@@aternateus5835 In the video I'm working on I talk about K swapping it! I definitely think it will fit for sure. As far as the drivetrain goes, I'm not sure. I've seen people have no issues with V6 swaps. I would really want to keep my 4wd though, so it'd be easier to use as much of the stock drivetrain as possible. I hope it could handle it. (If that's what I go with.)
@@LukesWorkshop1 this would be soooo sick. I have 3 but before I start buying the necessary items I have been trying to find if I can just use an s2k tyranny into it and fit it to the converter. I agree fully on keeping the 4x4 fully.thats why I suggested a k24 because its not that much heavier than the stock 1 6
@@aternateus5835 3 Ks or 3 X-90s? Yeah I don't see why it wouldn't work if you can figure out how to get either the stock transfer case to fit or source another one to fit. All it's going to take is some ingenuity.
I own one of these! I emailed him a few years ago sharing that mine was available for review. He actually got back to me too, saying I made his "cool car" list. Nothing has happened since then.
I own a 98 and have had more fun in this vehicle than any other I have owned. I put a lift kit on it and have made a number of other modifications. I used it on the dirt roads and two tracks in Northern Michigan. It is a blast to drive in the snow on the back roads that dont get any salt. Bought it for $800 but its worth a lot more that that now. Enjoyed your video.
Are these decent for winter driving at all? In Michigan myself and found one cheapish compared to some other non 4WD autos. I kinda wanna use it also to daily in summer but I know they’re not exactly a quick car. Not sure how the upgrade market is on em.
I fit 31x14.50 15 Thornburgs on mine but simply adding spring spacers, removing the bumper covers, and slightly triming the backs of the front fenders back to the floorboards. I put a auto locker in the rear and now that the tires are worn down by about 80% it can spin the tires in deep snow and mud! It even skips across water above 30mph!
I had one… it was fun to drive, buy very impractical. It actually saved my life a few times, handled excellent in winter weather. Extremely anemic. I bought it thinking it was sidekick based, but not at all. It has a car suspension and at the time I bought it, it could not be lifted which killed all my interest in the car. Now that they make a lift kit for it, I miss it. I had a super nice sound system in it
Hey this was a really well put together video! Cool to learn a bit about the x-90 and your experience with it, love this kind of stuff so keep it up man
That MR2 was the first car my dad bought me. But money got tight and he had to sell it before he could finish fixing it. But the AMC Eagle was my actually first car I got when I turned 16 :) I would have another one in a heart beat. LOVED that car
The X90 is one of those cars that somehow I've grown to love. It's like a Miata with a Samurai combined. I'm not a person who likes to mod cars, but a 13B Rotary engine is what a car like this needs
I love my X90. I really, really wish that Suzuki had not stopped selling cars in North America, because the Suzuki X90 was, in many ways ahead of its time and it also just never stopped. Plus it is an all around fun car, and when off roading, it can go places the Jeeps just can't go.
I hope you read this but would you say the engine is reliable? I am thinking about getting one but I want to drive it and wondering if the engine will last
Yes, in my experience, the X90 is every reliable. Keep up regular maintenance (oil changes, etc) My previous X90 ran for 23 years without major issues.
Same, my brothers x90 still running the original motor. I have and 1.6 8v in my Samurai and sidekick that are still running strong after 10 years of hard driving too. Make sure you replace the timing belt in the 1.6 16v as it's an interference motor. If it snaps, then the motor is toast, but the 1.6 8v will still be fine with a bad timing belt. Some people turbo them to get more power too, but loses reliability.
Thanks a lot for the video! You did what I always wanted to do. Me and my wife own and love our X-90 (beside our Mercedes S204 and SLC AMG43) and own it since 2001. We live in Germany´s capital - Berlin - which is the perfect place for the small vehicle. We never had any problem with it, it runs perfectly in summer with the T-tops out and in winter in 4-wheel drive! I was the first to write about it in Wikipedia and so our blue X-90 is the one you find there. It has some additional styling parts (running boards and front-ram guard). In 5 years it might get a “historic-car-plate” in Germany!
