Suzuki Caribian SJ413 (Thailand) White

I just love the Suzuki SJ413, this is the third that I have owned since living in Thailand, they are so practical, simple and above all ultimately reliable.

This one is a 1997, making it 12 years old when I bought it. It was in excellent cosmetic condition but it had not been maintained to any sort of standard. The previous owner had just paid for quite a lot of work but he had been cheated (as so often happens) because the work listed on the invoice had not actually been done and they had done more damage thay had repaired.

Luckily for me, there is a great Suzuki main dealer in Chiang Mai, in the west I would never even consider taking a 12 years old car to a main dealer, however in Thailand it's the cheapest option and the only reliable option.

I took the Suzuki to the main dealer and asked them to check everything and let me know what it would cost to make everything perfect. They called me back the next day and suggest I come in to talk to them, this is quite normal in Thailand as communication over the phone can often lead to misunderstandings. They has stripped out the gearbox, steering, suspension and all the bits were lying around the car that was up on a ramp. They explained that it needed a new steering box, water pump, radiator, hoses, cam belt, accelerator pump, vacuum advance, clutch, a couple of UJ's, auxiliary fan, suspension bushes and the top end of the engine needed a rebuild as did the carburetor.

The good news was that there was no problem with the bottom end of the engine, the shock absorbers were good, and the transmission was OK. Also, they could fit a good second hand steering box to save some money. The total cost to bring it to perfect mechanical order was 32,000 baht (just under $1000).

I had paid 120,000 baht for the Suzuki, this was probably a little high but it was not a bad deal, so with the repair work the total cost comes to 152,000, that's a good price for a clean and mechanically perfect vehicle in Thailand, in fact I have never seen a 12 year old mechanically perfect vehicle for sale in Thailand!

The work was done more than a month ago and the Suzuki runs like a dream, you have to understand these Suzuki's and then it's easy to love them. They are a bit rough on the road, the ride is bumpy and they are not very comfortable, but get them on a dirt track and they start to shine, they are proper 4x4 and they keep going where most 4x4's get stuck, also they are incredibly reliable and never seem to break down.

Toyota Yaris S Limited (Thailand) 2009

In January of this year I decided that it would be a good time to change my 2 year old Toyota Vios 1.5 J model for something with some more options, but we have been so impressed with the service that we have received from Toyota Chiang-Mai that we decided to stick with Toyota.

A quick look around the showroom and we had it narrowed down to either a top of the range new Vios, or a top of the range new Yaris, and we decided upon the Yaris S Limited version which is quite sporty and has a nice (subtle) bodykit, smart black interior and a leather trimmed steering wheel.

My last car was black, and I have said many times in the past 2 years that I would never again buy a black car. Black cars look great when they are clean, but here in Thailand they never seem to stay clean for very long.

When I visited the UK last year I rented a car for 10 days, in that 10 days the car stayed amazingly clean and only really got dirty on the last day when it was raining. I never really gave it much thought till then, but cars really get dirty very quickly in Thailand.

We opted for Moon Silver, it looks really nice and yes it stays looking clean much longer than a black car.

I never really liked small hatchbacks, and my opinion has not changed since owning this, the space in the rear in terrible unless you slide the rear seats forward or collapse them, also I cannot realistically have a gas conversion fitted as there is nowhere to fit the gas tank, and a gas conversion would be a very practical option. Yet the Yaris does run E20 Gasohol, this varies between 2/3rds of the price of regular Gasohol up to almost identical prices depending on who is selling it, but it's a good thing to use it when we can, unfortunately we usually fill up at the PTT station round the corner from our house and they don't sell E20 there.

The Toyota automatic gearbox is fine if you dont push it too hard, but start going up steep hills or driving enthusiastically and it gets confused and can't seem to choose a gear, it's either revving too much or straining in too low a gear. My Advice: Never buy a small Toyota auto if you go up big hills or like to drive enthusiastically from time to time. I had the same engine in my Vios manual and that was fine.

The engine always seems to be a bit noisy when it's cold in the mornings, even at this time of year when it's never really cold. It's fine when it's been running for 3 or 4 mins.

Though I may be sounding a bit negative, I have grown to love the Yaris, it's easy to park, manoverable, comfortable and it looks like it's doing 100kph when it's standing still.

Would I buy another? Probably not, the Vios seems to have all the benefits but with more space and they are cheaper to boot (Pun intended!)