SUZUKI VITARA JLX SE 16V 3dr Auto (1994)
My Suzuki Vitara - Rusting a bit now (10 years old) but otherwise fine
We got the Vitara when our youngest was born, and our eldest was outgrowing the Micra. We were considering a RAV4 but the Vitara was just cheaper so we went with that instead. It's been extremely reliable for us, only needed the odd tweaking at MOT time in the last few years. The biggest problem these days is rust. The wheel arches are really starting to show their age much faster than the rest of the car. I suppose that's to be expected in a way, but it's a bit sad to think the car might eventually die just cos it's getting a bit rusty.
It's still very lively to drive though, very happy to bounce along. The springs are a little bit stiff but not bad. It's nice to be high up too, very easy to see out along traffic, and so easy to park as the windows are all so big and clear. I remember back when we got it the auto gearbox took a bit of getting used to, I mean the fact that it was an auto but also the way it behaved, but we quickly got used to it. It's equally happy in town or on the motorway, although obviously it's a tall car so expect some blowing about in the wind, and also don't be turning corners too sharply because it leans quite a bit.
The two seats in the back of the Vitara are just fine for our kids (11 and 3). I don't think I've ever actually been in the back myself, but I think I'd be fine in there. Not sure about my husband though, we liked the Vitara because of the head room for him, but I doubt he'd be happy legroom wise in the back. Getting the kids into the back is easy enough, although it's a pain if the little one doesn't want to come out having to scrabble around in the back with only the two doors. The boot is ok for us, but then the only really big loads we have is holidays and our stuff goes in the caravan mainly. I reckon the bigger 5 door version would probably be big enough for us to take our hols luggage, but not really the 3 door we've got.
The Vitara gets through petrol a bit too much these days, I think about 25-30 MPG in everyday runaround driving, which is another reason we're thinking we might sell it soon and try to get something more economical. That gets worse of course if you're towing things, and we have a caravan which it tows very happily, but also gets through more petrol.