On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, November 3, 2001

It's easy in youth to loathe the station wagon, but not this one

David Adame/Caller-Times

The 2002 Suzuki Esteem wagon has a little 1.8-liter 16-valve dual-overhead-cam four that would get anybody where they needed to go.

In the interest of sparing readers needless suffering, I won't bore you again with the tale of how, after spending my car-mad youth loathing station wagons, I have in recent years found myself oddly drawn to these strangely seductive vehicles.
   Suffice it to say that for reasons that must have something to do with the eruption of minivans on the one hand and sport utilities on the other, station wagons have gradually become a more attractive proposition.
   The minivan, admittedly, is perhaps the most rational form of transportation on the face of the Earth - but, come on: do we want to go through our lives like Mr. Spock? As for the sport ute contagion . . . as it threatens to cover the entire surface of the Earth with tall, knobby vehicles designed to take their owners to places most of them have no intention of ever visiting, the appeal of the station wagon grows apace.
   Some carmakers are beginning to catch on to this. Most of 'em are across the big water, in Europe, whence the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Saab are shipping us wagons that deliver, in addition to the groceries, sport-sedan rakishness and a level of performance that Dad in the old Country Squire never imagined in his wildest fantasies.
   Alack, these vehicles are just the least little bit, ah, shall we say, pricey. Major bucks, kids: You wanta play, you gotta pay. For the most part, we're looking at the 30's (thousands, that is) and up.
   But this being America, there's always an escape road. In this case, it's a market mini-mini-segment populated by frisky and (dare one say it?) affordable small wagons.
   I first awakened to the allure of these little skates a few years ago when I had occasion to rent a Ford Escort wagon. Pretty vanilla stuff: little four-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, not too many frills - but its combination of agility, versatility and willing performance won me over.
   The Escort's gone now, replaced by the Focus line, which includes a larger, more substantial (if less fling-able) wagon. For the rest, you've got little wagons from Subaru, Daewoo, Mazda (though Mazda insists its entry isn't a wagon), perhaps a few others, and . . .
   Wagon of high esteem

Suzuki Esteem GLX wagon Five-passenger front-wheel-drive station wagon Base price: $15,799 Price as tested: $16,374 Drivetrain: Dual-overhead-cam 16-valve fuel-injected 1.8-liter four, 122 hp; four-speed automatic-overdrive transmission Brakes: Front discs, rear drums, power-assisted EPA mileage: 26 city/33 highway Web site: www.suzuki.com

   And the Suzuki Esteem: One of the better-kept secrets of the automotive scene, the Esteem wagon deserves more of a public than it has enjoyed to date. One advisory, though: the future of the Esteem wagon is in some question. Both it and the sedan will be around for the duration of the 2002 model year; then the sedan is to be supplanted by a larger car, and the wagon - well, its future is sort of up in the air. If this little guy lights your fire, you don't want to wait too long to order one up.
   What we've got here, at bottom, is dead-solid conventional Japanese econocar thinking: a tidily styled package containing an energetic, economical four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels. The usual Japanese attention to detail; the usual high-quality materials . . .
   Am I boring you? Stay tuned: Despite the Esteem's neat, buttoned-down demeanor, there are some major grins to be harvested here.
   There is, for instance, the snappy little 1.8-liter 16-valve dual-overhead-cam four that sets the merriment in motion. With 122 horsepower, we're not looking at volcanic performance, but you know what? Like some other Japanese fours, this is a singularly happy, full-o'-pep package, revving without complaint all the way up to a redline of about 6,800 rpm (territory we didn't quite explore, since the tester was right off the boat). It won't make the scenery blur, but neither will it consign you to life in the slow lane.
   Little legroom
   Note, too, that our tester was equipped with the optional four-speed automatic. I suspect that the five-speed manual would have upped the performance ante at least a whisker. However . . .
   Here's the thing: Like other little cars, the Esteem is not blessed with big-as-all-outdoors legroom. With the automatic (and the cruise control that comes with the mid-line GLX trim level), that's not much of an issue. However, were you tallish in configuration, and were you to take a manual-trans Esteem into, oh, say, the Alps or some such locale, a certain amount of commotion would ensue, with left foot and right foot occasionally duking it out for space.
   Full points, on the other hand, for the fashion in which the Esteem's progenitors have managed the ride-handling interface. The car's behavior in urban traffic situations is exemplary; it's capable of holding a line through a sweeping turn; and it delivers surprisingly good ride quality. How do they do that?
   List of amenities
   Note, too, that for the admittedly substantial price of the GLX, you get a long list of amenities: nice, boomy CD/stereo; A/C that delivers Antarctic ambience on demand; power everything; keyless remote locking/unlocking; and - this is crucial - the wagon gets a rear spoiler. Makes all the difference.
   All this and, for 2002, a Roadside Assistance Program, too. Life is good.
   Oh, and did I mention that the little thing will haul a surprising amount of stuff, ranging from pet carriers to garden supplies to groceries?
   The only real disappointment is that Suzuki has yet to act on my suggestion that it offer another variant: one in which the buyer could stipulate everything from upholstery fabric (denim, perhaps) to paint (Diamond Dust Apricot Metallic?) to killer 50,000-watt stereo and so on. Each such one-off production would of course be . . . a Self-Esteem.
   Get it?
  
  

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