Pick of the Day: 1995 Suzuki X-90

Remember the Suzuki Samurai? Those little jeeps were everywhere in North America for a period of time. So, what about the X-90? The name may not resonate as well, but take a look and you should recognize it. When was the last time you saw one? It’s been a long time for us, which is why this 1995 Suzuki X-90 is our Pick of the Day. It’s being sold on ClassicCars.com by a dealership is Christiansburg, Virginia. (Click the link to view the listing)

Essentially a two-door Suzuki Sidekick (again, remember those?), the Suzuki X-90 was available in America from 1996-97 and was marketed as a replacement for the popular Samurai on our shores, though its Jeep-meets-Honda del Sol (as Car and Driver characterized it) ethos was of a different animal. The T-topped two-seater was powered by a 1.6-liter inline-four offering 95 horsepower paired with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive were available. Thankfully, for the sake of Consumer Reports, all were equipped with dual air bags.

You possibly may recall that Red Bull used these as advertising vehicles, including a five-foot Red Bull can mounted on the trunk lid, much like what you see more recently on Mini Coopers.

In a world where the entry-level subcompact sedan is being replaced by crossover SUVs playing the same role (read: Chevrolet Trax), it could be said that the Suzuki X-90 was playing a similar role of sorts. However, it never really caught on, making them somewhat of an affordable curiosity today. The seller of this 1995 Suzuki X-90 doesn’t say much about this particular vehicle other than it has 86,468 kilometers (under 54,000 miles), which hints that it’s a more recent import — indeed, flipping through the images shows it to be from another land due to its RHD configuration. More perusing shows that this X-90 is a 4WD version shifted by a five-speed with a Razo shift knob. With an attractive cloth interior and open-air fun, this is a swell take on the Samurai that will net you several marriage proposals and perhaps a dowry. At $15,900, it’s not a bad way to go down the daily-driver collectible path, especially if you’re single.