My friend is looking into picking up a vitara or the ZR2. He's look around 1999-2001 vehicles mostly and was curious if there were any known problems with these? He wants an automatic and he will build it up as rig/daily driver. Are the 4 speed auto's a good tranny? What is the 2.0L engine like, is it as reliable as the 1.6?
Any opinions would be great
Thanks
Jim

i'm running an 03 zr2 2.0L.  engine is strong, running 31's with stock 4.62 gears and no problems on the highways, usually in 4lo on the trails and it's good, can get a little weak if i'm running through a long mud bog, there's been a couple times that i've had to drop down to 1st to get the tires spinning again.  the skid plates also come in handy!  mine is a 5 speed..  i've got 45000k on it and have replaced; starter, fan clutch, belt tensioner, accesory belts 2, front right diff bearings, front left CV seal 2x, front left axle and wheel bearing, catalytic converter, soft top, brakes at 40000km(just pads), had a mystery clunking in the rear right, dealer took everything apart and found nothing-put it back together and good to go, no problem since.   so a few problems..  i do off road it though, the starter and belt/fan stuff was from deep water, the front end problems i think that's just a crap design, notice the front left is fine and it goes the same places!  i will install warn premium hubs for this problem area to hopefully resolve this, and besides, everything is brand new as of last week!

one thing though is there are far fewer parts around for these rigs as compared to the older ones right now.  also my 2.0L has the aluminum front diff, i'd like to order a drop bracker from VTTR (china?) as none are available in north america without the whole calmini kit..  they also sell the rear panhard bracket.

on another note i would probably sell mine, it still has the manufactrurers warranty to 60000k!  all in all is in good shape, no major dents other than the parking lot kinda thing, one smooth dent under the rocker, not really even visible unless being looked for....

last thing, i find this model of tracker to be much nicer for everday driving, the extra power and just overall quieter and more comfortable - this however is just my opinion.

good luck!

Thanks Bzzr2, that's more info then I hoped for, I'll pass it along to my buddy.
Jim

Bear in mind, ol' Bzzr2 has had 10 trucks' worth of bad luck with his.  Only thing that's gone wrong with mine was it came with a cracked block from the factory.  Not that that's nothing, of course, but...  I put 50+ thousand miles on the first drivetrain and now this one has another 50,000.  This Tracker and my (previous) '96 have been the least problematic vehicles I've ever owned.  Well, except for that bad engine, but that fluke really didn't cost me anything, so I discount it.

James, you know my truck, it just rolled over to 300,000km and the 2.0 is strong, tranny has never been a problem. Starter changed at 225k and still has the original alt.
Lots of piddly little issue but the main running gear is good still.

Thanks Lowrez, I keep on thinking you have a v6 in that thing. If he picks one up I'll have to pick your brain on a few things.
Jim

i have had a few problems for sure, but i do wheel it and mud and water don't scare me unless i see first that it's more than 3ft deep, then i don't like it unless the bottom is solid!  there have been times where i've neglected to clean things up right after a run to, not good!  but all in all, hard wheeling will aparently wear things out!  i forgot to mention that the rear quarters like to hold water if the seems underneath are full of mud, i noticed an error in my post earlier, all the front problems are on the right side.