Ok I do not currently have a zuki and I'm in the process of selling my current vehicle. I would really like to get one of these but I have a few questions and would love it if someone might be able to help me out with what I should look for and what I should avoid, maybe I can send links to ones that are for sale and someone could look at them to tell me if there worth looking at. And my big questions would be, is it realistic to daily drive one of these as far as gas mileage. I did look at the thread about the gas mileage and from what I've read its not all that bad seeing as I'm currently getting between 18-22mpg in what I drive now. So basically is it realistic to DD a zuki thats lifted and has tires and some of the bells and whistles lol. any help would be much appreciated. thank you all in advance.

A little more info on your intended goal, and how far you are
driving and in what conditions, if you live in the desert you may
want a newer model with A/C, and if you are doing a lot of freeway
and hills you might want a Grand Vitara with a V6

Wild

ok so my intended goal is to have something I can drive everyday, and occasionally take off road nothing to extreme like monster rock crawling but being able to do a bit of mudding and riding on some average trails, and if need be go where I need to go if conditions are bad in say the winter. I live in New Jersey so I deal with all four seasons. I don't drive on the highways very often and if I do its for short travels (10-30) miles doing 65-75 mph. AC isnt a big issue for me as I havent had a car with AC since I was 16 and I'm 26 now. I didnt even have AC when I lived in Arizona lol. I have looked at the other models such as the grand vitara and honestly do not like it as much as the samurai. I also at the moment dont drive very far to work and its all back roads no highway so my max speed on my drive to work is 45mph. I just want something that is reliable for everyday use, decent on gas mileage, can deal with different conditions such as rain, flooding, snow, and something I can take out once in awhile and get it a little dirty and do a little mild off roading. I have a few that I am looking at so if you want I could send you the links and you could tell me honestly if they would be worth it or would be to much. My only main concerns are, as I stated gas mileage, reliability, fun factor lol. Ty for your quick response.

The Samurai and the Sidekick will sip along at about 19-25 MPG, it
varies with speed and seasons, as well as oversize tires, both are
very reliable, but in your area you might want to be on the lookout
for rust issues with older vehicles, and I would say a good condition
one should be in the 1500 to 2000 range, but I haven't priced any
for a long time so some of the other guys might chime in on the $$

Wild

frankly from my experience with the stock 1300cc samurai and my friend's vitara, we get not-so-good mileage especially when you start oversizing the wheels.

we use kilometers per liter here in the Philippines (KPL) instead of MPG.

anyway, suzukis tend to devour petrol, which was the reason why most of us here use it as dedicated trail rigs / week-enders.

2 of us switched to diesel primarily for fuel efficiency reasons; torque comes second.

ty both for your replies.. I'm not concerned with rust as I would already be checking for that anyway. Im looking at a mild setup i belive its a 3in lift with 31in tires. as long as I can get around 23mpg I can live with that. I've read on this forum some people are getting more some are getting less and I know it depends on alot of factors. Would you recommend a zuki with a 1.3 or a 1.6 swap in it. efi or carb? If you need a full list mod wise of what I'm currently looking at let me know. I hate to be a bother lol and ask so many questions but I just wanna make sure I'm doing right and this seems to be the place to ask for help so.

a 1.6 16V w efi would be the best choice, or a Sidekick w the same

I have a lifted Sammy with 35's on it that I drive daily. I can't really say what the mileage it gets because I never check it and I fill it every 2 weeks if it needs it or not. It usually takes berween $20-$30.00. I bought it to drive and have fun with and gas wasn't a factor or a consideration. I drive between 30-50 miles a week, so you can see I'm nor driving alot of miles and my top speed is about 45mph on a 2 lane road.

My driving needs are similar to yours. I have a 1.6 8V in mine. Price range for a Sammy will depend on what you are looking for. You can buy 1 already like you want or a fixer upper. I bought mine with the 8V in it and it had a few other items that I would have put in it anyway. It is rust free.

I gave $3K for mine and have probally stuck another $1K in it and I still have some stuff I will do yet. But then I'm picky and have a certain mechanical requirement and look in mind for it and again not as concerned about the $$$ because I will like it when its done.

Hope that gives you some insight... if you have any other questions just ask!

                                                                                                                       Tux...   

I own a 95 4 door 5 speed 16v and i use it as a daily driver.  It's got a 2 inch coil spacer lift and 235/75's.  Gas mileage is awesome for a 4x4... 22-25 mpg and i commute 40 miles round trip for work.  I live on the MN/WI border so I deal ,with alot of snow also.  We had 2 seperate 20+ inch snow falls last winter and my sidekick felt unstopable as long as I didn't do anything stupid.  If you buy one just be prepared to deal with the timing belt (especially the 16 valve 1.6), and having to explain to most normal poeple that it is not a jeep... It's way cooler.

If you keep the tire size to ~29" (235/75), you can get by with no lift.
I'd try to find one with EFI (90-95 samurais were EFI).
With the above setup you should be able to keep the MPG around 25-27.  Just don't try to drive it like a racecar...because it's not.  If you run it hard, your MPG will suffer.
If you are going to do an engine swap in a samurai, definitely put the full trackick EFI setup in.  Kinda pointless to swap in a 1.6 and then put a crappy carb setup back on.
Keep it maintained, and it will be reliable.
As far as prices....you are just going to have to see what samurais are selling for in your area.
IMO, samurais are fun for zipping around town.  They aren't bad to take on longer highway trips, but the trackicks are better (they ride better and have a little more power).
IDK what P Funk is talking about with the timing belt.  The timing belt setup is the same for samurais and both the 8V and 16V trackicks.  Nothing special about any of them, no frequent issues, and they are easy to change, if needed.

IMO, most of us don't mind or even think about mileage, its an enjoyment thing. I know that when i started building my rig the fuel mileage was in the very back of my mind, i knew what i wanted to do with it and what it could be capable for, i honestly believe that it a zuk thing..

the only reason im semi concerned with the gas mileage is because im going to be using it as a daily driver. im not overly concerned i was just making sure id get at least a bit above 20mpg. i have one gas hog already but thats because its main purpose is the track. and my current daily driver is just well boring lol. here are a few im looking at if anyone wants to give me some feedback

http://ocala.craigslist.org/cto/2566350974.html

http://lakeland.craigslist.org/cto/2508343430.html this one i would probably change the tires out to maybe 33's or 31's or just leave whats on there not sure

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/2490576106.html

i personally think that the brown one looks the best, however he does call it a jeep:(  its the cleanest one and looks solid,, I say that all the tire and wheel set ups that are on these rigs will not get 20+ mpg,, but a  certainly all of the rigs would have the fun factor and would be plenty capable with what you want it to do..