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Suzuki XL-7
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Comments
How much is the XL-7 actually selling for?
-mike
I couldn't find anything about the fuel requirement. Hoping it is 87 regular.
I am also curious where you can by this optional 3rd bench seating for $500. Is this an aftermarket product.
To compare with the Suzuki XL7, the base price for a 7 passenger is under $20K. A loaded Touring model with sunroof, CD, etc. and 7 passengers can be had for around $23.5K.
BTW, the lowest price I found for base 4x2 S Trooper is $26.5K.
As for the 3rd seat, it's an aftermarket company called littleseats. There is a link on my Trooper page http://www.iace.com/ia/trooper and you can get them in factory materials for a # of vehicles...
As an example, I got my Trooper LS w/Moonroof in june for $27,500 before tax. My buddy bought his in November for $26,500, and now there is an addition $1000 rebate above the $3000 he got off so the price would be down to $25,500 for a loaded LS w/moonroof.
-mike
2. Do those 3rd rows installed by the aftermarket company meet any safety standards? Was the vehicle even designed for a 3rd row? I'd be nervous and wouldn't put my kids in them. Where do the seatbelts come for them?
I would have no safety fears with those seats, but personally I don't want to sacrifice that much cargo room in my Trooper.
C'mon folks, have you seen a Trooper? Do you have any idea how large and well-built it is? Even though you're talking about last year's model, the prices he quoted are insanely low. I can think of very few reasons why you would buy any other SUV than a Trooper with your $20,000-28,000.
Getting back on topic, the XL-7 sounds like a pretty good package and a decent value, assuming it comes in well under the 25k range. 2.7L 6-cylinder seems pretty small for a vehicle that's basically 15+ feet long, though.
-mike
XL-7 is the only 4wheel vehicle I can find which is in my budget with 7 seats.
YES, I would love to get the MDX but you know.... money is always the problem.
After market little seats would be good, but something tells me that original
3rd row seat will be better.
As for the 4H mode, I should only use it on snow or heavy rain.... well it seems OK,
after all you can't get everything you want with a limited budget.
-mike
As paisan noted, Trooper has a factory-installed third row seat in non-U.S. markets. IIRC, the Little Passenger Seats unit bolts into the factory-provided hardware that's underneath the carpet in the cargo area of all newer Troopers (including U.S. models). That's why I would feel safe carrying people back there.
I don't hang out in too many SUV forums, but I am participating in this one because I like the Suzuki products and I'm interested to hear more from others about the XL-7 as well as share my own impressions.
I am really agonizing over this one. I like the price and features of the XL-7, but from what I have read, other AWD SUVs offer better accident avoidance (and thus, safety) than the XL-7 with it's part time 4WD and no traction control.
You seem extremely concerned about loss of traction due to snow or rain. If you are agonizing this much on this particular item, then I think you should go with an AWD vehicle. With an AWD vehicle, you don't have to think about weather conditions, since it is permanently engaged. With 4WD, as in the Susuki, you need to manually put it in 4WD mode in order to engage it, which means that you need to anticipate the road conditions and decide for yourself if you need 4WD.
So, maybe you should look at the Subaru Forester, Honda CRV, Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, which are in the same price class. What you looze however is seating for 7. There are some minivans out there with seating for 7 but they run around $30K as well.
Good luck!
-mike
-mike
Like paisan, I consider the Xterra to be way overpriced for what you get. It's a great-looking truck with some excellent features, but it's just not a good value, IMO.
One thing that impresses me about the Suzuki is that it is one of the smaller SUV's that has "real" four wheel drive (unlike the RAV4, CRV, Escape/Tribute). It has a transfer case that lets you select 2WD, 4HI, or 4LO wheel drive. It has auto hubs that are always locked and you can shift into 4HI while moving up to 50-60 mph's(No manual hubs, like my Samurai had)
The AWD systems wait until there is wheel slip before engaging, I prefer to be locked in to 4wd before my wheels start to slip. But if thinking about all that is too much trouble, then AWD would be the preferable choice.
You may never need 4LO, but when you do, you'll be glad you had it.
THere are technically two types of systems that use the "AWD" moniker. The most common, like on the RAV4, Escape, et al., is really an automatic 4WD system and should be called A4WD. These are normally FWD vehicles with 100% of the torque on the front axle, until slippage is detected then and then torque is shifted in some percentage to the rear wheels. The reverse of this is the Nissan PF LE, which puts all the torque on the rear normally and then shifts it up front.
