Suzuki denies Toyota claims

AUSTRALIA // A war of words has broken out between Toyota and Suzuki after Toyota ran an advertisement in Australia for the RAV4 that claims it was the original compact SUV. However, Suzuki Australia's general manager, Tony Devers, argues that Suzuki started the compact SUV segment in 1988 with the original Vitara. "Toyota showed a concept version of a compact SUV at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show, but the first RAV4 did not go on sale until 1994," says Devers. "I'm not sure how anyone could claim to be the original when presented with cold hard facts like that."