2004 Suzuki Carry Van

Summary:

Very fun to drive for Indonesian roads

Faults:

I noticed some details of the interior have peeled off. I also heard some rattles at the back. I noticed some scratches on the exterior, but that would be the owner's fault. But this car is pretty old though.

General Comments:

This is not my car, I test drove it because I was so curious of how it feels when driving a minivan.

My first impression when I got inside was the front visibility. Because it doesn't have a bonnet (because the engine is placed at the bottom), you can see everything very clearly. This is very useful in Indonesia, as the roads in Indonesia are extremely tight, and the drivers here often steal other driver's lanes, despite that the road regulation in Indonesia is not really straight.

Usually, at the tight cornering in-front of my friend's apartment, normal cars would probably slow down until it stops, and then they go into reverse and find a nice angle to pass through the tight corner. While with this car though, I don't need to, I even can go around 30km/h in that tight corner, thanks to its compact size and the absence of the front bonnet (and it attracted people's attention too, because I was going so fast at that corner). I feel confident when taking it to small roads (It's called jalan kampung in here), where usually you are forced to overtake the car in front by the car behind you.

Here in Indonesia, we have a special technique to overtake on tight roads, where usually we make the car on half of the lane, and stick the bonnet close to the car in front, and then as soon as there is no car on opposite lane, get ready to gas it. With a clear visibility with this car, I found it very easy to overtake.

Parking it in extremely tight space is also easy with this car; it's even easier to park than a Toyota Yaris or Honda Jazz. I never thought driving a minivan could ever been this fun. This is a special car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 20th January, 2011