Suzuki XL7 or not. Thanks all.

[98-4runner]

i am also considering this COMPACT suv. these are my comments:

pro:
price
7 seats
use timing chain

cons:
cargo space toom small
small engine and small power
sun roof is good but too small
no auto window up
no power seat
tailgate window cannot be opened.
manufactory use bridgestone cheap tire
change oil every 5000km
noisy engine
not comfortable if 3 people in 2nd row
too small leg room if some one seat in the 3rd row

i don't know is it a good truck, but it is best than all of the damn VAN for sure.

[cjdusa]

I purchased my 2002 Grand Vitara new. I change the oil per the Manuafacturers recommendation. At I have 107,000 miles on it. I drive 100 miles a day round trip to work. Since new it has had a rattle at certain RPMs under the hood. Took it to the dealer under warrenty and was told the they could not hear a rattle. It also has had tire bounce since new. Dealer said this was typical of the GV because of the short whell base.Nothing they could do for either problem(tried a different dealer and got the same anwer). At 15,000 miles I started hearing a Scraping noise when I took tight corners. Dealer said it was the Brake Backing plates that need adjustment, He fixed it. At 23,000 miles the keyless entrys quit working, first one then the other after 2 months. At 70,000 miles the engine started burning oil(blue smoke on accereration, more so after I have been on the interstate for a half hour our more and at startup). It now burns about a quart a week(500 miles).

I will never buy another Suzuki.

[Leslies_XL7]

I bought a brand new 2004 xl7 last year. So far im almost at 10k miles. I think its an awesome car it is fully loaded and i couldnt ask for anything more. except that i want to hook it up and not sure how or what i want to do to it yet. i love my xl7 its my baby my kids love it too. its a great truck for a reasonable price. any suggestions on how i can hook my baby up?

[Leslies_XL7]

i want to hook it up real sweet but dont want to do anything to void my warranty which is extended 10 yr/100k mi bumper to bumper. So that would be dumb to get that voided. what can i do?

[dcampbell]

PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE!!!!!! It is crap! We have had our 2004 Suzuki XL-7 EXIII for only 8 months and as of this coming Friday we will be trading it off! Thank God! First of all you only get 17 MPG and that is if you are coasting downhill in Neutral with a good wind at your back! I am not even Joking! It costs on average about $33 to fill it up and you can expect that tankfull to take you only about 265 miles before you fill up again! We have had it numerous little things that have quit or had to be fixed. The back window wiper goes down too far and gets stuck and has had to be fixed 2 times and is currently doing it again. The 6 disk in dash changer is very loud and sometimes gives us an error message when changing from one disk to another. It also refused to play any disk that has been burned on the computer. The sunroof gets stuck about half way closed and we have to pull over to get it to unjam and close fully. The 3rd row seat is an absolute joke, not even our 5 year old can sit in it comfortably. When it is in use you only have room for maybe 4 to 5 bags of groceries if they are small, if you fold them down they don't go down all the way. This means that when you get home and open the back door everything back there comes tumbling out in the driveway (and it is perfectly level)! The kids trip on the running boards and the spare tire mounted on the back door catches the little rotating brushes and rips them out of the spinning cleaner at the car wash. After washing you have to get out and pick them out of it. If you hand wash the vehicle it is nearly impossible to clean around. The one time I had it in four wheel drive I found it VERY difficult to drive and the engine noise was unbearable going down hills, it honestly got better handling in two wheel drive! As I said it is being traded to a Honda Ridgeline Friday and we will have to eat a $4,000.00 loss to unload the lemon. Please take my advice, find another vehicle, Suzuki's depreciate 10X faster than you can pay them off! We had to beg Honda to give us $16,000.00 trade in value for our vehicle and we had detailed it to perfection when they test drove it. Keep in mind it is only 8 months old with 15,000 miles on it and stickered for $28,000.00! It depreciated by nearly half in only 8 months. I am heartsick for our loss but it is a small price to pay to be rid of it! On the upside they are very cute to look at, LOL!

[dcampbell]

I also forgot to mention...when you test drive this vehicle notice the hinges on the second row of seats. They are covered by a piece of cheapy plastic that snaps off with ease!!! My son received a nasty cut on his hand from the bare hinge, I hadn't noticed that the plastic had snapped off (yet again) he was climbing out and it sliced his little hand down the side!!!! Also if you have little ones, the larger alpha omega car seats are nearly impossible to install in this vehicle. When I finally got it installed my daughters feet were crammed into the back of the front seat.

