Toyota and Honda achieved lucrative US sales success with the RAV4 And CR-V compact crossovers, which went on sale here in the 1996 and 1997 model years respectively. Suzuki offered the first generation Escudo/Vitara here (as the Sidekickbesides being sold by GM with Geo Tracker badge), but the 1980s design was embarrassingly dated by the mid-1990s. Something had to give; that turned out to be the second-generation Vitara, shown here as a 1999 model. Here’s a first-year example, recently found in a Colorado junkyard.
The first Suzuki-made automobile model sold new in the United States was the first generation Cultussold here by GM with Chevrolet Sprint badges from 1985 (this after more than 20 years of Suzuki motorcycles upon arrival on our coast). The Suzuki Jimny appeared the following year (like the Suzuki Samurai), of more and more models with Suzuki logo in the nineties.
As a subsidiary of the far-flung GM Empire, Suzuki products are sold in the United States became more Daewoo-like during the 2000sbut there were always a few real Suzukis available the last Kizashis And Big Vitaras.
The Vitara was available in the United States through the 2003 model year, while the more powerful and generally grander Until the 19th century, the Grand Vitara was sold here. American Suzuki Motors has filed for bankruptcy and after 2013 they stopped driving four-wheelers on the highway. You can still buy new Suzuki motorcycles and ATVs to this day, of course.
This is a four-door, all-wheel-drive JX+ in the top trim, so its MSRP was $17,999 (about $34,406 in 2024 dollars). That compares favorably with the similarly equipped 1999 Honda CR-V ($20,450, or $39,091 today) and 1999 Toyota RAV4 ($18,198 today).
The ’99 Grand Vitara had V6 power under the hood, while the regular Vitara had to make do with 1.6- and 2.0-liter four-cylinders. This is the 2.0-liter, rated at 127 horsepower and 134 pound-feet.
A five-speed manual transmission was standard equipment, but the original buyer of this car purchased the automatic. Unlike the car-based CR-V and RAV4, the 1999-2003 Vitara had a truck-like chassis and true four-wheel drive instead of an idiot-proof four-wheel drive system.
Collector’s item? Probably not, but still an interesting piece of Suzuki automotive history.
American Suzuki Motors didn’t seem to want to spend money on TV commercials for the not-so-posh Vitara, so instead we’ll be watching ads for its JDM sibling.