1996 Suzuki Sidekick Review

Japan's Suzuki once was just a sideshow outfit, making offbeat small cars and primitive sport/utility vehicles like the dreadful Samurai, which had a jerky ride even on smooth pavement.

But the Samurai is long gone and Suzuki has become a stronger contender. The automaker's new Esteem is a solid sedan. But Suzuki mainly is becoming more formidable because of its presence in the hot compact sport/utility market.

Suzuki's older sport/utilities are the Sidekick two-door soft top and four-door hardtop models. For 1996, Suzuki promises to be even more competitive with the addition of its unique X-90 two-seat sport/utility and Sidekick Sport four-door hardtop.

The $17,999-$19,999 Sport, which I recently tested, is more aggressive-looking than the regular $12,899-$16,949 Sidekick models. The Sport is aimed at a slightly more affluent market than is the regular Sidekick, although Suzuki says most buyers still are expected to be between 25 and 49 years old.

The Sport is well-equipped, with safety items such as dual airbags, anti-lock brakes and daytime running lights. Standard convenience items include air conditioning, power windows and door locks, alarm system, 60/40 split fold-down rear seat, four-speaker stereo system and rear-window defogger.

The base Sport JX costs $17,999 with a five-speed manual transmission and $1,000 more with a four-speed automatic. The JLX, which has added items such as cruise control, power outside mirrors and rear-window wiper, costs $18,999 with the manual and $19,999 with the automatic.

You can easily tell the difference between the standard Sidekick hardtop and Sport because the snazzy Sport has a longer nose, fender flares, two-tone paint, wider wheels, bigger tires and a wider stance.

The Sport--aimed at new compact sport/utilities, such as Toyota's RAV4--shares the regular Sidekick four-door model's 97.6-inch wheelbase, but is nearly four inches longer and 2.3 inches wider.

The front and rear track--the distance from the center of one front (or rear) tire to the other front (or rear) tire--has been increased by several inches for better handling and responsiveness.

One of the Sidekick Sport's main attractions is its 1.8-liter, 125-horsepower four-cylinder engine, which has more power and torque than the 1.6-liter, 95-horsepower four-cylinder in regular Sidekicks. The Sport's engine is noisy when pushed, but is the biggest, most powerful and most sophisticated motor to ever power a Suzuki sport/utility.

While it was quick in town, my test Sidekick Sport delivered marginal performance with the automatic transmission on highways with fast-moving traffic. It accelerated like an economy vehicle above 60 m.p.h.

The engine, which has double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, delivers an EPA-estimated 23 m.p.g. in the city and 25 on highways with the manual and 21 and 24 with the automatic. Those figures may not seem impressive for a compact vehicle, but mid-size and large sport/utilities are lucky to see the mid-teens in town and 20 m.p.g. on highways.

The automatic shifted nicely, but all automatics soak up power and the Sport's motor isn't large. The Sport provides zestier performance with the manual, although its four-wheel-drive system adds performance-robbing weight--whether the Sport has a manual or automatic transmission.

Sport models have a "part-time" four-wheel-drive system, which means it is for use only on slippery pavement and during off-road driving. Only the upscale Sport JLX has automatic locking front hubs, which make the four-wheel-drive system more convenient to operate.

Steering, handling and braking are decent, and the ride is good for a short-wheelbase vehicle. You sit high in the Sport, whose big windshield and large side glass area offer impressive visibility--although the rear outside-mounted spare tire blocks vision through the rear window.

The front seats are comfortable, and the Sport easily seats four tall adults, who could wear tall cowboy hats because of the generous headroom. It's a snap to get into the front seats, but narrow rear door openings hinder entry to the back seat. Trunk space is good, and the fold-down seatbacks significantly enlarge the cargo area.

The Sidekick Sport felt rugged, but flaws such as balky climate control levers on the dashboard should be eliminated.

In all, though, it's hard to believe the Sidekick Sport comes from the same folks who gave us the Samurai.