CD Article: Suzuki Esteem, 1996-2002

[CD_Editor]

Test Drive:

Reliability information about the Suzuki Esteem is tough to find because of its fairly low sales volume, says Used Car Reviewer, Chris Chase, but "the general vibe is that the Esteem is a dependable little car." "Frugal fuel consumption" and "low values on the used-car market" are high points "but it's worth noting that there are other small cars that are better bets."    More...

[quadzilla]

My buddy has one of these, 2000_Wagon with the slushbox.  We put three guys and all of our camping gear inside and then strapped three mountain bikes on top.  This little car is something else.  I drove one stint of the trip and it was great even while zipping along at 120-130kph.  Good used car value here for somebody looking for a function car.

[a4_tom]

Got one of those compact wagon while working as a courier driver. Pretty versatile wagon with cold air conditioner in summertime, stuck in downtown traffic. Not bad compares to co-workers who usually drive Cavalier and Sunfire as drivers.

[si]

Vanilla ice ice baby.

[Bullet Blue]

My buddy has one of these, 2000_Wagon with the slushbox.  We put three guys and all of our camping gear inside and then strapped three mountain bikes on top.  This little car is something else.  I drove one stint of the trip and it was great even while zipping along at 120-130kph.  Good used car value here for somebody looking for a function car.

  There are quite versitile, and are dirt cheap used. A friend owns a 2001 for his "beater" car (his other is a BMW Z3) and I couldn't believe the amount of crap that we were able to haul when we went camping. They are kind of scarce around these parts though.

[sparky]

I leased an '01 Esteem wagon and liked it so much I bought out the lease and kept it as a second car.  In five  years and 140,000 km of driving, I have not needed a single repair, just routine maintenance. The idea that an Escort, Cavalier or Sunfire might be more reliable is absurd. There is no happier group of car owners on the Internet than the tiny band of Esteem owners. It's a pretty zippy, fun little car to drive, it holds a mountain of paddling and camping gear, and generally provides cheap, faithful, hassle-free service. Mine's sitting in the driveway right now with a bike on the bumper rack and a kayak on the roof, and I'm outta here.

[safristi]

How do ya GET ESTEEM in a SUZUKI  ?................. leave the windows UP in SUMMERTIME

[JohnM]

I think Chris missed some of the point of buying a Suzuki Esteem.  I had a Swift for 140k and have an Esteem now.  The idea is maximum reliability - maximum uptime vs garage time and very low fuel consumption.

My Esteem Wagon (2001 1.8L, 5 speed purchased for $14,800 and 1.9%) has had two things go wrong with it that were its fault in 264,000km.  The defects were muffler clamps that rusted off and were replaced by myself for under $7.

The 1.8 is respectably quick and decent on gas.  It is quite crude, falling well behind the Ford Focus in handling/ride and NVH but it simply holds up very well.  It is not a state-of-the-art car - just honest.

I use full synthetic and the fuel economy continues to get better. (by the by, I'd wait until after 15,000k to go synthetic so the engine has broken in - I put it in at 3k and it was 70k before it loosened up)  On many tanks in the summer it does better than 6L/100km.  Obviously, I'm in the country.

The seats are very plain but still comfortable after 10 hours.

A Cavalier or Elantra as a substitute?  You're kidding.

The next car will be a Fit Hybrid and when that comes out in '08, the Esteem should have over 350k on it.  I'm sure it is good to well beyond 500k so I'll keep it for hauling big loads.  As Chris points out, I won't get much for it but the cost of ownership of an Esteem has to be the lowest of any car made itn the past 10 years.

Cheers,
John M.

[articsteve]

Suzuki is the Kia/Hyundai fighter.   The great Owen Sound is getting a Suzuki "Superstore"    (everything retailed by Suzuki under one roof).

Here is a nice private sale deal for somebody at 8K.  Not to old yet to benefit from a full fluid change.

2001 Suzuki-Wagon 1.8 GLX One owner, superb condition inside and out. Fully loaded. AT, AC,CD, all Power options. Metallic green. 96K, $8999

[initial_D]

It would be awesome if this is for sale here.

[AVToller]

I've liked Suzuki for a long time. I had a bike in the late '70s - early '80s and a '91 Swift. Both were fun and extremely reliable. 

[safristi]

...HI "DAVE !!!!"........ ...can ya let him out the basement now??

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The great Owen Sound is getting a Suzuki "Superstore"    (everything retailed by Suzuki under one roof).

That is a very good idea for them. Probably great for areas like yours because the of the other Suzuki products which appeal to rural folk, which can allow Suzuki the opportunity to introduce the cars to them too at lower cost. Suzukis traditionallly would cater to urban markets because they're smaller cars I would think.

Honda advertises all its products together on TV and in print, so I'm surprised they wouldn't have experimented in a similar concept.

Will this Suzuki Superstore be corporately owned?

[a4_tom]

Suzuki really needs a good marketing company that knows how to promote their quirky but affordable products.

[ghost]

I like their Suzuki Aerio.

Audi Tom, did you buy a Cayman S?!!!   

[sparky]

The Esteem's wagon body style is a huge attraction. If you're looking for a 4-6 year-old compact with a low price and lots of useful life left in it, there's only a couple of wagons to choose from. The Mazda P5 will cost a lot more, and has about half the seats-up cargo space. Ford Focuses of that vintage have been reliability nightmares, and GM had dropped the Cav and Sunfire wagons by then. I think there was an Elantra wagon around 2000, but I don't know much about it.

[Loudpedal]

Suzuki is the Kia/Hyundai fighter.   The great Owen Sound is getting a Suzuki "Superstore"    (everything retailed by Suzuki under one roof).

Heres one that Suzuki has in Newmarket.   http://www.suzukiofnewmarket.com/motor.htm