[Leslies_XL7]

I bought my car brand new in oct of last year its the 2004 xl7. I absolutely love it. Its great on gas it looks very classy and was definetly a great price. I think it is an awesome car.

[gtunn]

I bought an XL7 in 2001 when they first came out. I now have close to 90,000 miles on it and the only problem I've had was the mirror control switch had to be replaced. I did it myself, (easy) and paid only $21.00 for the switch assembly.

I have gotten a solid 22 to 24 miles per gallon since day one, and the only maintenance so far is change the oil and the air filter.

One thing I have learned is to make sure you use a QUALITY oil fiter, like a NAPA WIX, with a good check valve and pressure relief and go with the 5W 30 oil the manual says, otherwise the engine will clatter like a 55 caddy.

The car handles great!!! I lost it on an icy road, spun around and ended up in a field. Put it in 4 wheel and drove out, no roll-over, no problem. It uses good old fashioned 4 wheel drive.

Gil T

[jeremyg123]

Originally Posted by dcampbell

PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE!!!!!! It is crap! We have had our 2004 Suzuki XL-7 EXIII for only 8 months and as of this coming Friday we will be trading it off! Thank God! First of all you only get 17 MPG and that is if you are coasting downhill in Neutral with a good wind at your back! I am not even Joking! It costs on average about $33 to fill it up and you can expect that tankfull to take you only about 265 miles before you fill up again! We have had it numerous little things that have quit or had to be fixed. The back window wiper goes down too far and gets stuck and has had to be fixed 2 times and is currently doing it again. The 6 disk in dash changer is very loud and sometimes gives us an error message when changing from one disk to another. It also refused to play any disk that has been burned on the computer. The sunroof gets stuck about half way closed and we have to pull over to get it to unjam and close fully. The 3rd row seat is an absolute joke, not even our 5 year old can sit in it comfortably. When it is in use you only have room for maybe 4 to 5 bags of groceries if they are small, if you fold them down they don't go down all the way. This means that when you get home and open the back door everything back there comes tumbling out in the driveway (and it is perfectly level)! The kids trip on the running boards and the spare tire mounted on the back door catches the little rotating brushes and rips them out of the spinning cleaner at the car wash. After washing you have to get out and pick them out of it. If you hand wash the vehicle it is nearly impossible to clean around. The one time I had it in four wheel drive I found it VERY difficult to drive and the engine noise was unbearable going down hills, it honestly got better handling in two wheel drive! As I said it is being traded to a Honda Ridgeline Friday and we will have to eat a $4,000.00 loss to unload the lemon. Please take my advice, find another vehicle, Suzuki's depreciate 10X faster than you can pay them off! We had to beg Honda to give us $16,000.00 trade in value for our vehicle and we had detailed it to perfection when they test drove it. Keep in mind it is only 8 months old with 15,000 miles on it and stickered for $28,000.00! It depreciated by nearly half in only 8 months. I am heartsick for our loss but it is a small price to pay to be rid of it! On the upside they are very cute to look at, LOL!

Sorry you got a lemon. I bought my 04 EXII new in January. I have since put 20,000 miles on it and have not had a single problem other than the front brakes wearing out. I average a mixed mileage rate of 19 and if it is all highway it has been as high as 21. I have 2 small kids and they dish out a lot and nothing has even begun to fall apart. My cd changer works great, the moonroof functions properly and is used almost daily, the leather is holding up great, and the 4WD works great and actually handles excellent during heavy rain periods. I have gotten slightly better mileage with the 4WD on on the higway than in 2WD. Better luck next time!

[Den.]

Originally Posted by dcampbell

The one time I had it in four wheel drive I found it VERY difficult to drive and the engine noise was unbearable going down hills, it honestly got better handling in two wheel drive!

Are you sure it wasn't in 4 low? it just don't make a lot of sense for it to be noisier in 4wd?

Curious.

[Demoman442]

I have an 01, pearl white, gold emblems, bought it with 29k, now has 56k, no problems whatsoever, been to the beach 3 times and yea it rides much better loaded with gear, just put on a set of Toyo touring edition tires, big time improvement, full synthetic oil seems to help also.

[Demoman442]

Notice there is no threads on here about "won't start" "misfire" "bangs" "hesitation""weird noise" "shakes".....now go to the jeep page..............................nuff said.