My ongoing belief is that, in general, Subaru makes its money from well-marketed economy cars. Now that Subaru is producing more cars with Toyota, this feels even more true. That marketing is incredible, though, and I don’t mean to slight it. It’s not that the cars are bad; it’s just that the way they’ve been positioned as a lifestyle vehicle for people who have the money–but not always the time to live that lifestyle–is just incredible. Subaru’s marketing and brandwork is probably the best of any automaker over the last 20 years.
A good example of this is that now Toyota is selling a compact electric CUV with Subaru, and the Toyota version is only AWD, whereas the Subaru version comes with FWD. That’s strange, right? I think that’s incredibly strange. I’m confident that if the Uncharted FWD flops, it’ll have little to do with capability and more to do with the pricing, tariffs, or the general state of the EV market in the United States.
Do you know another Japanese brand that’s been making capable economy cars for arguably even longer? Suzuki is celebrating 55 years of its 4×4/AWD technology this year.
The company thought that what the world needed was a mini car that could actually go somewhere without getting stuck. Suzuki’s solution was the LJ10 Jimny, a vehicle the company calls “the one-and-only authentic off-roader in the Japanese mini-car segment” when it launched in 1970. It looks like a Jeep that was hit with a shrink-ray, but this one gets eight slats in the grille. Eight! What value.
Over time, the vehicle was improved with bigger engines, including a 550cc three-cylinder, water-cooled two-stroke engine. Can you imagine the luxury and power of that?
While Suzuki had success with the original Jimny, the company knew that it would need to make increasingly less spartan vehicles for markets like the United States. In America, we got the Jimny as the very cool Suzuki Samurai, alongside a bunch of other cheaper economy cars. The Samurai was a minor hit, but was discontinued for… reasons.
Suzuki kept going, and we got a vehicle that was more of a middle ground in the still-handsome Vitara. This was also sold as the Geo Tracker in the United States, and I kind of love this. It still looks remarkably good and I’d definitely rock the little convertible version. The later Chevy Tracker was a uglier, but David thought it was extremely capable.
Ultimately, Suzuki would make a hodgepodge of vehicles in the United States that didn’t quite connect with an audience. The Kizashi was the company’s last attempt, and though the car itself was good (I was on the press launch), it didn’t fit within the company’s larger brand. Or, worse, the company didn’t have a larger brand.
Around the time that Suzuki focused on giving crossovers and SUVs to consumers in the United States with the help of General Motors, there was another GM-aligned brand that tried to do the same. But that brand did it with a station wagon of all things.
While the wagon market was fizzling, the marketing was choice, and Subaru has gone on to be one of the biggest brands in the United States. Suzuki? If you want a new Suzuki you’ll need to go somewhere else.
Top photo: Suzuki
Don’t get me mad and fired up here. I adore my Tracker so much I’ve convinced several of my friends to get them. Suzuki stuff is weird though. They are very well built, but have the appearance of cheapness. Or at least they did back when they were selling them in the US. My tracker has a sad gray interior of rock solid plastics. However, not a single one of those plastics has ever rattled, broken, etc. Due to the BOF architecture, the body was better insulated than the car based CUV’s of the time, and much quieter. Now that I’ve crested 240,000 miles on mine, I’ve been converting it to more serious offroad use, of which it has excelled.
I’ve put on 100,000 of those 240,000 miles, in which the greatest failure was a head gasket at 202,000.
Americans never really quite understood Suzuki, or their extremely capable little 4×4’s. Most people don’t really care about true offroad performance, and just want AWD for the 2 days a year it snows. The compromises that come from a BOF mini SUV are a little much for the average new car buyer. I think they would actually do pretty well in todays market as a compact Bronco or Wrangler competitor.
I’ll add to my comment: We were early adopters of Subaru. Dad’s side of my family hails from Spokane, which at one point was the Subaruist city in the US. After the 3rd headgasket blow in my Dad’s 99 Outback, he was done.
Yeah as bad as their lineup is today I’m pretty happy Subaru stuck and not Suzuki. Subaru in the lane 90s to mid 2000s was really good. Baja, Forester, Legacy, Outback, WRX/STI.
Suzuki makes exactly two cars I’m interested in: the Swift and the Jimny. The rest of their lineup is pretty meh.
Thing is, Suzuki was a lot more popular that Subaru for a minute there. The Kizashi was the last hurrah in the US and it was pretty good actually. not a bunch of poorly made Daewoo branded lumps like some of the stuff right before the end. I feel like a Kizashi Cross and the Jimny alone would have been fine for Suzuki in the US for a little while. but I fully understand why they left our shores too.
The new Jimny looks really decent. Everyone in the US just has to have a giant SUV though.
No, it just does not pass our bloated safety feature laden boxes these days. too much cost for a small Jeep fighter. I would definitely have one over a side by side in almost every instance however if they could be had for sub 30K prices with a warranty.
The thing that made the Tracker/Sidekick/Vitara great for the few also made it fail with the masses. That is to say that BOF architecture improves off-road performance, but it also adds more weight, which in turn lowers fuel economy. It also means less interior space vs. footprint.
