Do you like your XL7s?

[LockDoc3]

We have a 2007 XL7 FWD and we love it! We picked it up used about 14 months ago. Since then, we've added a class III hitch and everything neccessary to tow our 27' light weight travel trailer. It tows great! We had no issues pulling the 3200 lb trailer with 4 bikes on the roof and five people inside (3 of them kids). It now has over 73,000 km on it and working great! We have the three rows of seating and DVD system. The back seats fold flat with the head rests stowed underneath. It works great! AWD would have been nice, but we had no problems last winter in the snow and ice (with studless winter tires) with only FWD. I agree with one of the other replys; snatch one up while you can still get them. I hope Suzuki has something similar when I'm ready to replace it in seven years or so.

2007 XL7 (current)
2004 Swift+ (current)
1990 Swift
1987 Forsa

[XRL]

Originally Posted by Goaterguy

FL or TX? LOL

South Florida, good guess!

The 100k warranty is a big selling point. We'd be getting a used one since they don't seem to have very good residuals, meaning we can pick up a year old one for just over half what it was brand new. And since we'll be keeping it for a while that won't come back to haunt us.

I'm more worried about something like a BCM failure, something that Vues seem to have happen rather frequently. It seems like it happens to mostly northern Vues though.

[lumpylarry]

northern xl7's suffer the same thing, we have3 of them sitting on our lot for 3 weeks waiting for backordered BCM's

[MyOtherCarIsaGSXR]

Every car I've owned has had its mixture of good and bad.

After two years on our XL:

Good:

-Engine and Transmission still make me smile when I drive it. Great, smooth power, and that growl from 4-7K knocks me out. My 12 y/o stepdaughter calls it the "sound of speed".
-Easy to get kids in and out of car seats in back.
-With Bridgestone Blizzaks it's unshakeable in the snow and ice. I feel confident in letting my wife and kids out in it in any weather.
-Tows very well. A utility trailer full of ATV's and dirt bikes barely slows it down. Very stable as well.
-Handles better than a 7-passenger SUV ought to.

Bad:
-Hard for a 6'1" 220 lb guy like me to get comfortable in it as a driver. Either my knee is rubbing the console or my shoulder is rubbing the b-pillar, or both.
-Visibility front/rear/sides. Always something in the way.
-Window switches should all be on the driver's side, either left or right.
- Radio is working intermittently, rear gas lifts for the hatch are shot, overhead console is broken.
-Sway bar links cracked at 20K. Fixed under warranty. Probably won't be covered next time.
-Transfer case is leaking a bit.
-Oil filter very difficult to access and change

So all I can tell you is you probably get what you pay for. For about 20K out the door we got a V6-powered crossover with true three-row seating, leather, heated seats, AWD, built-in DVD, 5-star safety, and a long warranty. We weren't going to get those features in a Pilot or a Highlander for less than twice that amount.

Would I buy another? Probably not. If I had to drive it with the comfort issues I mentioned above, I would have traded it in long ago. My wife can get comfortable in it--I can't. I'm also starting to get the willies about electricals and the sway-bar links.

[Goaterguy]

Very good review. Its nice that you mentioned that every car you have owned has good and bad things. Many people think that because it has a BMW, Toyota or Honda badge up front, its bulletproof. Of course, people that think like that, usually have never owned such brands.

I will disagree slightly with your opinion because I am very value oriented and with the XL7 you definitively get a bit more than what you paid for. I doubt anyone can get a vehicle with so much equipment for the price. I feel just like you with the excessive electrical systems and computers the vehicle has but let me tell you a story!

Last week we had a road trip to the mountains, my wife was driving under a bad storm, raining and 45 degrees outside. Someone before us ran over a deer or an animal and there were body parts all over the road. My wife drove over the carcass and I presume that guts and animal fat is very slippery because the XL7 started skidding and drifting, before my wife started screaming the ESP took over and the truck was driving straight again.

For those that may think that this involved any type of driver's skill, my wife said and I quote "at least I didn't closed my eyes this time..."

She didn't wanted to drive anymore so I took over.

This is my first vehicle with ESP and I can say that it saved our asses and Christmas holiday. I doubt I would buy another vehicle without this feature.