I own a X-90 and have since 2011 and love it, mine is a two wheel drive 5 speed and just turned 160,000 miles. Unlike yours mine has great power and love driving it on backroads and interstates. Thanks for taking the time to review it.
My second car out of high school was an 87 Samurai that I lifted. When the x90s were new I tried my hardest to buy one, kept the guy there until like 9:00 because I wouldn't accept that they couldn't get me a loan.
My bosses own one and i drove it as a daily driver for a few months. Honestly, it`s a fun car to drive every now and then, maybe go to the beach, but other than that it`s absolutely impractical. It`s thirsty on fuel, it`s noisy at high speeds, there`s next to no storage space and 25 years after it was made i can`t even have fun offroading it as it`s next to impossible to find body panels and especially tail lights. Being an older japanese car it also means there`s a lot of rust and therefore working on it is hell. In fact- just yesterday i changed the timing belt and the water pump and 1 out of 3 bolts snapped. Edit: Your review was really well made anyways, i also think that Doug would`ve complained about the head room 😅😅
I just went into the middle of nowhere in baja, our tour guide had a lifted X-90, it looked awesome with the ift and BF All Terrains, this is why i am now looking for info on these cars on YT.
Thank you sir, for shedding some light on the X90 -- I too have faced no-response after offering up my '95 Mercury Villager for review.. not that it's an unusual van, but I don't see them often in my area lol. Great review, I felt that when you said you like cars within that "weird" niche.. normal/modern cars can often be unbearably boring. I want a X90 sooo bad, one day!
Thank you SO much for the review! I’m a Toyota lover who has secretly adored the X-90 for year. Now I gotta get one! I’m right with you on the MR-2 (I test drove an early one) and, of late, I’ve been eyeballing the Miata too. Cute & quirky is what I’m about! But my Toyota Yaris doesn’t want to share the curb…
I will have to say that a quirk that I just noticed was that there is an audio magic shift gear and a manual shift gear. 🤪. Mine was maual only and I LOVED it! Great T Tops (no leaking), and Great 4Wheel Drive!!
I wanted to get a Miata for the longest time and just today I stumbled upon a 50k miles, oerfect condition x-90 for 7k and I'm seriously considering getting one!
I followed the first one I ever saw to see what it was. Always liked them A year ago, I found a Tracker....priced right I bought it. When I went to drive it, I surprised that it was two wheel drive! It hadn't occurred to me that it could be. So, I drove it 75 miles home. Super good car!! A month later a guy approached me at the gas pump and said that he had one just like it in his backyard with a blown engine. I followed him to look at it and other than the 5 speed (the first was auto) they were twins and I bought it. Found a good (real great) engine and both were cruising. I really didn't have a favorite and decided to sell either/or. Put "choice" in offerup ad and sold the auto....f.f. six months I sold the 5 speed (twi months ago). Yesterday, I bought an X-90...2 wheel drive, 5 sp. from a mechanic who drive it back and forth to work since 2009. Having been in the old car hobby, and at times business I have had many amazing cars over 50+ years. The X-90 is cool. They are hot rodded mostly because they have a full frame (shared with the Tracker) and rr. wheel drive.
I worked for a Suzuki dealership in late 90s, they asked 90 was basically a Suzuki Sidekick with different body panels. The things were a blast to drive they were just totally impractical
Impractical is in the eye of the beholder: It had a spacious trunk, a reliable engine, and with 4WD, it got me to work when the snow was knee deep. Yes, it only seated 2, but it never bothered me that it was not a "Family" Car.
My best friend’s dad was a Suzuki car salesman back in the 90s and we got to drive a new X90 as it was his dad’s dealer car. It was fun! We got a lot of funny looks from people who saw us in it back then. Not very practical but still a lot of fun with the top off. Reminds me of the girl I was dating back then! 😜
Wow this was really nice to watch, because this to date was/is my favorite car that I’ve ever owned. (I traded it in in 2004 because I moved from Michigan to south Florida and my Suzuki X90 didn’t have air conditioner…you need air conditioning down here). Yes it was slow, but I wasn’t and still not trying to race in a drag race. THANKS for posting!!