The ’04 Vitara got 18mpg, while the same year RAV4 got 22, and the Toyota was unarguably a better car on-road.
Fuel economy is a real demerit on em. Though I will say, when my Tracker was a tad younger, I used to be able to eek out 30mpg on a long highway trip. Mine is a base model with the 2.0 4cyl, and a 5 speed manual. Now that it’s lifted with big ol’ mud tires on it, I get about 18 MPG. The 2.5 V6 in the GV got markedly worse fuel economy, even with the 5 speed.
I looooove Suzukis, except maybe for the thinness of their paint.
Went so far as to visit the Suzuki Museum in Hamamatsu this past November, while wearing a Suzuki t-shirt which received some appreciation. Kids were mostly interested in the old looms.
Friend of mine had a Chevy Tracker. She’d get mad when I called it a Geo (it was right after the name changeover), more so when I called it a Suzuki. Not sure why, as it was a POS that she a bunch of issues with. The only remotely interesting Suzukis to me were the ones with the Lotus . . . wait, that was Isuzu. Never mind.
Theres a recent commercial with this guy combing the beach & picking up trash with his SUV, clearing the way for incoming sea turtles to lay eggs. Thought it that it must be a Subaru commercial but I was wrong. Its for a Kia.
I had an LJ8O (797cc 4 cylinder 4 stroke) convertible for about 6 years, a ’81 purchased new in Nov ’80 it was great, sold it to friends and they still have it as a farm run around rust is the killer, but most things can be faked/fabbed.
You can use one as a daily driver, but it is a loser against a AWD Subi in all but fun.
Realistically an LJ is an ideal third or fourth vehicle not primary transport and that’s where the initial comparison fell down.
In North America Suzuki fell into a third tier import mind set, not helped by the multi-year love affair with GM, a classic mistake. Historically nobody wins that game.
Would I trade my Impreza for a Jimny? You betcha.
Would my wife trade her beloved Crosstrek for a Jimny? You betcha!
She would like it better if they had a soft top option.
She was one of the first people in our area to buy a Sidekick when they came out. Traded in her factory ordered Mustang GT. She said she bought the Suzuki vs Geo, cuz the Suzuki had a backseat for no charge vs. Geo which was an extra (?maybe she had shady Geo salesman?). We keep it for over 20yrs, 240k+ miles. Highly reliable and would go almost anywhere, granted, it had manual everything.
The Vitara was a much more competent daily driver than the Jimny/Sami. Still compact, but vastly more comfortable and usable. I actually convinced my BIL to buy his GV, as he almost never driving his Samurai. Now he doesn’t even bother taking the Sami 4x4ing, as the GV is nearly as competent on the trails, while not punishing you on the way there.
I really wish they were still around on the US as I love how the new Jimny’s look and perform off-road on top of getting decent fuel economy. I am holding out hope Toyota brings them over but that is doubtful. Really would have liked one as a replacement for my FJ.
Suzuki certainly seems to do well in their home market. I was considering Kizashis when shopping for a used car recently, and, in researching parts availability, read that they are the second-best selling car brand in Japan. They rank behind Toyota but ahead of… Honda! In Japan!
https://www.best-selling-cars.com/japan/2024-full-year-japan-best-selling-carmakers-brands-and-market-analysis/
From what I can tell, the UK is the alternate reality you’re after. Suzukis seem to be quite popular there, Subarus less so.
Well they do sell the Jimny in the UK(Maybe Did). The people and the space in that country are all sort of small, so it makes some sense. Not sure about the cars though, I would guess that since a lot of Suzuki’s are hatches and hot hatches seem to be the sweet spot in the UK, maybe that has something to do with it?
Thank you MattyD for the heads up.
Always nice to see cross polination.
“they’ve been positioned as a lifestyle vehicle for people who have the money“
Isn’t this just the US marketing strategy for every single automaker under late-stage capitalism?
Stage 4 Capitalism fixed it 4U
I certainly can: Suzuki put a three-cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke engine in their GT550 motorcycle in 1972, then they put a 750cc three-cylinder, water-cooled, two-stroke engine in the GT750.
Fun fact: the GT750’s nickname is “Water Buffalo”.
I had a handful of old 2-stroke bikes, including a ’72 Suzuki T500. It was an absolute hoot. At one of the local motorcycle meetups, I took a Water Buffalo for a ride, and it was nuts. I was accustomed to the powerband of 2-strokes, but the weight of the bigger water-cooled bike was almost shocking. I much preferred my later Yamaha RZ350. Faster and so much lighter.
Didn’t notice this was a Cold Start until I got a little into it. Thought I was going to get a Bishop post about a fictional Suzuki US lineup for 2026. Enjoyed the post for what it was, but a touch disappointed.
Same. Disappointed not by the post, which is good, but by the lack of an anticipated Bishop “What If?” post.
Matt’s right, Subaru’s ability to sell wagons in an anti-wagon market (or maybe even a “what’s a wagon?” market) is pretty amazing, and it is all lifestyle image. Having seen the next Forester and next Outback at the auto show, with their cartoonish overstatements of today’s “rugged” styling tropes, I’m really interested in how well they will sell. They might continue the popularity, or they might be shark-jumpers and give up market share.
