Suzuki APV walkaround and short test drive report

[BlueBimmer]

my bro liked the apv sana, but got disappointed when he learned it has leaf springs at the rear kaya innova nalang

[Macky]

Sleepdoc, I am considering getting an APV myself but my greatest worry is the suspension. How is the ride? Is it better or comparable to that of AUVs like a Revo, Crosswind or Adventure. Would appreciate your comment on this. Thanks.

The ride was worse than the AUVs at first..... tapos when I checked the tire pressure nasa 47psi pala..... brought it down to 30psi each wheels. Huge difference pero matagtag pa den IMO (parang yung 2000 Civic EX ko dati).

[Macky]

*OTEP and mbt:

Thank you for your quick replies. Now you got me thinking, more! :-) You see, our youngest is 9 months old only. The age gap between her and her youngest kuya is 8 years! Hindi talaga siya planado. We were ok then with the CRV when we were 5. But this very cute and cuddly latest addition to the brod takes up a lot of space. A Starex would be the best choice, I must agree. But the APV's price and freebies really make it hard to ignore.

Thank you again!

Parehas pala tayo. Ako naman, my eldest is 8 years old tapos yung pangalawa is 31 months old while yung pangatlo just turn 1 year old. May 2 car seats ako kaya the CR-V is out (I owned a 2001 CR-V EX before). Nung bumalik kami dito sa Pinas, ibinili namin ng mga H&L at condos yung naipon namin. Yung natira, sa sasakyan napunta. Sobrang alog kasi nung L300 Exceed namin. We gave our L300 sa parents ko while kumuha kami ng APV. Kung malaki sana yung natira after we bought those stuffs baka nag-Fortuner na kami but since limited ang budget at A/T ang kailangan, sumakto sa needs namin ang APV.

[Macky]

elo poh,just want to ask the APV owners if what is your topspeed on your ride?TNX

Sensya na at di ko kasi binili yung APV for speed pero pag ako lang mag-isa ang nagda-drive nakaka lagpas 70km/h naman ako

[Macky]

This is indeed a very helpful thread. I have a 2002 Honda CRV A/T but I have 4 kids and I need the space. Would it be worth it if I trade in my CRV for an APV? The usual long trips we take are Baguio and Subic. Kakayanin kaya?

I've been to Subic 2X and to Baguio once.....

[Macky]

Hi,

I've owned an apv for around 3 months. I got the manual version from suzuki pasong tamo. It's now running at around 2.5 thousand km.
I have several observations and stories re apv ownership.

Pros:
1. My wife and kids love the space.
2. It just looks cute
3. It's tall enough to not get worried when a little rain floods the metro.
4. Its got value for money...Think about it, 599k Php and you get seating for 8, high ride height, incredible leg room, power everything(except mirrors), 14" mags, rear wheel drive, 4 speaker pioneer in-dash cd. 2 year free labor and parts, 3 year 100k km warranty.

Cons:
1. Lousy aftersales support... I noticed a little "hiccup" of the engine when idling so I brought it to the casa (they share it with the crysler dealership). Their Suzuki "specialist" took a look at it for 5 minutes and spewed some technical mumbo jumbo about engine size mated to a manual transmission and **** saying it was normal. Yeah right! So i let it go and just said i'd see if the problem would resolve itself after a while( i've only had it for a day then). It didn't.

2. I developed a "squeaky rear axle" problem after about 2k km. so i thought this would be the best time to bring it back to the casa and to have them check out the "hiccup" problem as well. It took them 3 days to fix the problem. What did they do, you may ask??? Well, some complicated procedure called: "greasing the leaf springs" and what about the hiccup? they changed the spark plugs!!!( something the "Suzuki specialist" would have noticed had he taken a good look in the first place)

3. It wasn't as economical as i would have thought. I make around 7.5 to 8km/l city driving. my 2liter car makes a little better at 8-8.5km/l.

So there... over all... I still love it. Its just... cute...I only wish i bought from another dealership. Buyers beware.

sleepdoc, would you mind sharing the dealer's name?

I've owned an APV A/T for 3 months na den and got 5,300kms in it. Besides being matagtag, ok naman ang performance. Mileage is at 8.2 km/l sa highway and as low and disappointing as 6.1 km/l sa traffic. This might change though after the break-in period (and change oil at 5K kms). Will keep you posted.

