Our Suzuki SJ410 Jeep* was the probably best car we’ve ever had and the worst at the same time. (*I use the word “Jeep” advisedly, in the same way that we all know Dysons aren’t Hoovers, but they still get called that!)
Now comes the difficult part – justifying ... Read review
Advantages: Stands Out In A Crowd (Literally). Cheap to buy 2nd hand, cheapish to insure Disadvantages: BAD ride. Bad handling. Poor fuel comsumption for engine size.
Our Suzuki SJ410 Jeep* was the probably best car we’ve ever had and the worst at the same time. (*I use the word “Jeep” advisedly, in the same way that we all know Dysons aren’t Hoovers, but they still get called that!)
Now comes the difficult part – justifying my first statement.
We were looking around for our very first “second” car, if you see what I mean. Chronologically, ... ...I have also written about. We didn’t want to spend much on it, but were looking for something a little out of the ordinary.
There it stood on the forecourt of a relatively trustworthy 2nd hand dealers near us (well, I’d had another car from them in the past, and that was OK) – a 1988 bright yellow SJ410 hardtop with relatively low miles recorded. I had my reservations, but my wife was in love with it straightaway. ... more
Our Suzuki SJ410 Jeep* was the probably best car we’ve ever had and the worst at the same time. (*I use the word “Jeep” advisedly, in the same way that we all know Dysons aren’t Hoovers, but they still get called that!)
Now comes the difficult part – justifying my first statement.
We were looking around for our very first “second” car, if you see what I mean. Chronologically, this puts it just in front of the Micra that I have also written about. We didn’t want to spend much on it, but were looking for something a little out of the ordinary.
There it stood on the forecourt of a relatively trustworthy 2nd hand dealers near us (well, I’d had another car from them in the past, and that was OK) – a 1988 bright yellow SJ410 hardtop with relatively low miles recorded. I had my reservations, but my wife was in love with it straightaway. Since she was destined to be the principal driver, who was I to argue – and she was right, she could get a lot of shopping in it!
THE GOOD NEWS
So what makes it the best (YELLOW) car we’ve ever had?
It was bright YELLOW.
It was cheap to buy and insure.
It was my wife’s first (YELLOW) car.
It was very easy to find in Tesco’s carpark, being taller and YELLOWer than most cars.
It had “tall” profile tyres, saving me a fortune in mangled hub caps – Mrs BN is not the world’s best parker, and tends to use kerbs as a physical guide to parking accuracy! Should have been a tram driver – come to think of it, they’re making a comeback, and she’s been looking for an “out” from teaching! This woman should never own alloy wheels with a car attached.
I digress……After opening the YELLOW tailgate, which was actually a side-hinged door, it had plenty of headroom for taking dustbins to the dump, and the back seat was removable for those extra large square items that would otherwise cost you £15 to have delivered.
Oh, yes. Did I mention it was YELLOW?
Access to the engine was great, unless you were short, in which case, something to stand on would be useful. Opening the bonnet lid, which would lay right back against the windscreen revealed a huge chasm with something looking like a model aircraft engine at the bottom. “Hellooooo down there Mr. Dipstick, need any oil?” Reliability was fine, although once on checking the dipstick, it seemed curiously low on oil, and seemed to take forever to get the dipstick to register any recognition of said hydrocarbon.
What I didn't realise was, that I wasn't removing the dipstick far enough to see the bottom end of it, and I had very nearly fill the poor thing up to the gills. I was soon appraised of this situation on first starting, which went something like "Whirr, whirr, slurp, bubble, fut! Fortunately, no long term damage was done after draining it, but we were forced to be rather anti-social for a few miles whilst the heat from the engine got everything dried-out again - still at least anyone following couldn't have got our number!
The gear change was surprisingly positive for something so long and waggly.
We both loved the high up seating position, which gave an air of authority in traffic jams, and helped with the planning-ahead that I will cover in the next section.
And now….
THE BAD NEWS
This list may be a bit longer.
It was tall and very narrow, and therefore, cornering needed to be planned ahead, if you weren’t going to start seeing the world at 90 degrees to the horizontal.
It had crude leaf-spring suspension at both ends making for an excrutiatingly-uncomfortable stiff ride. The front passenger side had a dashboard grab-handle – after couple of West London’s many speed-ramps you could see what this was for. At least the driver has a (bus-sized) steering wheel to hang on to!
The combination of a “live” front axle and worm-drive steering gave it a very vague feel on the road – even driving straight needed planning ahead too, as any pothole was fair game in making it wander off course.
Of course, you wouldn’t notice this off-road since you would put this down to the terrain, but on a smooth road……whoops! Come to think of it, the only off-roading we did was to put two wheels up the kerb to use an ATM in Ealing!
For a 1000cc engine, fuel consumption was terrible, around 25 mpg I think, but you have to think more in terms of how heavy it was, not the engine size.
4 wheel-drive system could only be used off-road, unless the surface was very slippery, otherwise you risked transmission damage. (There was no third differential in the centre of the car to allow the front and back wheels free rein to go at different speeds). Probably all for the better though – the fuel consumption was bad enough as it was, without giving the poor thing more bits to turn.