The kind of cars Suzuki specializes in would be so popular right now! Small cars are desperately needed so that people can actually afford a new car, and small SUV’s are one of the hottest segments right now.
Suzuki still makes the Swift. Even if Suzuki doesn’t want to sell cars here, GM can captive import it. Chevy Metro. They did it once; they can do it again.
Their cars are much better than Subaru. Suzuki and Mitsubishi make quality cars at a good price 🙂
Subaru has head gasket problems, and now CVT and suspension problems too 🙁
The good news is that Suzuki is doing very well otherwise, especially in India. They might even be the most profitable automaker.
Fun fact: that red 2-door hardtop Tracker/Sidekick is shorter in length, and also lighter, than a Miata!
The hardtop Tracker/Sidekick/Vitara is the XJ Done Right. The convertible is the Wrangler Done Right 😀
In Europe Suzuki also sells the ‘Swace’ which is a good looking rebadged Toyota Corolla Hybrid Wagon that I bet would also find a niche market in the USA and Australia.
@matthardigree, you’ve hit the big time . See Frank Bruni’s column in the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/opinion/trump-hawley-murkowski-musk-regret.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YE8.7g_F.x0jXfX6qO-a0&smid=url-share
Came here just now to say this. I wonder if Bruni realizes that he’s also neighbors with Torch?
I’m not sure if it’s possible to be neighbors with Torch and not know it. If the Changli parked out front isn’t a huge clue, the used-up taxi hitting your tree really clues you in on it.
Or the sounds of a chainsaw slicing up batteries.
Still bitter the Jimny is gone from our shores, especially considering the expensive monstrosity that is today’s Wrangler. My old CJ5, CJ8 and Willys MB were primitive beasties, but so much more accessible for Jeep’n stuff. Pretty lousy on a highway and as a family car (they might as well have been rolling condoms), but they were fun and didn’t isolate you from the world like their descendants. The Jimny still offers a large dose of that old school fun with a few concessions to modernity and at an attractive price point. Wish we could still get them and that enough people would buy them.
I wish they had. Suzuki generally offered products with better overall value and reliability as opposed (no pun intended) to Subaru. It might have been different when they debuted in 1968 but, currently, Suzuki’s product portfolio is a lot more interesting.
Suzuki comment: unmodified, the Tracker/Sidekick is about as capable offroad as a WWII Jeep. Light, strong. It has the same capabilities to just drive past 100k purpose-built monsters stuck in the mud.
I miss the little beast, one of my top 3 favorite convertibles – not least of which because you could fold the entire area in front of the ‘basket handle’ rollbar back in about 30 seconds, and make a full on moonroof a decade before they became popular.
True fact: My dad, when he was working for… I think DDC, got the Subaru account back in the day, along with the vastly more important german manufacturers. Subaru got thrown in because their HQ was in Cherry Hill NJ, too.
He looked at the quality studies and satisfaction reports, and told them to stop selling the Justy and other 2WD vehicles, because the 4WD had just better results.
The end result of that was Not Your Father’s Subaru, and their lack of 2WD till the AE86 twin.
That advice built the brand.
Nothing like being in Cherry Hill Park after dark!
And that POS was built with Suzuki.
I think missing from this is the WRX STI. Yes, most suibies are pretty pedestrian (tho, I drive an Outback and like it for what it is), but the early years of the STI coupled with some iconic WRC years created a halo that has been oddly persistent even as Subaru has left all those things behind.
Subaru’s cult was created by convincing folks that FullTimeAllWheelDrive! is a good thing.
Exactly.
Hardly anyone but people in Vermont and college towns knew or cared about Subaru until they sponsored US Olympic Skiing.
Yes. Subaru is garbage. Near Land Rover AWD. Industry leading resale. Quality. Safety. Almost 9 inches of ground clearance. Forester is a refreshing vehicle with big windows and tiny columns. I can SEE !!!
Can you see the valve guides? The cam seals?
How about those tensioners?
Huh. Ok. They are garbage.
They’re not bad cars at all, they’re very good cars compared to most in the American market. But most of their customers don’t really need 9 inches of ground clearance and full time AWD, they just like the idea of it. If that car also happens to be relatively reliable it’s understandable they would become loyal, but they’d probably do just as well with a Honda, Toyota, Mazda, or even Suzuki FWD car.
Their AWD systems are about the best on the market, but their 2WD cars were so much better to drive. I have owned 4 “Subarus” (one badged a Toyota) and none have been AWD, but it obviously works for them sales-wise. If someone needs AWD, I wouldn’t pick any of the reactive garbage systems most competitors use and, if those garbage systems work for their buyers, they didn’t need AWD.
It’s all about the tires. FWD. RWD. AWD. I love winter and watching behemoth AWD SUV’s spinning skinny tires on huge wheels is a real joy when I blast through the snow with my winter hoka tires
What if they merged? Subaruki? Suzaru?
both Subaru and Suzuki have ties with Toyota these days and I feel like the new Forester is now marketed as the RAV4s brawny little brother.
They built a couple of generations of Justy together and, at least the generation offered in the US, was a turd.