2002 Suzuki XL-7 medium model review from North America

The slant of the rear cargo area with the third seat down required that we purchase a net to extend across the tailgate area. Without the net when we had a load in the back and opened the door we had to grab fast to keep things from falling on the ground.

Other than that absolutely NOTHING has gone wrong with the vehicle.

Previous vehicle was a Saturn SC2 coupe. We also have a 1998 Chevrolet Tracker 2 door. We wanted something in a SUV that was as reliable as the Saturn. We looked at the VUE, but didn't like the full time Four wheel drive system that comes with the V6. We really like our little Tracker so looked at the XL7 and fell in love. We've owned it for about a year now and took it from Phoenix, AZ to Yachts, OR. We went on 2 lane highways going through Nevada, Northern California and Southern Oregon to the coast. Coming back we took all freeways through California and Arizona. It handled the twisty turns excellent (like the road from Crater Lake, Oregon to the coast), with plenty of power to pass on short straightaways. On the freeways we cruised at about 80mph for hours, while getting 19 - 20 mpg. This is my 6th SUV going back to my first a 73 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 30 years ago, and my second favorite (the first was a 1980 International Scout II Turbo Diesel with ranger overdrive/gear splitter auxiliary transmission and 3 inch lift).