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Suzuki’s X-Lander, Crosshiker and Hustler concepts look eerily familiar

If imitation is sincerest form of flattery then Suzuki is getting ready to pay huge compliments to several of its major rivals. The Japanese carmaker is set to unleash a slew of concepts at the forthcoming Tokyo Motor Show, all of which appear to borrow heavily from Land Rover, Renault and Jeep. We hope they have a good legal team.

Look familiar? We think the Suzuki X-Lander has more than a hint of Land Rover DC100 Sport about it.
Look familiar? We think the Suzuki X-Lander has more than a hint of Land Rover DC100 Sport about it.

The first of these concepts, the Suzuki X-Lander, is based on the Suzuki Jimny. This mad-looking drop top is intended for people who want a dinky city car that’s also a convertible that’s also a 4×4. Niche doesn’t even begin to describe it, but we’d actually be quite tempted by one.

It’s certainly daring-looking, but we expect Land Rover’s design team to raise a few eyebrows, as it bears a striking resemblance to both the DC100 Sport concept and the drop-top Evoque concept, which made their debuts at the 2011 Frankfurt and 2012 Geneva Motor Shows, respectively.

The Crosshiker has a bit of Renault about it.

Suzuki will also show off its Crosshiker concept, a compact crossover that’s the size of a compact car and the weight of a lightweight sports car (810kg). Again, it’s pretty and we’d love to see it built, but we’d be lying if we didn’t see bits of the Renault Captur and Nissan Juke in the design. It’ll feature a 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine designed to offer a good blend of power and economy.

No, this isn't a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's the iV-4.

The Japanese carmaker hasn’t stopped there. It’s also been busy crafting its new iV-4 compact SUV concept, and just look at that grille. Jeep Grand Cherokee, anyone? The iV-4 will be Suzuki’s Allgrip 4×4 system and will be launched in Europe in 2015.

Last, but certainly not least are the Hustler and Hustler Coupe, which remind us of the Nissan Cube and Mini Countryman, respectively.

What do you think? Has Suzuki borrowed too heavily from its rivals, or are we being harsh?

 

 

 

 

 

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