Durability has proven to be the Suzuki Sidekick's calling card. Not particularly sexy, mind you, and perhaps even a bit crude. But if you're looking for an older and very basic sport-utility vehicle, one wearing an affordable price, the Sidekick is definitely worth a look-see.

Just be aware of the Sidekicks main drawbacks:

1. It's tall and narrow, so be careful driving through turns. The narrowness shows up in a lack of shoulder room inside, too.

2. The strong ladder-frame structure is good for off-roading but not so comfortable in everyday driving. In fact, the ride is particularly choppy and jiggly on rough pavement.

3. There's not an abundance of cabin insulation, so wind and road noise come through loud and clear on the highway.

4. The larger four-door Sidekicks (as opposed to the two-door model) have an airy cabin with excellent headroom and better ride quality. However, there's little leg space in the rear when the front seats are pushed all the way back -- and those fold-down rear seats are firm.

Yes, the Sidekick is pretty basic four-by-four transportation. Which may be a good thing for certain buyers. But then the Sidekick never pretended to be anything else, not from the moment it first arrived in two-door form in 1989. The lineup expanded to with the addition of a four-door version in the mid-1990s.

In any case, Sidekick powertrains are a source of endless and enthusiastic owner testimonials, despite the fact the Sidekick was never sold with anything larger than a 1.8-litre four-cylinder (120 horsepower). The first Sidekicks came with an 80-hp four-banger, which got a power boost to 95 in 1992.

All may be small, high-revving powerplants, but they just keep on going, and going, going, and going... Suzuki's long history of building successful motorcycles paid off in spades here.

Even though the four-door Sidekick has more length between the front and rear axles, it and its two-door cousin ride on pretty short wheelbases. They were also always sold with pretty big, fat tires regardless of which version--base or more upscale. Those fat tires, firm suspension tuning and a solid rear axle conspire to create a pretty solid ride in all versions.

But that's as it should be. We are, after all, talking about a genuine four-by-four, with a high centre of gravity. Naturally, at the upper end of the speedometer these trucks feel a little unstable; and as I said, they feel a bit tippy around corners, too. My firm advice is to stay well within the posted speed limits.

Four-door versions of the Sidekick have much more interior room than you might expect and are just fine for everyday family chores. Two-door convertibles are fun, but only after you've exhausted your patience lowering the complicated soft-top.

Raising it is just as grating. For 1995, the engineers tried to simplify the design, but were only marginally successful. Another point to remember for used buyers is that the droptop's rear window is plastic and does not have a defroster.

Suzuki sold both two- and four-wheel-drive versions of the Sidekick for years. Be alert to transfer case damage in four-by-fours caused by driving in four-wheel on dry pavement. This is an important consideration because most original buyers went for a four-by-four (with high and low range), even though manually locking hubs were the norm until the very end of the model run. I'll say this: in four-wheel drive, the Sidekick is amazingly capable at picking its way through muck and over boulders and logs.

Buyer's alerts

Recalls

Road Test
Access: B+
Driving position: B
Instruments/Controls: C
Visibility: B-
Climate Control: C
Steering: C+
Brakes: C+
Handling: D
Acceleration: D
Engine: A-
Transmission: C
Interior space: B
Trunk/Cargo: C+
Noise/Vibration/Harshness: D

Durability/Reliability
Overall: B
Mechanical: A-
Hardware/Body/Paint/Trim: C+

Safety
Anti-lock braking: rear in early versions/four-wheel available from '96
Airbags (driver/passenger): yes/yes (1996)
Traction control: no (four-wheel drive available)
Driver/Passenger Crash Protection: **/***

Insurance history
Collision cost rating: average
Comprehensive cost rating: average
Theft claim cost rating: average