Thinking about parting with my beloved Kick and moving onto a newer vehicle such as the 2.0 Vitara or the V6 Grand Vitara or possibly an XL7. I would like to put it up on 31's with Calmini's 2.5" lift and a 2" body lift. Couple quick questions:

Will my Trail Tough Sidekick transfer case gears work in a Vitara or V6 Grand Vitara with a 5 speed?
How do they drive with 31" tires? Can I put Sidekick 5.125 diffs in these vehicles as well?
What's the life expectancy on the 2.0L and 2.5L, and 2.7L engines? Gas mileage?
How bout that rack and pinion steering?
Can you put 15" rims on?

Thanks

You would need every bit of 4.5" of lift to get 31's on a GV, even then you would probably still have to trim some plastic, Kick R&P's go straight into the diffs, not sure about the transfer gears.
I've heard that XL-7's have bigger wheel arches making bigger tires a bit easier, I believe they also have a different rear axle though which isn't compatible with kick parts.

My 2.5 gets about 10.5-12 litres per 100km (23.5-26.9 mpg) on the highway depending on speed.
The V6 engine seems to have a good life expectancy if looked after. Cam chains can get noisy over 100 000km.

Rack and pinion seems to do a decent job of connecting the steering wheel to the front wheels.

Not sure about 15" rims, might work with wheel spacers. Clearance on the front brakes is an issue.

Your t-case gears will fit in the auto GV/XL7 cases, but not the manuals.

I think I've pretty much decided against getting one of the newer rigs just because they're still so nice...I'd rather get something a little older and not be afraid to beat on it a bit. Sure, V6 power would be nice, but I have a new plan...

I can just swap my whole transfer case from my 5 speed Sidekick into a 4 speed automatic Sidekick, right?