2001 Suzuki XL-7 4X4

I purchased my 2001 Suzuki XL-7 new. In the five years I have owned it, I have actually had people follow me, stop me, and ask me what I thought of the car and whether or not I would regemend it. The answer is: I *love* the car, and I would regemend it to anyone whose needs in a vehicle match my own.The Suzuki XL-7 is the "top of the line" Suzuki, and is an SUV. Mine has an automatic transmission with four-wheel-drive. The primary difference between the Grand Vitara and the XL-7 is the third rown of seating (and rear air conditioning).For an SUV, the Suzuki XL-7 is on the small side. Though you can fit seven passengers in it, there is really only room for four adults, a pre-teen, and two small children. The rear seat offers almost no leg room, so it is mostly for either a single adult who doesn't mind being buckled in sideways, or two small children/carseats.I get excellent gas mileage -- approximately 28 MPG average. I do both city and extended driving, and the mileage does, of course, drop when I use the car only for short hops within town.BEST FEATURES:My Suzuki XL-7 has been flawlessly dependable. All I've invested in this car in five years is routine maintenance and a new set of tires. The four-wheel-drive is "shift on the fly" with some limitations: you must have the wheels straight, be driving under 50 MPH, and you must switch the transmission into neutral to engage the 4WD. After five years, all electronic devices including windows, cruise control, AC, the engine, door locks, radio, etc. are all in perfect working condition -- not a hitch in five years.The car gees with a full-size spare tire.Overall, the vehicle is on the small side, but economical and highly dependable.Headlights gee on and shut off automatically when you start the car and/or engage the transmission. Nice safety feature, and you'll never forget to turn your lights off and have to face a dead battery!Lots of headroom and legroom for driver and passenger. Even a very tall or long-legged driver (like myself) can find a good driving position without the roof pressing down on their head.Headrests for ALL passengers! Even on the third row seat!WORST FEATURES:Seating isn't very gefortable, even for the driver. I was previously spoiled to the exceptional seating offered by Dodge/Chrysler, so it has taken some adjusting to accept the stiffer seats of the Suzuki.The 4WD makes a grinding sound if you try to make too sharp a turn when 4WD is engaged.General service can be performed by any reliable mechanic, but things like warranty service or replacement of oxygen sensors requires a trip to the dealership. General rule of thumb: if it involves the on-board chip in any way, take it to the dealership to get the work done. Otherwise, you'll pay for a repair, then have to take it to the dealership anyway to have the chip properly reset.Getting in and out of the third seat is awkward at best, and not regemended for an adult-size person.Headrests have to be removed manually and stowed below the seats to convert the back two rows of seating to "flatbed" space for cargo. Conversion from seating to cargo space is otherwise very simple and can be done by one person.What I like best about my Suzuki XL-7 is that it is economical, very reliable, inexpensive to maintain and repair, and it perfectly suits my needs as well as my personality. I also pay less in insurance for this particular SUV than I have for any other I have ever owned. This vehicle has proven itself over time as a safe, dependable, and pleasurable ride. UPDATE JANUARY 2007:While everything I had to say about my XL-7 held true up until now, I am disappointed to have to add that when it came time to have my state inspection renewed this year, I couldn't get the car to pass. The test kept geing back with one oxygen sensor not working. First we replaced it; three mechanics later, we figured out there was nothing wrong with the oxygen sensor - all diagnosed as working properly. It was the geputer chip. It took a total of five visits to mechanics - including one to the dealership - to figure this out (no, ultimately it wasn't the dealership that figured out the problem. They just said what everyone else had, "We reset the chip. You just have to drive it for about 50-100 miles to get it to reset.") Bottom line:I ended up with a car that would not pass state inspection without a new geputer chip. All advice leaned toward trading in and buying a new car for what the chip replacement would cost, and that is what I had to do. So a word of caution if you are looking at purchasing a used XL-7: make SURE the "service engine" light isn't on, and it has RECENTLY passed an emissions/state inspection test before you buy. Mine only had 50,000 miles on it when this happened! Once the chip went bad, there was nothing for me to do but get rid of the car.