It was oh-so noisy inside, due to a singular lack of any real soundproofing to speak of. This, coupled with the tendency to wander, put you off doing more than 50 mph on ANY road.
VERDICT
Would I have another one – no!
Did I like it – yes!
Summing up, it was fun to own, but a genuine pain in the arse to drive. No doubt, if we’d been inclined (bad word to use under the circumstances) to go off road, we’d have had a bit more fun, as I’m told they were surprisingly able, despite their ability to fall over in the hands of the uninitiated.
With hindsight, it’s easy to see why it was low-mileage when we got it – who in their right mind would travel any distance in it?!
I miss it, in a funny kind of way!
p.s. Despite being two years since we sold it, I keep seeing it around - well something that colour (did I say it was yellow?) is bound to be easy to spot.
Advantages: Great off-road plaything Disadvantages: Horrific on-road performance
The Samurai, or the SJ413 as it was previously known is the original hairdresser 4x4. It's 1.3 litre engine is woefully tiny for even a light 4x4, giving 0-60 times of somewhere in the region of five minutes. Top speed is around 80mph, although in a soft-top, it's a very noisy experience, and keeping your speed below about 65mph is much better for your hearing, fuel economy and keeping a generally pleasant state of mind. The SJ is also largely responsible ... ...moment you go round a corner at more than 5mph.
Let me tell you a little bit about my car. It's an SJ413, as I've already said, the Samurai under another name. It was also available as the SJ410/Santana, with an even more pathetic 1.0 litre engine. My vehicle is the soft top version, although hard top and van versions were also available. The soft top is great in the summer, but is a pain to put back on, especially when you're in a hurry because ...
Pritch 20.08.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Suzuki Samurai
Advantages: Cheap to buy and insure, Fun drive, very reliable and will stand out in the crowd Disadvantages: Fuel economy, can be slow ond sluggish on starting up after a cold night.
...my own experience with my Suzuki Samurai, I am overall pleased with its capabilities, although it can be frustrating at other times. I take it off-road, be it green laning, on bits of waste land, or at specially organised events. Here I will be giving my objective view of its performance both on and off the road.
The Samurai is part of the Suzuki SJ range. There are ultimately 3 different types of 4x4's produced within the SJ range. These were:
... ...are looking to buy a Suzuki Samurai you won't be disappointed by the price. They are relatively cheap to buy, spare parts are readily available and often the examples for sale won't have horrendous mileage either. A decent samurai with no rust/rot and good running engine will usually be available for around £800-£1000. An SJ 413 will typically be around £500-£800. If you want something a little smaller like the SJ 410 you'd be looking at something ...
LowDownDirty 16.04.2003 (13.05.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Suzuki Samurai
Advantages: Great Off road Disadvantages: Bad on road
...to the weight of the suzuki it can go places that the landrover cant and wont.
It isn't badish on fuel it cost me £24 to fill my tank and lasts about 180 miles. Make your own mind up with that.
Ive read lots of reviews on the suzuki sj-410 and everybody goes on about the on road handling. Yes it isn't good but ask yourself who buys an off roader and drives it on road? Off road thats where it lives, it loves being off road and getting stuck and ... ...struggle at all! Water, mud and stone not a problem.
The final part is it's cheap fun and and a great little car, The car was £500, tax is £110 and insurance is £200. It is so easy to work on even a haynes manual mechanic like myself can work on it and with the internet and ebay parts are not a problem . I would recommend this car to anyone. ...
bradyluk 19.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Suzuki Samurai
...playing with lego then a suzuki is for you. The engine is so small you and a mate can lift it out without a rig. This car has more add ons, extras and alterations that the A-team could handle. Off road it is awsome...and if you whack it into something...all you need is a hammer (again). On the road it is slow, difficult to handle and has the performance of a three legged donkey. The SJ was voted "13" in the top 50 worst cars ever (as voted by Top ... ...is a must.
The suzuki is similar to the beetle in that the same people follow them. Once an owner, always an owner. And that coming from some one who spent the weekend grinding (1 of) his SJ into a variety of small parts to throw in a skip!! I have owned, i have loved, i will keep. I have another car for my drives to work, my SJ will never die.... ...
jimbob23 23.09.2004 (06.01.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Suzuki Samurai
Advantages: Cheap to insure, Fun Disadvantages: Can be hard to get parts
...purchased a 1991 J reg Suzuki SJ 413 Samari about two years ago.
Loverly jeep, great fun.
There are a few things to keep an eye on.
We have been through 6 Universal Joints, the half shaft snaped and smashed the Gearbox. £2,000 worth of damaged.
The jeep does about 20 miles to the gallon and is much better than the 1,100cc model.
There are two types of Suzuki jeeps, one built in Europe and One built in Spain.
Do not buy the one in spain! The ...
rap2000 01.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: not helpful Review of Suzuki Samurai
Value for Money
Road Handling
Comfort
Looks
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