1998 Suzuki Vitara JX review from UK and Ireland

First sunny day and I wound down the window, only to feel the mechanism grating and grinding in my hand as it fell apart inside the door, I understand that this is a common fault.

Replacement manual winding mechanism costs in excess of £80.00, I refused to pay this for A cog and two pieces of wire!. I have wedged the window closed with a piece of wood inside the door.

Engine misfires when cold and sounds like a diesel when warm (I contacted three Suzuki main agents, consulted two different workshop manuals in search of the correct valve gap settings, not one of the points of reference including the main agents were the same!...very disturbing)

Crunches into second gear especially when cold, clutch very heavy, but lightens up as the journey gets underway.

Quite a bit of rust under the vehicle and appearing in various nooks and crannies, very 70's Fiat! Almost every nut and bolt on the car is rusted tight, mechanics must hate them.

Exhaust system is very rusty already, bearing in mind that car is only 3 years and 30000 miles old.

A smart looking and very compact vehicle, affording excellent interior space and great visibility. An ideal town car which can be maneuvered and parked very easily.

Very hard and unsupportive seats do nothing to help the spine jarring ride of this short wheelbase vehicle, however the hard suspension makes the vehicle very nimble and it handles surprisingly well, With more thought put into the seat design this car could be transformed into a much, much better vehicle.

Fuel consumption averages 33 miles per gallon, oil consumption is negligible.

At 30000 miles all four tyres need replacing, the wheels are going rusty, as is the spare wheel holder.

Why do the Japanese still put the indicators on the right hand side?

This is infuriating and can be hazardous.

I don't think this car was built to last.