Forum:
Hi guys,
As the title says, I'm new and I'm thinking about a Daihatsu Sportrak or a Suzuki Vitara...
In your unbiased opinions which would you say is the better jeep?
I want light off roading (green laning) and stable in the snow. I'm wondering which is better on fuel? What is better on the road and is it by much? Which is the best all rounder etc....
People's opinions seem to vary so much and sadly I can't just jump in both and have a go. I'm also after the more spacious (swb) as I want something small and compact but I'm going to remove the rear seats and board it/ plate it to give me some room 
Any help on this matter (what to look out for) etc would be brilliant,
Cheers
Steve
As you say you've already
As you say you've already experienced the diversity in opinion. I'm a Sportrak fan for the simple reason: I don't like Vitaras. I don't like the Vitara image or how it looks.
However, Vitaras are much more common, and therefore have a much larger user base to turn to for advice, a much larger availability of parts and mods, and even a variety of models to choose from.
As for performance and economy, I doubt there is much difference between the 'trak and the most common 1.6 Vitara. The Vitara has coil springs so I expect offers a slightly better ride. The Sportrak's gears do not suit motorway speeds; might be worth checking if the Vitara's are any different but I expect not.
As for space I expect the Sportrak would win. It also has an excellent removable hard top, whereas I think Vits are either fixed hardtop of softop.
The only other thing I know which is worth mentioning is the Vitara's aluminium front diff case and its tendency to break when hit offroad. The Sportrak's is steel.
Hope there's some unbiased help for you! Sportraks are great fun and capable little cars, but do check them over heavily for rust especially in the rear wheel arches (looking under the carpets is a good indicator if the arches are dirty) and along the sills. Good luck!
Sportrak, just magic.
I have a Sportrak and whilst it is not the most refined vehicle in the world, it is a fantastic piece of machinery. I live up a bumpy track, steep and potholed and about 1/3 mile long. Every day the sportrak bounces up and down, off to work, back for lunch, back to work, back home again........ and it doesn't break. In 4 years I've broken the drivers door handle and thats it. The engine runs fine with minimal maintenance, it stops goes and steers. It pulls cars out of ditches, it pulled a 4 wheel trailer with gravel, the Sporty + trailer + gravel weighed over 4 tons!! Up our rough and steep track. I've taken the front roll bar off , fitted a winch and 30mm liftkit. It has had springs at the rear, shocks and ball joints, not bad for a 1995 vehicle. Down sides . They can rust Badly, rear wings , sills and the chassis near the fuel pump. Dare I mention the 4 pipes that run down the o/s chassis. The suspension system is basically the same as a Morris 1000, simple and rugged, torsion bars and leaves, the handling difinitely gets a bit interesting over 60. Motorways and dual carriageways, not the ideal vehicle. Run around and light offroader = Perfect.