2008 Suzuki XL7 Limited

The 2008 Suzuki XL7 Limited is about as much crossover SUV as you can get for the money. Its ride quality and cabin materials might not be on a par with those of other models in the segment, but the XL7 Limited does pack an impressive payload of features--including one safety-tech system that we've not seen anywhere else.

Test the tech: Objects in the rear view mirror
One of the most advanced tech features in the cabin of the Suzuki XL-7 Limited is its optional Rear-vision Camera with Display. Available only at the Limited trim level, the system comprises a regular central rear-view mirror with an integrated 2.4-inch LCD color display, which is activated when the car is put into reverse. In a clever design touch, the monitor is invisible when the car is in drive mode and appears as part of the mirror. While the in-mirror back-up display has plenty of "wow" factor, we weren't too sure how the device would work for gauging distances and parking assistance. Driving in and out of parking lots, we noticed that the color display was useful for notifying us of the presence of moving objects behind us--especially because of the camera's ability to pick up bright objects, such as car fenders--but that the fisheye perspective made us less than confident in trusting the camera for precise reverse maneuvers.

Rather than evaluate the effectiveness of the camera by trying to reverse in between two cars, we resolved on a safer accuracy test with a couple of trusty pylons. We would attempt to reverse park the XL7 between two cones spaced apart at a distance just wider than the width of the XL7 with the sole assistance of the in-mirror display.

The test parking spot was just wider than the Suzuki XL7.

Having set up the course, we hopped back into the driving seat and put the XL7 into reverse. As the display is integrated into the rear-view mirror, its visibility depends on whatever is currently being reflected in the mirror, and we found that the camera image could be easily blown out by bright sunlit reflections. To improve visibility, we closed the sunroof and started toward our target parking space. At longer range, it is very difficult to gauge distances and details using the small mirror-mounted display, and we headed in the general direction of the pylons without much confidence. When they came into view, we tried to position the two cones at the edges of the display, which proved to be harder than it sounds due to the display being offset to the left of the mirror.

The XL7's in-mirror display is a useful means of spotting moving objects behind the car.

After a correction, we backed up using only the display for a guide. Unsurprisingly, the pylons disappeared from the camera's view after the back end of the car passed them, and we kept the wheel straight until the pylons appeared at the front of the car (or until we heard the sound of mangled pylon under one of the rear wheels). Impressively, we managed to direct the bulky XL7 between the cones without touching on either side. Despite our misgivings about the camera's accuracy, we had managed to maneuver the XL7 into a parking space smaller than almost any real-world spot.

In the cabin
As we noted in the review of the 2007 XL7, Suzuki drew a lot of its inspiration--and materials--from General Motors when building the latest version of its flagship SUV. Much of XL7's switchgear (steering wheel buttons, HVAC dials, trip buttons) and many of its cabin appointments (shifter, stereo module) are directly from the GM parts bin, and from the inside, a GMC Acadia or Chevy Equinox driver could be forgiven for doing a double-take on the Suzuki badge in the middle of the steering wheel.

Aside from its leather seats (standard on the Limited), the XL7's cabin appointments are spartan and uninspiring: the cowl and dashboard are covered with a mixture of hard, black plastic, simple gray plastic, and some matte-silvery trim. We also found the placement of the window controls in the middle of the console to be frustrating. More useful was the panel of buttons forward of the shifter, which provide an intuitive means of turning on and off the heated seats, controlling the driver information display, and turning off traction control--although why drivers would want to do the latter is a mystery to us. Behind the front seats, there is plenty of legroom for second-row passengers, and a surprisingly large amount of leg- and headroom in the third-row seats, and a tumbling second row seat give the infantry an easy means of entry and exit from the very back.

The most conspicuous technology feature in our Limited test vehicle was also a piece of GM gadgetry: the XL7 comes with the same in-dash navigation and media system as that we liked so much in the Cadillac Escalade, the GMC Yukon, and a host of other upscale GM models. Even more impressively, the XL7 Limited gets the navigation system as standard equipment (a rear-seat DVD entertainment system is also available as a no-charge option on the Limited, but, bizarrely, only with the deletion of the in-dash navigation system.)