Automotive Trends

Hey, This Thing Only Seats Five!

    A few years ago, when the “XL-7” descriptor first showed up attached to Suzuki vehicles, it represented a special stretched version of the Grand Vitara small SUV. The longer wheelbase made room for a third row of seats that brought the seating capacity to, you guessed it, seven. The ability to seat seven passengers in a vehicle roughly the size of a Grand Cherokee and sell it in the low $20,000 range was a unique strategy that put Suzuki on the forefront of the race to stuff a third row of seats into every SUV larger then a RAV4. Read more…

       When it comes time to test a low-priced SUV, I’ve learned not to expect too much. After all, most of them are just overgrown versions of cheap economy cars. Read more…