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Junkyard Gem: 2000 Suzuki Esteem Wagon

GM began selling Americans the Suzuki Cultus with Chevrolet Sprint badges in the 1985 model year, with the following generation of Cultus becoming the Geo (and, a bit later, Chevrolet) Metro. Suzuki began selling the Cultus as the Swift over here starting in 1990, then enlarged that car's platform to create the bigger Cultus Crescent five years later. This car first showed up in American Suzuki showrooms as the 1995 Esteem, and a wagon version arrived for 1998. Most of the Esteem longroofs disappeared from our roads long ago, but I was able to find this high-mile 2000 model in a Northern California car graveyard. The Esteem was available in the United States through 2002, after which it was replaced by the Aerio. Since station wagons were falling out of favor in a hurry with American car shoppers by that point, the Aerio wasn't available as a wagon; Suzuki buyers here who insisted on a small cargo hauler in 2003 either had to move up to the bigger Forenza wagon or join the SUV craze by getting a Vitara. All that was in the future when this car was first sold, though. It's a base-grade GL 1.8 model with no options that I can find, and its MSRP was $13,399. That's about $23,959 in 2023 dollars. The 2000-2002 Esteem wagon was forced to compete for sales against the bigger and more powerful Daewoo Nubira wagon, which had a menacingly similar price tag ($14,160 in 2000, or $25,320 after inflation). Hyundai was in the final year of selling a wagon version of the Elantra here in 2000, and its price was a mere $12,499 ($22,350 today). Ford was asking $15,380 for its cheapest 2000 Focus wagon ($27,501 now), while Saturn offered the SW2 wagon for $14,290 ($25,552 in 2023 bucks). What all those affordable small wagons had in common was a five-speed manual transmission as base equipment, and that's what this car has. A four-speed automatic added $1,000 ($1,788 today) to the cost of a new 2000 Esteem. This car came with a DOHC 1.8-liter four-cylinder rated at 122 horsepower and 117 pound-feet. Not exciting by 21st-century standards, but enough to keep driving misery at bay in a 2,359-pound wagon. This car's owner or owners took good care of it, and it rewarded them by driving 237,255 miles during its 23 years on the road. The interior still looks good, which is typical of high-mile cars I find in these places. A car owner who keeps the upholstery in good shape also tends to perform all the maintenance on the dot.

Suzuki Jimny is the classic Defender homage Land Rover should be building

Lake District, U.K. – The Land Rover Defender is to Brits what the F-150 is to Americans. Or rather it was, before it got too expensive and the farmers all switched to Japanese pick-ups. The Defender was effectively put out to pasture, relegated to being a lifestyle trinket. And Land Rover's endless prevarication over replacing the Defender can be partly attributed to this dilemma: Should it be in the original's mold, a fix-it-with-hammers rugged utility vehicle? Or should it concede that market and instead become a premium premium-priced Mercedes G-Class rival? Meanwhile, while Land Rover had dithered, others have capitalized – not least Suzuki's Jimny, which nails the seemingly conflicting demands of the new Defender's brief in one cute, pint-sized package So too is the Jimny priced at a level buyers in markets where it is offered can chalk up as a discretionary purchase. Dating back to the early 1970s, the Jimny has a heritage of its own to draw upon. But this lo-fi remix of traditional 4x4 tech and functionally slick styling has scored a bullseye for both utility users and the hipster brigade, both of whom place great value in authenticity. True, U.S. buyers won't have the option of the Jimny as they will the Defender, no matter how many emails Suzuki receives. But it's interesting to explore how it pulls the rug from underneath Land Rover, right here on the British stalwart's home soil. To demonstrate this we've travelled to the Lake District, a picturesque region on England's northwest coast with classic countryside vistas. Outside of the U.K., mountains topping out a little over 3,000 feet sound little to write home about – but, like the Jimny, modest size and ruggedness aren't mutually exclusive and there are trails here to test any street-spec off-roader. Competing pressures for access and a popular backlash against mechanized vehicles in the countryside mean tight controls for recreational drivers though, with many once-popular trails now closed to traffic. Those that remain accessible carry severe restrictions, our chosen route over Gatescarth Pass rarely opened to traffic and, when it is, limited to 4x4s with wheelbases of 100 inches or less. A Wrangler would just scrape through but these remain a rare sight in the U.K., and the limit is arguably skewed to favor the home team: the 90-inch, short-wheelbase Defenders that remain a staple for the quaintly English pursuit of 'green-laning'.

Suzuki Jimny four-door caught in new spy photos

Modern car buyers really seem to have moved on from two-door vehicles. First coupes of all kinds disappeared, and now traditionally two-door SUVs have sprouted extra pairs of doors (see Wrangler and Bronco). The latest to join the trend is the tiny Suzuki Jimny, which has been spotted in Europe with four doors. This more practical Jimny also has grown in length to accommodate its extra doors. Interestingly, the front pair appear to be the same size as those on the two-door model. The rear doors are a fair bit smaller. Still, access to the back should be easier than on the shorter model, and both leg and cargo room should be substantially improved. It also retains the very short overhangs, which is good for approach and departure angles, but the longer wheelbase will mean it can be high-centered more easily than its shorter counterpart. Jimnys in the past have been available with a small amount of body variety. For a long time, it was available as a convertible, and some long wheelbase variants were produced. Aftermarket companies have also made their own changes to the SUV's shape. But four full doors from the factory seems to be a new step for the Jimny. Also, the fact that it's testing in Europe with left-hand drive suggests it will be a model offered in global markets, and not just in Japan. Sadly, it will still not come to the U.S. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.