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A PRIVILEGED LIFE...

“Oscar” the 1996 Suzuki X-90, has spent the last 10 years of its life puttering back and forth to work in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. An easy, privileged life where the word “low range” is met with confused looks and comments about allowing vertically-challenged chickens to roam free.

Low range? Yep, sporty looks aside, the Suzuki X-90 is just a short-wheel-based Vitara with a two-seater body and a boot. They handle and perform off-road like any standard Vitara and whilst that’s not bad... it’s not brilliant either. This is why, apart from the Sierra, Vitaras are a popular Suzuki to build up for off-road use.

So, why are we picking on... sorry, building up an X-90? Because it’s not really a done thing... it is such an obscure 4WD that it deserves all the help it can get... and simply because we like doing something different.

We at Australian 4WD Action are proud of the fact that we aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and set new limits for our readers - remember our ground breaking Best 4WD of 2006 Cape York trip? – and that’s what we intend to do here. Something a little skewiff of “normal”, quite simply because we can.

The good thing about all this is that we will be building a very capable off-roader and proving that it doesn’t matter what 4WD you choose to drive, quality aftermarket accessories and mods will get you where you want to go without spending a fortune. There is a whole range of fantastic aftermarket gear out there to turn your shopping trolley into that dream machine to tour this great land of ours. From LandCruisers to Lada Nivas... it’s not about what you drive, it’s all about where you want to go and how to get there in one piece.

Whilst we aren’t building the ultimate tourer, our aim is to build a reliable daily driver with good on-street manners that becomes a fun toy on weekends. It’ll be something unique that looks flash in the office car park, but chews the bum off other comparable fourbies and doesn’t cost the earth to run. On top of all that, it will be 100% engineered and road legal.

We spent only $8000.00 on the X-90 and it was in great condition. A one owner with only 97500km on the clock and full service history... goes to show that if you take your time looking, you’ll find exactly what you are after at a good price. Don’t rush it.

We have a budget of $17,000 – well under that $20,000 high-tide mark where things start biting into your weekly pay cheque.

Yeah, “But it’s ugly” I hear you say... well so is Malcolm Douglas, and he gets everywhere he wants to go.

Let’s face it, it’s a “sports targa”, designed to ward off a pending mid-life crisis. But I work for a 4WD magazine and like playing off-road, so the Peugeot 206 will have to wait a few more years or at least until I am eligible for that ‘over 55 bonus’ on my insurance. The X-90 is a blend of both, maybe not the best bits... but a blend anyway and it’s a real 4WD with low range... which at least gives us a decent starting point.

We have some big plans for this ugly little ‘bitsa that may surprise you. Without giving away too much, some big names have accepted the challenge to play “Un-Rice the X-90” and at the end of the day, the aim is to turn this ugly duckling into.... umm... well... a duck that doesn’t get beaten up by the other ducks anymore.

This is web based buildup, so the only place you’ll get to see it is here on the Australian 4WD Action website, so make sure you drop in regularly to see what we’ve done to poor little mite... umm, lucky thing.

Serika
Australian 4WD Action