The Suzuki X-90 is a front engine, rear or four wheel drive, two door, two seater

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

manufactured and marketed by

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

for the model years 1995-1997. Derived from the

Suzuki Vitara The Suzuki Vitara is a series of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs produced by Suzuki in five generations since 1988. The second and third generation were known as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, while the fourth generation eschewed the "Grand" prefix. In ...

, the X-90 featured a T Section removable roof. Replacing the

Samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

in the market in the United States, Suzuki began marketing the X-90 in Japan by the end of 1995, and in western markets in April 1996.

Overview

Suzuki presented the production vehicle in 1995, and began marketing the X-90 by the end of that year in Japan, with international markets the following year. 1,348 were sold in Japan, and 7,205 X-90s were imported into the United States. More than half in the United States were sold in 1996, with sales of 2,087 the next year, and 477 in 1998. During 1996, 484 vehicles were imported into Australia. The X-90 was also imported into Europe. By the middle of 1997, the retail pricing had dropped by 25%. No further imports occurred, and the last of the vehicles sold in 1999. The X-90 was the base vehicle for

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

's advertising vehicles, which featured a 1.5 m (5') mockup of the company's product can mounted over the trunk. In October 2013, ''

Top Gear Magazine ''Top Gear'' is a British automobile magazine, owned by BBC Worldwide, and published under contract by Immediate Media Company. It is named after the BBC's '' Top Gear'' television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published ...

'' placed the X-90 on its list of ''The 13 Worst Cars of the Last 20 Years.'' In March 2022,

Motor Trend ''Motor Trend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''Motor Trend'' until 1998, when it was sold ...

named the X-90 #1 on its list of the 25 worst cars of the 1990s. Philippe Cousteau Special Edition Towards the end of the X-90's production run some X-90s in Europe were sold as the Suzuki Vitara X-90 Philippe Cousteau Special Edition. These featured a moulded

bodykit A body kit or bodykit is a set of modified body parts or additional components that are installed on a car. They are typically composed of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoilers, bonnets (bonnet scoop), and sometimes front and rear si ...

that included a

bullbar A bullbar or push bumper (also kangaroo bar, roo bar, winch bar or nudge bar in Australia, livestock stop "livestock stop" initially a term used to refer to "cowcatchers", the locomotive pilots or kangaroo device in Russia, and push bar, ram b ...

running board A running board or footboard is a narrow step fitted under the side doors of a tram ( cable car, trolley, or streetcar in North America), car, or truck. It aids entry, especially into high vehicles, and is typical of vintage trams and cars, ...

s, wheel arch extensions all finished in the body colour as well as special 16 inch wheels and decals that numbered the vehicle out of 3000. The special edition was named after the French cinematographer

Philippe Cousteau Philippe Pierre Cousteau (30 December 1940 – 28 June 1979) was a French diver, sailor, pilot, photographer, author, director and cinematographer specializing in environmental issues, with a background in oceanography. He was the second son of ...

, despite his death occurring more than 15 years before the first X-90 was produced. File:Suzuki Vitara X-90 rear 20080617.jpg, Rear view of a European Market Vitara X-90

Specifications

The X-90 used a 1.6 L I4 16 valve engine which produced and was available with

four wheel drive The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive (FWD), was a pioneering American company that developed and produced all-wheel drive vehicles. It was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Dr ...

rear wheel drive Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-whee ...

, and either a five speed manual or automatic transmission. The X-90 featured dual air bags, anti lock brakes, optional air conditioning, and one dealer installed six disc CD changer. The

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Car suspension * Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology * Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...

used

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles. The name comes from American automotive engineer ...

s and

coil spring A tension coil spring A coil spring is a mechanical device that typically is used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. It is made of an elastic material formed into the ...

s in front and

s with wishbone and

trailing link A trailing-arm suspension, also referred to as trailing-link, is a form of vehicle suspension. In a motor vehicle it places one or more horizontal arms (or "links") perpendicular to and forward of the axle on the chassis or unibody, which are c ...

s in the rear.'1996 Suzuki X-90'
Richard Truett- Orlando Sentinel. 21 December 1995. A space saver spare wheel is stored in the trunk, and space behind the two seats offers further cargo area. The X-90 debuted as a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...

at the 1993

Tokyo Motor Show The , called (TMS) until 2023, is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recog ...

References

External links

Dutch, English, German and French X-90 site
{{Suzuki North America X-90 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1995 Mini sport utility vehicles