Editor's Rating: 
The Good: Low price, off-road capabilities, excellent warranty
The Bad: Mediocre fuel economy, no four-cylinder engine, quality glitches in interior
The Bottom Line: If you really need an SUV, the price is right
Reader ReviewsWhy not consider buying an SUV this summer?
It's not exactly an idea that's on the minds of most consumers, but SUVs may actually make economic sense right now for some buyers. With gasoline prices soaring, SUV sales continue to plummet and manufacturers are slapping big discounts not just on gas-guzzling behemoths but also on some small, relatively fuel-efficient models. When you can buy a well-equipped, four-wheel-drive SUV for $21,000 or less, the low price may offset the extra money you'll have to pay for gas.
The '07 Suzuki Grand Vitara is an example of what I'm talking about. I wouldn't buy one for daily commuting, but the Grand Vitara has real advantages for anyone with an active outdoor lifestyle. It's a rugged, compact SUV that, unlike most of its main rivals, has genuine off-road capabilities. To me, it's an ideal second or third vehicle to use at a vacation cabin or ski chalet, or to tow behind a recreational vehicle on long vacations. It isn't the best vehicle in its class, but it's probably good enough to last a long time and comes with a seven-year/100,000 mile fully transferable warranty that may be the best on the market.
The Grand Vitara's price is definitely right, too. The least expensive all-wheel-drive version starts at $21,549 with a stick shift and $22,649 with an automatic transmission. Even the top-of-the-line Grand Vitara Luxury with a moon roof, leather seats, and wood-grain interior trim starts at just $25,649, with all-wheel drive and an automatic transmission. (There's a rear-wheel-drive-only version that starts at just $20,029 with a stick shift.) These are all-in list prices, too; there are virtually no options for which you have to pay extra on the Grand Vitara.
If that weren't inexpensive enough, Suzuki dealers are offering big rebates on '07 Grand Vitaras through the end of August. There's a basic $1,000 cash rebate, plus an additional $1,000 "loyalty" bonus if you already own a Suzuki, and another $1,000 off for recent college grads. Buyers have been getting an average rebate of $1,476, according to the Power Information Network (PIN). Those givebacks have brought the Grand Vitara's average selling price down to a little over $21,000.
Rival small SUVs?including the Ford (F) Escape, General Motors' (GM) Saturn Vue, and the Kia Sportage and Sorento?are also being heavily discounted and currently sell in the same price range. So buyers have a lot of leverage.
At such a low price, the Grand Vitara offers excellent value. It was upgraded as of the '06 model year and is now bigger and has a much nicer interior than the original Grand Vitara, which hit the market in 1999. Even the basic '07 Grand Vitara comes standard with full-power accessories; antilock brakes; traction and stability control; tire pressure monitors; steering-wheel-mounted audio controls; and front, side, and side-curtain airbags. All versions are powered by a 2.7-liter, 185-horsepower V6 engine.
The Grand Vitara's downside is the same as that of other SUVs: mediocre fuel economy. It uses regular gasoline, but with all-wheel-drive it's rated only to get 19 mpg in the city and 23 on the highway (16 city/22 highway under the more stringent 2008 government mileage ratings). In 254 miles of mixed driving, I got 20.3 miles per gallon in a four-wheel-drive Grand Vitara with an automatic.
If you want a Suzuki SUV with better mileage, you have to step down to the smaller, even cheaper Suzuki SX4 all-wheel-drive wagon, which has a 2-liter, 143-horsepower, inline four-cylinder engine and starts at an incredibly low $15,624 for the base model with a stick shift. The SX4 is rated to 25 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway. However, the Grand Vitara is a better-made and roomier vehicle than the SX4.
As with most SUVs, the Grand Vitara's sales have been lousy lately. In the first half of this year, Grand Vitara volume fell 26%, to 10,990 units. However, price discounts helped slow the falloff in June, when sales were down only 11% for the month.
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