Question: Thank you all for the responses we got. We finally decided to bail on the 4×4 and get a Subaru Loyale wagon – there were just to many uncertainties about the Suzuki’s; moreover the Subaru winds up being about as cheap as the Suzuki, but includes AC, AM/FM and all that stuff standard. Anyways, thanks for all the help. What follows is my original post and all the responses I’ve received.

Well I’ve had a 92 Sidekick JLX 2 door soft top with optional hardtop since September and like it a lot. Here are the pro’s and con’s as I see them:
Pro’s
- relatively inexpensive to buy, maintain and insure (I had a ‘87 Supra) – fun – snug fitting soft top (compared to Jeep) – convertible – nice interior/exterior – high customer satisfaction (according to published stats it’s #2 behind Honda here in Canada) – 2 door has more passenger space than my Supra and many other 2 door vehicles – excellent driver visibility (very open cockpit) – ABS (rear only)
Con’s
- Small fuel capacity (about 200 miles) – limited cargo space – limited power (really only noticeable on the highway) – very susceptible to crosswinds – bumpy ride at times (I don’t mind this but others might)
Note that the 4 door has a more powerful engine (95 vs 80HP) and a longer wheelbase. The rollover problem was with the original Samuri and I don’t think this vehicle is any worse than other 4×4’s. It was certainly a little disconcerting at first (after being used to the Supra) going around corners at any kind of speed. A friend of mine did manage to roll one of these (alcohol was involved). He had a soft top and managed to come out of it with only bruises from the seat belt). I am averaging 28 MPG (CDN) so far but find that you really don’t get better mileage on the highway due to it’s poor aerodynamics. Here in Alberta we get a lot of snow and so far I have had no problems with the exception of ice. My vehicle has manual locking hubs but auto locking hubs are available. This is certainly not a vehicle for everyone but if you don’t mind the bumby ride and don’t drive it like a sports car you can have a lot of fun and a fairly inexpensive vehicle to operate.

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