By imaginac
on 2nd Oct 2007
imaginac's Ratings| Year Manufactured | 2001 |
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| Length of ownership | 5 Years |
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| Doors | 5 |
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| Performance | 8/10  |
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| Practicality | 10/10 |
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| Reliability | 9/10 |
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| Value for money | 9/10 |
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| Overall value | 9/10 |
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 imaginac's recommendation |
Good Points
Flexibility, reliability, handling, comfort, surprising off-road ability eg outback off-roading in parts of Australian outback. Many curious people stop and stare and want to have a look inside. Fuel economy is great and over 5 years the only fault I've had is a leaky back door, fixed with a new rubber seal under warranty. It was amazing value at AUD$30,500 including "Verve Pack".
Bad Points
Gear ratios not low enough - would LOVE dual range box. Nothing else bad. Has depreciated fast because of unfounded bad reviews (see below).
General Comments
This car has echoes of the brilliant Renault 16 in terms of seating flexibility, clever design and comfort. It's almost impossible to skid and traction is amazing in sand, gravel, mud and snow. Our daughter has a large trike to ride - I pull out two rear seats and it fits in perfectly leaving three seats intact. I stick my own bike on a simple rack over the spare wheel.
In my film making career I have lots of gear to lug around, so out come all three rear seats and I've got a HUGE space available for cameras, lights, stands, tripods and kitchen sinks.
For some reason this car was bagged by the Aussie motoring press who noted comments like "French = weird, right?" I guess they just didn't understand the concept of a 4WD car that didn't have a monstrous 5 litre turbo diesel under the bonnet. But then the little Suzuki 4WDs had small engines and, like the RX4 outperformed many bigger 4WDs because they had high approach and departure angles, wheels at the corners, and great traction control.
We love it. Wish list: the new Renault diesel engine as a transplant, and a dual range gearbox. It would be unstoppable!
