1990 Suzuki Vitara JLX SE from UK and Ireland - Comments

The clutch failed at about 72k miles. Replaced for £300.

Interior plastic cover keeps coming off.

Front brakes replaced (discs&pads) at 79k miles. Cost £220.

Rusty wheel arches.

Rusty engine.

Rear right light does not work when brakes applied. No one will fix it because the rear bumper needs to be removed.

I bought this car because I liked the looks of it and I travelled a reasonably long distance to see it. However, I didn't like it overall because it reminded me of a pick-up truck rather than a fun vehicle.

I paid £1800 for an 11-year Vitara. I've paid more than £700 in 8 months for repairs and now it won't pass the MOT so either I get rid of it (throw it off a cliff and claim the insurance) or pay about £500 to get it fixed.

I like travelling but if one thing this car isn't for is travelling. Fuel consumption is absolutely ridiculous, the noise unbearable except if you got some good music playing LOUD. No complaints about comfort though. I guess it's because I'm sitting in the front. No problems with handling either unless if you ask for it. Performance is disappointing but you won't notice because 70mph on a Vitara feels like 140 on a BMW 530.. and worse. No kidding. When I first drove the car I wouldn't dare go more than 45-50mph. Scary. But you get used to it. The reason I get frustrated is that I live in a place I don't like and the Vitara cannot get me out of there fast enough. It can be a problem you know, considering fuel consumption etc. Also very little space can cause a big problem with 4 people in the vehicle.

I've had some off-road experience with it and I loved it. Can't wait to "download" it to Greece in the summer for some off-road adventure. So I'm going to keep it probably.It's great looking too.

That's all for now. I hope I don't have any updates in the near future.

Don't need to take the bumper off to change the rear light bulb - your garage is either having you on or has an aversion to lying on the tarmac!

I own a 1992 vitara jlx se 1.6i.I bought it for a good price and have done some bits and bobs to sort out the probs.

1,steers like a bath tub on ice,

I went down to 225/60/15 semi road tyres, this made a 60 % improvement, I replaced the tramp bushes and antiroll bushes. this sorted the road handling out 100%.when changing the tyres the garage had to use two jacks as the the rear wheels didn't leave the ground when they jacked the front, proves this is OK for medium off road as standard. the 1.6i puffs smoke on start up (since oil change),but is OK for rest of the day. It seems abit rough on road to me at the moment, but as I get to know it better I will post more. One thing I did like was,the basic service was I breeze, everything was easy to get to and went by the book.

I swapped my n reg corsa for an '89 vitara soft top, I have had nothing, but fun in this car and will be off roading it regularly... replaced the heavy manual steering with power steering... lots easier to handle.

All I say is don't expect Rolls Royce comfort from a vehicle that is as good as this off road...

I totally agree! I bought my 89 model JLX softop in Aug 05 and have not had an issue despite it having over 225,000k's. A very able beach machine - one thing to watch though is sand in the engine - make sure it has a sump guard for beach driving.