Sadly as Americans get lazier and less and less able to drive a vehicle it's getting harder and harder to find a stick equipped 99+ Vitara/Tracker.  I'm looking for a DD vehicle here so an auto would be a bit nice but I just prefer sticks for peace of mind and overall usefulness.  That said...a deal's a deal.

Stated vehicle being a '99+ Tracker or Vitara, 4-cyl, 4x4 of course, and a 4 door.  Use would be DD, dog hauler, light 4x4ing for work, road tripper, and light towing/hauling occasionally.  Basically daily use and keep my '89 K5 Blazer out of the winter salt.

These have any longevity issues with their autos?

What kind of mileage are you guys with them seeing?

I'm getting 22-24 mpg (depends how you drive it) on my 2001 2.0 auto.  It has 225/75/r16 AT's so I added 5.125 gears which improved the mileage on the highway greatly. The reason it improved even though the gearing is lower is because once I added the tires, overdrive became almost non-existant on the highway.  Now it works great.

I'm at 217000 KM's and this morning I just realized the engine is leaking (not sure where from just yet).  But it's been very good to me so far. One vaccuum hose kept blowing off earlier this year and a new clamp was a cheap fix for that problem.  other than that, new plugs and an alternator. Oh and it blew the PCV valve once. The vehicle has endured a lot of highway and off road use and some abuse too.

Personally I think auto is the way to go for an off-road vehicle.  A lot of people would agree with me too simply because manual is a pain in the butt! Cheers!

John

What gears do the 4cyl auto's come with?  Guess not 5.12's like the older 4 doors did.
So no trouble with your auto then?

Won't really be my offroad vehicle.  DD and trip use.  Just need something that can take more abuse than a Subaru or RAV4.  I occasionally have to use my personal vehicle at work and it's not light duty friendly.

The auto's come with 4.88's.

Ahhhh.  Interesting.  The 1.6L 4 doors had 5.12's if they had the auto OD trans.  Learn something new every day.

The manual 2nd gens came with 4.62 gears... so if you up size tires you can go with either 4.88s or 5.12s.  I opted for the 4.88s to compensate for the slightly taller 235 tires (to regain some of the pull in 5th gear on hills at highway speeds).  But if you jumped to  30 or 31 inch tires the 5.12s would be "more better".

Knock on wood the thing will never get built enough to need to be regeared.  Stock sized AT's and all will be good.

Knock on wood the thing will never get built enough to need to be regeared.  Stock sized AT's and all will be good.

LOL we all Practice saying that to our wife before we buy one and then well you know things happen

I have my K5 Blazer for messing with and playing.  The Suzuki is just going to be my DD.  Done the lifted/modified/regeared/offroad capable yet used as a DD thing several times before and it always ends so-so for me.  Stockish and reliable is what I want.

I have my K5 Blazer for messing with and playing.  The Suzuki is just going to be my DD.  Done the lifted/modified/regeared/offroad capable yet used as a DD thing several times before and it always ends so-so for me.  Stockish and reliable is what I want.

I'm the same - I have an X-90 lifted for off-road; the GV is stock, except for my 2WDLo mod.

Yeah.  I can see some good stockish sized AT's or maybe even MT's, skid plates, good shocks and struts, and perhaps even a locker.  A lift?  No way.  Not worth the effort.  I did that with my first GV and it was just a PITA.

I'll save that time, effort , and expense for the truck I want to actually build up.