I have a 98 and love it. I have put a lift kit on it and go off roading in Northern Michigan. I have had more fun with this car than any other I have owned. Have fun.
Never heard of it. But as someone who generally likes small cars, I like it! Not sure if it was ever sold in my country. But I'm going to look out for it.
Great Review! Man.....I don't care what ANYBODY says about the X-90......it was one of the most fun cars I ever owned and I regret letting mine go. The T-Tops were so easy to remove and put back and the height was great.....higher than a car, not as high as a truck.....it was Crossover before they even existed! The only thing I hated about the car.....was it's vomit/Seizure inducing seat material interior door material design. Blessed were those that got the faux plain, grey leather seats. It handled awesome too.....
I own one since last year. It's amazing, I love taking it in the back roads. I just put Vitara's wheels to gain more ground clearance and I can go anywhere 😎
I bought my X-90 used in 2003 and I'm still driving it in 2023 with over 300,000 miles. Overhauled the transmission at 180,000 miles and did an upper engine overhaul at about 225,000. Parts are getting harder to find but I'd buy a new one in a minute if Suzuki came back into the states. Fun cars these days are largely unaffordable. Maybe Suzuki could come back into the U.S. market with a partially enclosed autocycle (three wheels) for an affordable price. I keep looking at Polaris RZR's and wishing they made a street legal model or something like the Arcimoto FUV with enough horsepower and handling to make driving fun again.
I love the Geo Tracker, Suzuki Samurai, and every other version of the two (also many, MANY other two door SUVs). This seems like a great alternative (if I were to find one, that is)! Is reliability an issue?
In my opinion it's not an issue. Mine is in terrible condition and hasn't left me stranded. Even after the brakes failed, I still got it home without a tow. Engine seems bulletproof. Most of the issues I have with it are rust related. And the window motors suck. Other than that, it has been not just reliable, but dependable. If you can find one without rust, I'd get it.
I had a Suzuki sj410 which was the Forerunner to and looked exactly like a Suzuki Samurai but with a flatter Hood. Those especially with their for Speed and transfer case even beat out the Samurais for awesome off-road vehicles
Don't be ashamed of the passenger side front fender. The fact that you found one says a lot. I am looking at an x-90 that is very much like yours . I don't know if it has a.c. yet but waiting to hear. In Florida, a.c. is a must.
Good ole state of indiana.. La Porte County?? I owned a rusted out samurai back in high school…. Super fun.. I had 5 people in it and went up an on ramp, had to down shift it to get up it.. hahaha.. It was fun off road. More you beat on it the better it ran.. Great video?
If you're open to the work I would suggest the cast iron G15 block from a Samurai with a G13 Twin cam 16 valve head from a Swift GTi and an after market turbo and intercooler. It would require some custom work but I've seen it do very impressive things in a FWD configuration in the Swift - I've seen that setup beat mid engine V8 ferraris on the 1/4 mile. Once again that's a FWD 1.5L Suzuki beating MR ferrari V8 cars on the 1/4 mile... so yeah, that motor would be fun in your little off-roader.
@@LukesWorkshop1 That's unfortunate, the whole Suzuki G series is great including the G10A 3 cylinder - perhaps the smallest production Hemi, but I've heard that G15 iron block can handle a lot more boost than the aluminum G16 block.
I'm looking for one of these for my winter car, and maybe just some lightweight off-road hooning in other seasons. Only challenge is finding one that's in good enough condition to consider and close enough to do a test drive in.
Hi I think I remember telling you I had 2 of these and had noted you mentioned that a upgrade engine swap if possible without much mods could you please let me know the details . Thanks from Down Under in Australia .
I don't have any personal experience witha swap yet, but I've seen there is a lot of info online about the Vitara v6, and the LS1 swap. I think there is a company that sells pre-packaged v6s for Suzuki swaps. If you're having a hard time finding info, remember the Samurai platform is identical. Probably more info regarding that specifically, but the overall scope should translate.
