Curbside Classic Outtake: Suzuki X-90

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

All the recent photo-shops and today’s shortened Vista-Coupe made me think of the car that most looks like it can’t have been designed to be the way it actually came out. The longer you stare at the Suzuki X-90, the more bizarre and surreal it becomes. It looks like what Micky and Minny Mouse would drive now days. Well, I’m mighty thankful for the little Suzuki’s existence, because it certainly breaks the monotonous waves of hand-me-down Camrys and Accords parked near the campus. Anyway, I have a thing for eccentric and short cars.

Let’s just say the smaller Japanese manufacturers were trying to find some tiny niches in the SUV market. Isuzu’s Vehicross comes to mind. From the rarity of both of them, it was an exercise in futility. And didn’t Jeep show several two-passenger concepts over the decades? Perhaps they did their market research a little more thoroughly.

Go ahead and laugh; I love this little puppy, and would be happy to give it a home.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • DRC DRC on Jan 30, 2012

    In 1998, I traded my gas pig mini van for a 1996 Silver Pearl X90. I had never seen a car like it before and I couldn't believe all the attention it was getting just on a test drive near the dealership. It was auto transmission w/the 4 wheel drive option and had 46,000 miles on it. LOVED that the t-tops came off and the trunk is roomy (could fit two bodies in there :-) I drove the car until May 18, 2006 when an a-hole in a big Suburban zoomed through a stop sign and totaled my car. Didn't quite total me. It took me 18 months to find another X90 worth buying. It was also a '96, red, with just 29,000 on it and in very good shape. I put a few thousand into it, changing all the window trim, added body side molding to help prevent door dings, had the A/C fixed, got new t-top shades, and a bunch of other things done. A couple of weeks ago I had body work done and a complete paint job. It looks brand new! It's great on gas, it handles really well in the snow here in upstate NY and it's fun to drive!!

  • X90Owner X90Owner on Sep 10, 2013

    Glad I cleaned out some of the candy wrappers before you took all those pictures! Yes, this is my car, and although I'm not thrilled to see my license plate all over the place, I appreciate (some) of the comments. Did you take these in Eugene? The tires are larger than the originals and the paint used to be black (I didn't paint it.) that's why the interior is red.

  • Jeff Not bad just oil changes and tire rotations. Most of the recalls on my Maverick have been fixed with programming. Did have to buy 1 new tire for my Maverick got a nail in the sidewall.
  • Carson D Some of my friends used to drive Tacomas. They bought them new about fifteen years ago, and they kept them for at least a decade. While it is true that they replaced their Tacomas with full-sized pickups that cost a fair amount of money, I don't think they'd have been Tacoma buyers in 2008 if a well-equipped 4x4 Tacoma cost the equivalent of $65K today. Call it a theory.
  • Eliyahu A fine sedan made even nicer with the turbo. Honda could take a lesson in seat comfort.
  • MaintenanceCosts Seems like a good way to combine the worst attributes of a roadster and a body-on-frame truck. But an LS always sounds nice.
  • MRF 95 T-Bird I recently saw, in Florida no less an SSR parked in someone’s driveway next to a Cadillac XLR. All that was needed to complete the Lutz era retractable roof trifecta was a Pontiac G6 retractable. I’ve had a soft spot for these an other retro styled vehicles of the era but did Lutz really have to drop the Camaro and Firebird for the SSR halo vehicle?
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