[Shaneoooo]

Not a suzuki but I found a 3 door 2002 pajero iO 2L petrol with a manual transmission. Done under 170000km. I hear these things are pretty decent. Has anyone had one? How are they on fuel? Are they hard to get parts for? Anything I should be looking for when inspecting it?
Any info would be great. Asking price is 4500

[MrRocky]

Not nearly as good as a full size paj

[vet 180]

Owned a full size paj and room mate has a IO

In many ways the IO is better than the full size, even better than the vitara but it depends on what you want from the car.

Strengths of the IO:

Great ground clearance on small tires (better than the vitara on same sized tires and I measured as I had them next to each other)
Good on fuel
Powerful little engine (not amazing, but its not bad)
parts are pretty cheap
the drive is decent for what it is
small and nimble
underdog

Weaknesses:

Mcpherson strut suspension means much harder to modify. 29's is the biggest tire you can fit under before hitting the stut and even if you get stut spacers and lift it wont fix this issue. Maybe a day at upull it could be fun to try and find a longer strut from another vehicle but no guarantees.
General aftermarket support is much less than zuks and other 4x4's
It's not a separate ladder chassis like other 4x4's
Less knowledge out there to make capable offroad, everything you do will be pioneering


If you just want a beach and light trail car and never want anymore than 29inch tires it is a good choice, much better than a full size paj for this type of work, but if you want something more serious get the full size or look into a zuk of some kind

[atari4x4]

i always thought mitsi's dropped the ball on this one, could have been awesome... baby paj with evo running gear, a cross between the RVR & the Io would be cool.

[fordem]

There's an Australian based iO forum where you can get quite a bit of information - http://www.pajerio.com.

vet180 was pretty much on the money, they're pretty decent cars (I have the 1.8 engine five door), very similar in size to a LWB Vitara - look for rust/corrosion on the front cross member where the front radius arms attach and the area below the battery - I wouldn't describe it as rust prone, but if electrolyte leaks that's where it ends up.

The 4WD is four mode - 2H, 4H, 4HLc & 4LLc - you can shift on the fly between the first two modes, the last two modes which lock the center viscous coupling require you to stop, and there's a vacuum operated front axle freewheel setup.

[buzbox]

I contemplated getting an iO, but the rarity of them, aftermarket support and the fact it has a 4g93 engine but you can't swap it for a 4g93t steered me away.

Bang for buck, I ended up with a Jimny which already has a few goodies attached to it.

[Shaneoooo]

I just picked up the iO. Seems to be running well. I would have prefgered a jimny but they seem to be a bit overpriced in WA at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing what the overhaul due in 2017 does for the jimny

[alien]

Shaneoooo wrote:

I'm looking forward to seeing what the overhaul due in 2017 does for the jimny

They will make it softer and less capable... no doubt.

Suzuki aren't interested in offroad capability - they want teenage girls to buy the cute little 4wd bubble thing.

[vet 180]

Shaneoooo wrote:

I just picked up the iO. Seems to be running well. I would have prefgered a jimny but they seem to be a bit overpriced in WA at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing what the overhaul due in 2017 does for the jimny

Do a build thread for it still, will be interesting to see how you go with it

[Shaneoooo]

It seems pretty good in stock form. It could do with a bullbar thought I reckon