In conclussion, the more electronic gizmos a vehicle has, the more chances of something breaking or going bad but nobody complains when they work, just when they don't.

[MyOtherCarIsaGSXR]

Goater: I forgot to throw in one more "bad": Residual value is the pits. As long as we're taking all factors into account, that one should be considered. I read that Consumer Reports rates the XL7 the most expensive CUV for total cost of ownership over the lifetime based on MSRP but figuring in the negligible resale and projected repairs and the just average MPG.

So, I would say admittedly a good value if you can work around the limitations and you can pick one up at a firesale price. Ours works for my wife as a kid hauler and she doesn't seem anxious to change.

Also, ESP works not only on deer guts but on ice and snow. Really well. ;-)

[Goaterguy]

Funny how you shoudn't believe everything that's on the internet. Edmunds.com says that the XL7 is one of the least expensive vehicles to repair over the course of 5 years of ownership.
10 best/worst cars for repair costs

Now, residual value, I bought my 2007 XL7 Luxury AWD brand new for $21,900, and KBB would value it right now around $15,000, that's $7k in depreciation over 3 years or about 17% in depreciation per year.

A comparable 2007 Highlander Limited woud've cost me about $36,000 and KBB values it at around $23,000. $13,000 in depreciation over 3 years or between 16/17%.

The only difference is that I would be paying a lot more in the beginning, financing much more and paying more interests to maintain a marginal difference in depreciation. I have owned a Corolla, an Echo and a Prius and can say that they weren't that good.

I can consider myself lucky, all I have bought for my XL7 related to maintenance are several oil changes (every 4k miles now), a set of wiper blades, an engine air filter, and a cabin air filter. Less than $200 total.

[eduyan]

I envy you guys. I have 2007 XL7 with 63k miles on it. Multiple ABS sensor replaced. Then came the pinging noise in the engine. Took it to the dealer and they initially diagnosed it as the lifters, replaced lifters but the noise is still there. Another call by the dealer to the Suzuki tech Center and they advised that the engine be replaced. I'm OK with that after all I already put 62k on it. So I got the XL7 back with a new engine. A day later, I heard a squeaky noise in the engine compartment, I thought that the belts just needed to be adjusted, so I brought it back to the dealer again. Whoa!!! The belt tensioner is now shut!!! Do you think that during the re-install that the tensioner was not properly installed? It wasn't broken when I first brought it in to the dealer.

By the way, with the new engine, they also had to replace the computer module because the old one did not match up with the new engine.

I also have the squeaky zip tie noise on the steering column mentioned in other threads.

I like the power of the XL7 driving up and down the NJ turnpike, but that's all I can rave about it right now.

Any feed back on the belt tensioner is much appreciated.

[lumpylarry]

Originally Posted by eduyan

Any feed back on the belt tensioner is much appreciated.

a new engine comes complete with a new belt tensioner.
either it was was damaged during the install or the engine came with a defective one..
if it was the latter they could have used the one off your old engine..

i just happen to have one here still in the crate. its going into an xl7 next week.
heres a pic, you can see the tensioner on it..

[northeastXL7]

I have a 2009 Luxury AWD. Our first XL7 was involved in an accident around Halloween and I couldn't be happier with the occupant protection. My wife came out of it with only a broken fingernail! All of the bags deployed; in addition, upon impact, the 4 way flashers automatically came on and all the interior lights came on automatically(it was nighttime). My first one was a FWD, 19/25 MPG. The 09 has the six speed automatic and gets 19 city, don't know about highway yet, only has 1500 miles on it after one month. New ones are out there if you are buying new, you just have to ask your dealer to do a search for one. There were very few '09s built, maybe 2000 or so, most were not invoiced for the better part of a year after they were built. I believe most, if not all, were luxury models, no limiteds or premiuns and no FWDs, luxurys all got sunroofs in 09. My 08s only real problems were radio issues and a loose right rear window sash molding. Tires were like new at 12K miles-I rotate every 3K along with synthetic oil changes-NEVER rely on the oil life monitor. It runs on too long-sometimes as much as 10K before the reminder comes on the DIC. Sludge is almost a guarantee on this plan and, despite the warranty, could cause you some headaches should engine repairs be needed. Overall I couldn't be happier with them.