CTC Review: 2007 Suzuki XL7 JLX AWD

[Loudpedal]

SAM, any product I buy, I research to death.  I've begun that process for the next vehicle. 

For a car guy, I'm a pretty thrifty guy cheap bastard.   I typically buy and hold till I drive it virtually into the ground.   I may not do that this time round. 

I've got two kids who are <5 yrs of age.  A Civic SiR hatch and an Infiniti G20t, while great cars IMO, are perhaps close to no longer meeting future needs.   The G20 (which may be the most reliable car I have ever owned) will likely be run till the end, so that means the Civic is on the bubble.   

The real clincher will be when I deal my current personal watercraft (that I easily tow with the Civic) to get another boat (waterski boat, bowrider, etc).   So, towing is a big consideration.   As such, it's ruled out the RDX and CX-7. 

I've nearly also ruled out minivans mainly due to the lack of AWD (Sienna excluded, but I don't want run flats). 

Now the consideration revlolves around 5 or 7 (or passenger configs...

Truth be told, I'm waiting for the CUV market to hit a saturation point that the manufacturers are dealing them like crazy, and the balance shifts closer to surplus on the lots.  I figure that is between 6-18 months away. 

On the other hand, I could keep the current vehicles and pick up a couple of year old Pathfinder or Tacoma for much less...*cheap bastard thinking out loud*...          
 

[TimM]

I've been driving my 2007 XL7 for almost 4 months and it now has 10,000 km's.

I don't beat on it every day, but I don't foot it either. I can't imagine how hard I would have to drive it to get it up into the 16 or 17l/100km range

I commute from Durham to Toronto every day and my average fuel economy will range from a best of 9.8l/100km to a worst of 13.2l/100km. My last tank of fuel averaged 11.5l/100km with an average speed of 48.8km/hr.

I found the XL7 to be a great deal for the $$. The power window switches do take a bit of getting used to.

The rear wiper/washer and fog light switch placement is fine. They are only blocked by the shifter while in park, as soon as you shift into gear, they are easy to use.

The engine is very strong and pulls like a mad from idle right up to the red line (I love the sound, it has a nice snarl). The transmission has a very good shift, and it is always in the right gear.
When you think about the weight of the vehicle, 0-60MPH in under 8 seconds is pretty impressive for an SUV.

From what I have read, although the engine is based on the Caddy CTS, it is being manufactured by Suzuki in Japan (the transmission also comes from Japan), then shipped to Canada.

That's my 2 cents worth..

Tim