Edmunds’ Rides: You won’t believe what Warren Clarke drives

This is the Suzuki Sidekick. You’ve probably never heard of it – it wasn’t exactly a runaway hit during its years on the market. The Sidekick name was dropped back in 1998 but the model has continued in the U.S. as the Vitara and Grand Vitara. The Sidekick is my daily driver and I’ve had it for 14 years, since 1997.

You might wonder why I haven’t switched it for something newer/snazzier/more fun to drive. The answer is that for over nine years, I’ve worked in the editorial department here at Edmunds – between  our fleet of long-term test vehicles and the cars we bring in for a week or two for our road tests, there’s always something on hand to drive. As a result, I rarely spend time in my Suzie and I have only 85,000 or so miles on the odometer. Getting something new would be kind of pointless.

A couple of things you might not know about the Sidekick:

1. It’s more enjoyable to drive than you’d imagine. Yes, it’s got a weak-sauce engine, but you get behind the wheel and you feel like there’s very little between you and the road. I like that kind of rawness.
2. It’s dead reliable. No major problems to report in our years together.

Anyway, my ownership experience has made me a Suzuki fan. And the brand has some good stuff on the market these days. We’ve had a Suzuki Kizashi and a Suzuki SX4 in our long-term test fleet, and I was impressed by both. 

Warren Clarke
Automotive Content Editor

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