Quick backround - I'm a car nut who's owned a few SUVs, most recently a Honda CR-V for a few years, and the last year a 95 2-door Ford Explorer Sport. The CR-V was terrific but it's no truck, and the Exploder is junky and unreliable. So, we've been toying with the idea of getting two new SUVs, a used RX-300 for the wife, and a real truck for me, for fun as we literally drive perhaps 10,000 miles a year between us! Having always loved the looks of small trucks (like the Exploder) I first went to the Amigo (RS) and that naturally lends itself towards the funky cousin, the VX! I am the guy who subscribes to 5 different car mags and reads each one cover to cover 3 times, so I was well aware of this unique vehicle, but never thought my wife would let me have it! The time is right, I need a real truck for fun, and I want something small. And it has to have room for 4, so a compact pickup was out. I don't much care for the Tracker/Vitara crowd, so it's really a choice between the Amigo/RS and the VX. My first drive was a 2000 Dk Green VX tonight with about 40k miles.
First Impression
Boy, this thing is small!!! (To me, that's a good thing. I own a Honda del Sol for just this reason) It's also beautiful and crazy! So far, so good!
Interior
The high-gloss carbon fiber trim all over is great, I'm not sure how durable it is, but it looks strudy and strong enough. A lot of the interior looks dated, with squared off vents, bezels, and storage areas. With all of the attention paid to the exterior, the bland early 90's look of the interior was a bid disappointing. The high points were the previously mentioned CF trim and the beautiful Recaro leather seats with the silver trim (I'm anxious to see the red trimmed seats!) Interior plastics and carpet seemed normal for a $20,000 vehicle, a bit cheap for a $32,000 one. Not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, the interior is a no-frills cabin with little to mention, good or bad.
Exterior
I love the look of this truck. The 18" wheels on the '00 and later models really look great. The bolt-on cladding makes it look like a cross between a lunar lander and a sports car, which I think was the exact intention. The front grill and lights are very original in design, and I think it works. Big time. This truck looks great, truly cutting its own path through the automotive jungle!
Comfort
The seats are very comfortable, but the adjustments available are slim and akward. Large dials are literally unreachable during driving, and required me to open the door to adjust to my liking. Once adjusted, I had no further complaints! Control placement is fine, excluding the afterthought of the CD Player deep down near the shifter. Unfortunately the example I drove had a malfunctioning radio which didn't produce any sound, so I was unable to give the factory audio system a whirl.
The automatic temperature control (the first I've seen without some sort of LED display) worked fine during our 25 degree jaunt. I wouldn't expect to see dual climate controls in this price range but my wife was hoping...
The rear seats were incredibly roomy! My wife commented at least three times during the drive that she couldn't believe such a compact vehicle was so roomy in back, but at the expense of the cargo area. For my needs, folding down the back seats creates all the cargo space I'd need for my weekend camping trips!
Performance
With a whisper of snow on the ground, I took the VX on some back roads and really let her open up, and I'm pleased to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Accelleration is more than what I expected, and I didn't even try the POWER mode which I assume adjusts shift points for even faster driving. I know, I know, the price is paid in fuel consumption, but this thing is fun to drive! 0-60 is quoted at 9 seconds, and that's plenty fast in such a hefty but petite vehicle for me, thank you! Mashing the pedal provided instant gratification.
Truck-iness
I think that this category might be what kept the world from embracing the VehiCROSS (and the Suzuki X-90). It's a truck. It's a sports car. But it's really a truck. ad infinitum. Designers obviously make lots and lots of compromises, the biggest being the lack of a tow rating (or factory tow kit), no factory brush bar, no skid plates (though I read a '93 Trooper's are compatible) and no power socket in the rear for camping or tailgating. In my case, I own a small 16' jet boat that weighs in around 2,500 lbs on the trailer, and I think if we take a VX home, she'll not lug the boat, we'll leave that to the RX-300. Drive over a bump and you'll remember this is a truck. Turn a corner at faster than 10 mph and you'll remember that you're sitting up high, in a truck. Complaints? I don't think so, just the nature of the beast. For my taste, I think it's enough truck for me. It still has to be practical to find a spot in my garage!
The blasted obstructed rear view
Okay, this has got to be the most common subject in reviews of the VX, and anyone who's driven it knows why. You literally have no rear window, and the side view ain't so hot either. I've read all about the Van Eyes refraction accessory, and also about the rear cameras (and I noticed the cutout for the camera which is standard on JDM models!) Frankly, I can't understand how someone could drive this without it. I had to back the truck up past a few cars right after I sat down and I'll admit, I darn near threw my wife into the snow to help me navigate, but slow and steady, I made it without incident alone. I tried parking a few times in a standard parking lot, just to experience backing out, and it's scary. I feel like I'm going to take out small schoolchildren
without warning. If a VX comes home, a camera system can't be far off.
Value
This scares me. The one I looked at tonight sold for something like $32,000 just 3 years ago, and is now selling for a little more than half that. I think that now that the VX has become somewhat of a collectible the prices may stabilize around the $15,000-20,000 mark. A look at the Lotus Elan M100 (only around for one model year in 1991) shows just that - prices dropped from the original $40,000 to about $15,000-25,000 and haven't moved in nearly 5 years.
Conclusion
Well, let's just say I haven't crossed this one off my list just yet. I plan to drive either an Amigo or a Rodeo Sport shortly, and I'm anxious to see the differences in such similar vehicles made by the same company.
I'm glad to see such a friendly (and knowledgable) online community for the VX, it's encouraging and I may just be the new kid on the block in the next few weeks.
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