I was just saying this to myself after watching Gears and Gasoline's latest video about cars not making you happy. Completely disagreed with that premise.
I'm 6' even, I fit, and it's not too terribly tight. I don't have any headspace issues, but legs could get a little cramped sometimes. Not overly so though, I used to drive 4 hours a day and didn't have any issues.
@@LukesWorkshop1 Thanks for answering. I haven't seen one in my area in a while. So I can't find one to sit in. My legs are a little long. If I get one I hope it fits. 😄
Definitely try it out before you buy if you can. For reference, I drive my wife's Honda Fit pretty frequently, and I'd say that's a tighter fit for me.
I like the X90, it makes sense as fun sporty looking run about that offers an off-road element. I’m a giant fan of a glass roof. You have a very cool “Ute”. If I got my hands on an X90, I’d love to reupholster it in saddle brown with coffee brown accents and parchment dial faces in the instrumentation.
Im kinda getting obsessed with these; just purchased 320 acres of raw land and i need something to just get from one side to the other. Getting a polaris would be pricy and boring. Any thoughts on getting one of these? I know its slow, but i feel like slow on the road can still be fast ish offroad. There is a decent one near me for 3.5k. looks like it could be a fun little dune buggy type rig for my homestead. Any input anyone?
I live In Indiana, I saw one of these drive past me after a Chevy t boned me yesterday In my 1998 bmw 540i, the Chevy driver said, “ at least you weren’t in one of those.”
hears my bucket list of cars M151 jeep, gamma goat, M37, M47 walker bulldog, and now this thing on this video is cool. The cars you listed in your bucket list I have never heard of I am sure the vehicals on my bucket list you have never heard of.
Mechanically, Suzuki‘s are bulletproof. And you’ll always outrun a Subaru in an ice storm. Subarus transfer grip from the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip. Trouble is some of them have to slip first before they do that. You don’t have a Subaru AWD drive system you have an actual four-wheel-drive system, which is superior on ice and every way. I’ve always wanted one of these. They are great cars.
Cool review, I am actually had considered getting one, there is one for sale for like $2000 overall looks good, though the kms are like 260,000! out of curiosity, how long can these engines last for? and how much did you get yours, how many kms is on yours? hope you can shed further light onto these cars.
I've heard these engines are pretty reliable with proper maintenance. I got mine before the market shot up for $500 from someone who needed it gone. Pretty much a steal. I think it has ~130,000 miles on it. (209,214 km). Hoping to find some time to keep making videos on it.
@@LukesWorkshop1 Awesome, would be great if you can do more videos on it. Noticed you are in Indiana, perhaps you can do a video going to the Michael Jackson house? I heard they do tours there as he grew up there.
0:56 He's done some modded cars, and even if 50% of the owners have modded cars, Doug can get someone from the other 50% to give him one cause he's literally reviewed a stock Supra on his channel
Yeah it doesn't take a lot to increase its offroad performance. It's surprisingly capable out of the box. But with some small upgrades they can be even cooler.
@@LukesWorkshop1 yeah ive seen, in england we have a thing called trials thats kinda a weird cross between offroading and rally racing, awd cars arent allowed tho and the winners are always very small light maneuverable cars, x90s are very popular choices and thats where i first saw one, they kill at it
I think the perfect donor motor for this car would be a Honda S2 thouwasn't AP1 motor with a manual transmission That would be an absolute dream to drive-in the 4 wheel drive Setting with some serious tires and a mild lift you would be unstoppable and very quick
I had one of these mine was a 1996 dam I miss it wish I never got rid of it but I was 19 at the time when I had it and now that I am 40 that would have been a long hold to keep it that long but I miss my suzuki
This falls into that category of cars I call could've beens. Cars that had they been a little better planned and engineered, a little zippyer it could've been successful. I have to think that the 5 speed was a little more fun to drive. 85 HP was more than the VW Beetle. And yes the Beetle did have a certain appeal. I like them too. Honestly I would own one, (X 90) just for what it is; cheap, simple, basic transportation with a T top. I don't see how anyone would think of it as more than that. ✌
