The Suzuki XL-7 (styled as XL7 for the second generation) is a

mid-size SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

sold by

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

from 1998 to 2009, over two generations. Slotted above the Grand Vitara in Suzuki's lineup, the XL-7 offered three-row seating. XL-7 stands for "Xtra Large 7 seater". __TOC__

First generation (XL-7; 1998)

The first-generation XL-7 was a Suzuki design, had a body-on-frame construction, and was essentially a stretched Grand Vitara. The North American version had a Suzuki-designed 2.5- or 2.7-liter

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik ...

, on a

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-wheel ...

-based platform with optional

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. Beginning in 2003, European versions were also available with a 2.0-liter

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

turbodiesel engine producing . A unique trait in the US market in this segment, the XL-7 was available with a five-speed manual transmission, in both five- and seven-seat variants. When introduced, the XL-7 was the least expensive SUV available with three-row seating in North America. It was awarded the ''

Consumers Digest Founded in 1959 and published by Consumers Digest Communications, LLC, ''Consumers Digest'' was an American magazine. It was based in Chicago. The last issue was published in February 2019. The magazine had no subscribers and did not test the pro ...

'' "Best Buy" award. However, sales slowed as the vehicle aged relative to the competition. In Thailand, the Grand Vitara XL-7 was Imported by Siam International Corporation Co. Ltd. on 2002. In Indonesia, the Grand Escudo XL-7 was launched on July 19, 2003, at the 12th Gaikindo Auto Expo. File:2001-2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 (JA) wagon (2010-02-24) 02.jpg, 1999–2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 (JA; pre-facelift, Australia) File:2004.suzuki.grand.vitara.2point0td.arp.jpg, 2004 Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7 (facelift, UK) File:Suzuki Grand Escudo L-Edition Rear 0269.JPG, Suzuki Grand Escudo L-Edition (facelift, Japan)

Second generation (XL7; 2006)

Introduced on November 22, 2006, Suzuki partnered with

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

to build the 2007 model year version, now called XL7 (without the hyphen). It used the same unibody platform and many of the same components as the

Chevrolet Equinox The Chevrolet Equinox is a series of crossover SUVs from Chevrolet introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It replaces the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the first-ge ...

Pontiac Torrent The Pontiac Torrent is a mid-size crossover SUV produced by General Motors for the 2006 to 2009 model years. A replacement for the Aztek, it was a mildly restyled version of the first-generation Chevrolet Equinox. The Torrent shared its basic b ...

Saturn Vue The Saturn Vue is a compact SUV that was sold and built by Saturn, and it was Saturn's best-selling model. It was the first vehicle to use the GM Theta platform when it was introduced in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The Vue was later facelifted ...

and

Opel Antara The Opel Antara is a compact crossover SUV which was marketed by Opel from 2006 to 2015. Based on the Theta platform, the Antara closely shared its underpinnings and powertrains with the Chevrolet Captiva. However, it only offered five seats ...

but incorporated third-row seating exclusive to the Suzuki. The second generation model used a version of the

GM High Feature engine The GM High Feature engine (also known as the HFV6, and including the 3600 LY7 and derivative LP1) is a family of modern General Motors DOHC V6 engines. The series was introduced in 2004 with the Cadillac CTS and the Holden Commodore (VZ). It is a ...

—designated ''N36A'' by Suzuki—built in Japan and shipped to

CAMI Automotive CAMI Assembly (formerly CAMI Automotive) is an assembly plant wholly owned by General Motors Canada. The plant occupies and has of floor space of which was added in 2016 as part of a $560 million investment. CAMI uses the CAMI Production System ...

Ingersoll, Ontario Ingersoll is a town in Oxford County on the Thames River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The nearest cities are Woodstock to the east and London to the west. Ingersoll is situated north of and along Highway 401. Oxford County Road 119 (formerl ...

, Canada, where the XL7 was assembled with the Equinox and Torrent. Styling cues on the 2007 model include a chrome slotted grille and trapezoidal headlights. It no longer has the spare tire mounted on the rear door. From its introduction in 2007 until its discontinuation in 2009, the second-generation

XL7 was available in five trim levels: Base (2007-08 only), Special (2007 only), Premium (2008-2009 only), Luxury (2007-2009), and Limited (2007-2009). Depending upon the trim level selected, both two-row, five-passenger seating and XL7 specific three-row, seven-passenger seating were available (the related

and

did not offer third-row seating as an option). All XL7's came decently equipped, and depending upon the trim level selected, could be equipped with options such as a premium audio system with a subwoofer and an amplifier, faux wood interior trim, luxury leather-trimmed seating surfaces with power-adjustable and heated dual front bucket seats, remote start, a security system, chrome-clad aluminum-alloy wheels, a power sunroof, a

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

hands-free phone system (2009 models only), a single-disc, CD/MP3 player audio system, a six-disc, in-dash CD/MP3 changer audio system, a touchscreen

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

navigation system with

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...

Nav Traffic,

Satellite Radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...

, and a rear backup camera system, among other options. Unlike the related

and

, the

(GM)

OnStar OnStar Corporation is a subsidiary of General Motors that provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics systems throughout the United States, Canada, China, Mex ...

in-vehicle

telematics Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies ( road transport, road safety, etc.), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedi ...

system was not available on the XL7. All second-generation XL7's were powered by the

(GM) High-Feature V6 producing and 243 lb. ft. of torque. This was coded ''N36A'' by Suzuki. While 2007 and 2008 models used a five-speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

, 2009 models received a new six-speed automatic transmission. Both

Front Wheel Drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional lon ...

(FWD) and

All Wheel Drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

(AWD) models of the XL7 were available. In May 2009, Suzuki halted production of the XL7 indefinitely due to low demand. Through May 10, 2009,

had only produced four XL7s for Suzuki after producing more than 12,000 units the previous year. While no direct replacement to the three-row XL7 was available (

offered the larger

Buick Enclave The Buick Enclave is a three-row luxury crossover SUV produced by General Motors since 2007. It was previewed at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, officially as a concept car, making it the first Lambda vehicle to be displayed. ...

Chevrolet Traverse The Chevrolet Traverse is a full-size crossover SUV with three-row seating built by General Motors. It is built on the same platform as the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave, known as the Lambda platform for first generation, and the C1XX for seco ...

, and

GMC Acadia The GMC Acadia is a crossover SUV manufactured by General Motors for its GMC marque. The first-generation GMC Acadia shared the GM Lambda platform with the Saturn Outlook, the Chevrolet Traverse, and the Buick Enclave. The Acadia went on sale ...

midsize three-row crossover SUV's), the

and

GMC Terrain The GMC Terrain is a crossover SUV by American manufacturer General Motors under its GMC marque. Sharing its platform with the Chevrolet Equinox, the first-generation Terrain was built on GM's Theta platform, while the second-generation model ...

were considered the successors to the two-row XL7. The 2009 XL7 would be the final vehicle built by

(GM) in partnership with

Suzuki Motors is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal com ...

Markets

The second generation XL7 was also sold in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, etc.

Sales

Other versions

The XL7 nameplate was revived in 2020 for a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

-inspired derivative of the second-generation Ertiga

multi-purpose vehicle Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe i ...

(MPV). File:2020 Suzuki XL7 Zeta 1.5 NC22S (20210307) 01.jpg, Ertiga-based XL7

References

External links

{{Suzuki timeline (North America) 1985 to date XL-7 Cars introduced in 1998 2000s cars Mid-size sport utility vehicles Crossover sport utility vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Front-wheel-drive vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles