WOW! Ok let's start with the advertising. 90% PERFECT! The Brochure- 100% on the money! No lame 4 page flicker card this time.

Now the rig- HOLY COW! Price point is 120% on target for what you get. Took a friend that drives a new MB E class every 2 years to the dealership to look at the Luxury version, he FLIPPED OUT! The interior is by far upper class, details colors textures! If it wasn't for the wind noise he probably would have popped for one right there...

For me, it's a hit. Don't know about the rest of ya. To get there from the LJ series what a vehicle. Only problem buying one is that once the word is out everyone will have one. I mean a real 4wd system that converts to full-time 4wd packaged in a tight clean body with excellent interior design and materials all backed with the Suzuki warranty and toughted up in safety features ABOUND there's no way you can't pass this up...

I seriously am considering trading in the XL7 for one! Boy the WIFE would be PISSED!

traded the '03 tracker this week for one. Maybe not the best offroader, but an absolutely incredible vehicule fro the price

and the wife is pissed

Have to say that I looked at one while getting some parts the other day.  Looked nice and I would get too if I didn't want to off raod it.
George

For the kind of off-road tha *MOST* of us do (lets face it, the most vocal members of this forum are ... unique) the new GV is plenty. 

Most of what I do in my 99 GV is forestry service roads.  Lots of holes, slippery gravel, moderate ruts, but no trees, mud, or the like.  I'd think the new GV would be fine for it.

jSager

For the kind of off-road tha *MOST* of us do (lets face it, the most vocal members of this forum are ... unique) the new GV is plenty. 

Most of what I do in my 99 GV is forestry service roads.  Lots of holes, slippery gravel, moderate ruts, but no trees, mud, or the like.  I'd think the new GV would be fine for it.

jSager

yea, I tend to "urban off road" in my 2000 GV because I can and my friend decided on multiple occasions to urban off road his 97 hyundai tiburon.. it was hilarious because when you ride with him like that he hits it on the ground and tiny rocks so hard.. it's all fint amazingly.. yea, so if a tiburon can do any off pavement activity at all.. which I find surprising, a new GV is definately good enough for the off road driving most would do with it.. I just wish they would do a 3 link in the back with a solid axle or something so they could compete with the jeep liberty and stuff.. yea, I have near future plans to start wheeling my GV again but take it through more challenging things... it's met a couple of it's limits, but you know.. anyways for what I want to do a new GV isn't for me, but at least they seem capable of ass kicking RAV 4's and CRV's

I wouldn't trade my 96 Tracker for one of those. ICK. I have 6" of lift, agressive 31" tires and I still need (read want) more. I am dreaming of 35s, lockers front and rear, extra low gearing and a diesel engine. But then I'm one of those people who really uses 4wd alot. That is what turned me on about Zuks in the first place. It is sad to see companies like Suzuki getting more urban. There is already enough of that $#!+ on the market.

I wouldn't trade my 96 Tracker for one of those. ICK. I have 6" of lift, agressive 31" tires and I still need (read want) more. I am dreaming of 35s, lockers front and rear, extra low gearing and a diesel engine. But then I'm one of those people who really uses 4wd alot. That is what turned me on about Zuks in the first place. It is sad to see companies like Suzuki getting more urban. There is already enough of that $#!+ on the market.

amen to that

Hey guys, I'm Jon, I'm in AZ.  I was living in WI and wound up buying an 06 GV Premium w/the AWD (single mode).  After moving back to AZ I took it offroad on some tough trails to see if the single would be good enough.  It is ok on washboard roads, but if you plan on doing anything serious, it will not work.  However, I took it back to another dealership with 2k miles already on it, and needless to say, the dealer gave me 2k off msrp on an Xsport and gave me nearly new trade allowance on the premium, plus I got the 2.9 intrest rate thru Suzuki on a 4 year, down from the 8% intrest I was paying on a 3 year loan. So in all actuality, I recommend everyone getting the Xsport w/the 4 mode instead of the premium, unless all you need the awd for is snow.  I tried the tough trails again, this time using 4 low, and WOW.  It almost climbs trees.  I could feel the center diff staying locked, and the cool thing is when one of the fronts lost traction, the ebd kicked in and supplied power to the other wheels to get me out of the ruts.  This thing will be a serious contender against a Hummer if they put air lockers front and rear along w/the center lock diff.