Then there are true "all wheel drive" systems like on the ML320, some Subarus, the RX300, and others. These systems have torque on all four wheels all the time, in varying percentages. Torque is shifted around as needed. These systems should be called AWD. These vehicles are inherently safer because torque/traction is spread amongst all four wheels BEFORE something bad happens.
TC
My Trooper is 80Rwd/20fwd when in TOD(ake AWD) mode and up to a 50/50 split. This has led me to safer driving than had it been a fully reactive system.
Reactive Systems include also:
Tahoe/Suburban
Exploder
Expedition
Active non 100% to one axle systems:
All Subarus
Land Cruiser
Sequioa
Trooper
Durango
ML
-mike
But to sum it up for those less informed on the subject and wanting to make an informed decision it boils down to straight-line stability: a drivetrain that allows 4wd full-time - including dry pavement - means that it has some kind of center differential system (different approaches to this...) which, in turn, means that it can shift power (torque) back and forth between the 2 axles.
The net effect is that the vehicle is much LESS likely to get turned sideways than a traditional "shift-on-the-fly" part time system that simply locks the 2 axles together at the same speed. In essence, the vehicle is "self-correcting" with regards to trying to keep a straight line - which is exactly what you want.
No where is this more important than the exact situation the vast majority of American SUV owners find themselves when they need (want?) 4wd/AWD - snow and ice covered pavement. While a traditional 4wd system is fine on dirt roads, inching up steep inclines, crossing streams, etc - it's not like it's going to slide out on you in that scenario and get you sideways. But snow and ice covered pavement - where most American SUVs now days seem to be used - is another story.
Remember, your most fundamental concern is keeping the vehicle on the road. If you're considering an SUV - a vehicle that in most cases is significantly heavier than most other vehicles - it carries more momentum and once it starts to slide is tougher to get back in a straight line. Your goal is to avoid that situation.
Therefore, I HIGHLY recommend that anyone contemplating purchase of an SUV consider the above FIRST - then they can worry about things like gas mileage, body "style", interior "appointments", what the neighbors "think", etc. You should also get ABS brakes - almost standard equip now days - since it is critical to stopping heavier vehicles in that same snow and ice.
Good luck and stay safe!
-Sahara111
Luckily tires aren't a big concern cause you can always change em out once you purchase the vehicle. 4 wheel discs though are a bit more difficult.
IMHO Tires and Brakes are the most important items, since they help you stop, and tires are what goes between you and the road.
-mike
I am interested to know if you can fit all 3 of your kids in the 2nd row seat. I assume that your 14 month old is still in a car seat. Do you have the car seat in the middle?
Thanks.
-mike
-mike
For Outback, I have a friend owns 95 model. I drived it once to help him to pick up his new car last year. The handling of THAT Outback is just so-so, the audio control is cheap and bad arranged. The brake is horrible, which I was told is like this from day one.
However, my friend's wife just likes her Outback. And she refused to drive her hunsband's 2000 626, even after her Outback refused to start.
But to each his own...
-mike
-mike
Let's go back to our XL-7 topic. I did test drive XL-7 yesterday. It's not as large as I thought, which is good. The ride is smooth, and handling is good, even it's not an uni-body.
The third-row seats are so tight. Sb. said they can fit adults?! The sunroof is even smaller than the one on my sedan. No wonder it's cheap. There is a little button for rear AC, but it is totally blocked by the auto shifter.
The AC system has problem in my tested XL-7. That simply lets me worry about Suzuki's building quality.
Unlike other models, the air direction was not controlled by a button, instead, it has a slider, which is difficult to move. Any XL-7 owner experienced that problem?
I certainly wish to see the feekbacks about quality issues from XL-7 owners. Suzuki claims "Our warranty covers so much because we're so confident in the vehicles we build", but their warranty is actually among the worst.
thanks
They predict their employee buyouts as a result of massive job cuts could top $1 billion!!!!!
Coupled with their desperate need to spend money developing better product, they simply don't have the cash!!!!!
GM retained 3% of suzuki as an act of good faith, suzuki is "holding" the other 17.5% so GM can buy back at will, also an act of good faith.
GM is allowing suzuki to build a version of the 3.6L in Japan for suzuki product, they are sharing their Theta platform and they are making plans to strengthen their joint supply lines.
The GM/Suzuki partnership is alive and even stronger than ever, GM just needs cash.
Slink.
-mike
Steve
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