Other than the 1st few inches from the exhaust manifold heat shield radiator hose should work. A person could even use ABS / PVC / CPVC pipe if they wanted to use something more rigid. Current temps under the hood don't melt the exisiting hoses / wiring as long as a sensible distance is placed between them.
A good rule of thunb would be if you can't lay your hand on the surface then you shouldn't utilize a combustible material in against that area.
You might try a few local wrecking yards for the this diameter exhaust tube. They were used on other vehicles as well, and you may even get lucky. I stopped at a "out in the sticks" salvage yard last week and asked if they had any Suzuki SUV's. The fellow told me there was a sidekick out there if I wanted to take a look at it. I walked back and found it was a Tin Top - the 1.3 was gone. I bought a few parts from it including the hose you are refering to. (I gave a $1 for the hose)
Sometimes the sun shines on a dawgs hind-end......