I'm glad to hear that the 4 mode transfer case makes a difference.  Also nice that you got to swap vehicles withou much loss.  I think your biggest problem offroad is going to be getting clearance (I noticed that you are already looking for lifts).  I would also be suprised if you find support for a locker. 

one thing i don't like about it is that it has a welded body -no body lift's possible.

but we are not allowed to do it i Norway anyway

hopefully there will be other kit's available, i'd hate to be forced to switch to toyota (possible to lift legally here)

but i hawe to use my '99GV a little longer
(can't afford new car yet :'()

Well I test drove the 4mode Lux last weekend and came away impressed. I've been off-roading for several years now and have done some competitions too. Here is an idea of what kind of wheeling I used to do: http://home.comcast.net/~t.molnar/mocc/index.htm. I built the Jeep in those pictures and the last picture shows you what it looked like when I bought it. In that state it would've lost to the 06 GV! It's because the suspension articulation it had was about what the GV has and with no lockers it stopped as soon as two wheels were in the air. Also the exhaust on the Jeep got banged up just as much as it would get on the GV. The traction control on the GV works almost as well as real lockers but it has the advantage of not overloading the drivetrain. The rear driveshafts seem pretty beefy for the GV but I didn't look at the front ones.

Since I did all of my own fab work on the Jeep I was looking at the GV's underside with the same eye and it seems it would be possible to fab the necessary skid plates to protect the sensitive parts and there are several good places for attachment while keeping the bottom relatively flat. Body lift is useless for off-roading anyway. You want to lift the chassy and drivetrain which could be done with spacers. Next you'll need to get some bigger tires on there and for that it seems some fender job will be necessary. Probably  31" tires max.

Beyond that it would need all new custom suspension components with longer arms to reduce angles on the axle joints. This is why it's harder to lift independent suspensions.

The funny thing is that it seemed stiffer while off-roading than my Jeep that had the traditional frame. I looks like it would be possible to do a rear solid axle conversion but don't know about the front.

At any rate you have to classify off-road ability into different grades just as you classify the trails. My built Jeep was no fun to drive any more on anything else but trails rated 9 or 10 out of 10. My Grand Cherokee was a lot of fun to drive on 2-3 rated trails. The challenge should be relative to the class of the vehicle and it will be fun. That's why you can't just simply say that the GV is not a "true off-road" vehicle or that it's not a "good off-road" vehicle. You're off-road as soon as you leave the pavement and after that there are infinite number of difficulty levels all falling into different classes suitable for different vehicle designs.

I think if you want a go-anywhere offroader, there are better platforms to start with to build up, like your Jeep with solid axles.  For better or worse, Suzuki has gone more mainstream with this GV redesign.  I too wish they had made it a bit tougher, they could have kept the solid rear axle and provided an option for skid-plates, like the Jeep Liberty does.  I was teetering between buying a Liberty and buying a GV, and in the end bought an '07 JX with manual tranny as I really wanted full-time 4wd and low-range and really didn't want an automatic transmission.  The GV was the only vehicle that offered that combo.  I know I'm giving up some off-road performance vs the Liberty, but I'll still have a pretty capable truck that will take me most places I want to go.  Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the 5-speed, the better gas mileage, and the better on-road performance, because realistically, on-road is where I do 95% or better of my driving.  If I did a lot more off-roading, I probably would have bought a used '05 GV.  Or an Xterra, FJ, or a Jeep Wrangler with solid axles.  Oh yea, does anyone know where I can get aftermarket skid-plates for my GV? 

VTTR have them and snorkels..

will you post a link to them? I work at RRO and Glenn is looking at doing steal bumpers for my 06 front and rear!!!

Hey guys, I'm Jon, I'm in AZ.  I was living in WI and wound up buying an 06 GV Premium w/the AWD (single mode).  After moving back to AZ I took it offroad on some tough trails to see if the single would be good enough.  It is ok on washboard roads, but if you plan on doing anything serious, it will not work....   

....I tried the tough trails again, this time using 4 low, and WOW.  It almost climbs trees.  I could feel the center diff staying locked, and the cool thing is when one of the fronts lost traction, the ebd kicked in and supplied power to the other wheels to get me out of the ruts.  This thing will be a serious contender against a Hummer if they put air lockers front and rear along w/the center lock diff.

Where in AZ and what "tough" trails did you do?  I can't see a GV doing anything more than a 2 rated trail (using the standard 1-5 scale) and no way a contender with a Jeep or a Hummer.  The 4wd may be good, but the ground clearance with the way the exhaust is laid out keeps it from doing even moderate 3 rated trails.