I got it from PilHino EDSA for 615K w/ free registration (3-years), 3M tints (except sa front windshield), car seat covers (cheap quality!), and ePass (4K cash was discounted). Ok naman service, they even agreed once to pick it up sa parking ko sa Makati and return it sa same spot after (re-)doing my tints.

[bagwis]

Parehas pala tayo. Ako naman, my eldest is 8 years old tapos yung pangalawa is 31 months old while yung pangatlo just turn 1 year old. May 2 car seats ako kaya the CR-V is out (I owned a 2001 CR-V EX before). Nung bumalik kami dito sa Pinas, ibinili namin ng mga H&L at condos yung naipon namin. Yung natira, sa sasakyan napunta. Sobrang alog kasi nung L300 Exceed namin. We gave our L300 sa parents ko while kumuha kami ng APV. Kung malaki sana yung natira after we bought those stuffs baka nag-Fortuner na kami but since limited ang budget at A/T ang kailangan, sumakto sa needs namin ang APV.

Salamat, Macky. I was able to test drive an A/T variant yesterday at Prince Motors, Commonwealth Ave. with my four kids. 2/4 liked the CRV better, (siyempre naman. Halos 1M ang price nun when we got it), 1/4 liked the tall ride of the APV, the last one abstained (she's too young to understand what we were doing )

As far as my impressions are concerned:

The SPACE is just simply fantastic. I could never imagine how they were able to utilize that much space in such a small body. The legroom on the 2nd and 3rd rows are ample and not cramped. Makakatulog ka nga talaga dahil comportable siya. My kids sat on the first row only, so I could still fit three more people comfortably at the third row - a true blue, 8 seater!

The RIDE was quite bumpy but not "pick-up" bumpy. Couple this with a very tall stance, medyo nanibago talaga ako. I took the turns and curves very slowly. I was waiting for the vehicles behind me to honk their horns because of my turtle like pace, pero, namangha siguro sila sa ganda ng APV kaya nakalusot naman. I somehow felt cramped too while driving. There was no left footrest so medyo nakakangawit. I am used to driving a CRV and an L200 endeavour and I was somehow looking for the same driving comfort and space.

The engine POWER was ample but I could somehow feel and hear the noise that you were all mentioning about in this thread specially kung medyo pataas ka at walang buwelo. In other words, kung hanap mo e pangarera, look elsewhere. But I liked its response. It's not CRV like response pero meron parin kahit papaano. It's shifting wasn't jerky at all. It's as smooth as that of the CRV.

It was a pleasant test drive and the agent was giving me a 10,000 Peso discount plus tons of freebies. I'm really tempted but I shall not decide in haste. I'd surely like to have an APV, but...I wouldn't want to let go of the CRV just yet. Pag-iisipan ko muna ng husto. E kung yung L200 endeavour kaya ang ipalit ko? Hmmmmmm....

[Regz0810]

Hi!Am planning to have my tires and rims on my APV changed, any suggestions on what size and where I could get a good deal? Thanks.

[sleepdoc]

I bought my unit at suzuki pasong tamo. The girl there was courteous enough and so were the front end people, but i just can't understand taking 3 days to grease the leaf spring and change a couple of sparkplugs.

The driver's cockpit is a little cramped(I'm 5'9), the wheelwell does get in the way of your left foot but I quickly got used to it and it has become one of my favorite vehicles to drive(compared to my other vehicles a 93 pajero, 04 Lynx RS, 82 123 Benz) It has a better ride height than the paj. and the room for the kids in the back is amazing!

It has it's low points also, most of them noted at the beginning of this thread.
poor sound insulation out front, the squeaky rear suspension, the less than solid sounding thud when closing the front door. but i still think it's the best value for money vehicle out there right now...I only wish they had better after sales service which, by the way, I have to credit Ford Alabang for. So if you're buying a ford get it from there.

[tOrPe_bOi]

Sensya na at di ko kasi binili yung APV for speed pero pag ako lang mag-isa ang nagda-drive nakaka lagpas 70km/h naman ako

ah ganun po ba?curious lang po kasi aku...ask ko lng po kung wat ung color ng APV nyo?