The Suzuki Jimny has a long history of being a popular off-road vehicle in South Africa. The 1st generation Jimny was first introduced in 1970 as the LJ10 and then in 1981, we got the 2nd generation Jimny. In 1998 we were introduced to the 3rd generation Jimny which stuck around for 20 years! The 3rd generation Jimny can still be seen on a daily basis on the roads of Cape Town. Skip forward to 2019 and we have an all-new Suzuki Jimny AKA the 4th gen! I was super excited when I saw the new Jimny and after spending a week driving one, am I still excited? Let’s find out.
The new Suzuki Jimny comes in three models, with two trim levels. You get the manual model in the GA and GLX trim and the Auto in the GLX trim. The GLX is the higher specced version. I was loaned the Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX 4AT to review.
Design:
The Suzuki Jimny looks better than ever before. Imagine a vehicle you would see in Jurassic Park, that is the new Jimny. The front has a muscular look with two large round lights, while the back has a large door with a spare tyre. The Jimny is actually shortish in length but pretty tall, for off-road purposes. The Jimny comes in eight colours but the most popular are the Kinetick Yellow, Jungle Green and Brisk Blue. These are the only colours I have seen around Cape Town and the media fleet. I received the Brisk Blue to test which really does turn heads as it is a bright blue but if I was getting one for myself (wait am I not?) then I would go for the jungle green.
Night adventures with the Jimny!
I come alive at night when I’m with you.#Suzuki #Jimny #BornForThis #SuzukiSA #WayOfLife @Suzuki_ZA pic.twitter.com/pmcCx2RlW0
— Cape Town Guy (@TheCapeTownGuy) November 26, 2019
Decals:
Interior:
On the inside, you get a flat dashboard with an infotainment system, support for Apple Carplay and Android Auto (in the GLX only), Auto-Climate control in the GLX and Aircon in the GA and a steering wheel with hands-free, music controls and cruise control buttons.
The rear windows in the Jimny do not open but you get front electric windows (in the GLX only) as well as central locking, 2 speakers, cruise control, Bluetooth, a 12V port and a USB port.
With two seats in the front and two at the back, the Jimny is best suited to 4 passengers. There is a smallish boot, big enough for a small packet as well as a hidden storage compartment. If you need more space, you can fold down the two rear seats, which fold down individually in the 50:50 setup. This gives you way more boot space but then you sacrifice one or both of your rear seats.
The storage compartment in the boot is the only place you can hide items. If you fold down the seats and leave boxes in the back, they are visible to the outside. That being said, Suzuki does sell a boot cover to fix this for you!
The seats are made of soft fabric, perfect if you get it dirty. While the rest of the interior is made of hard plastic, which is certainly durable for adventures. Overall the interior is really comfy and kitted out for any sort of adventure.
I spotted loads of Jimnys on the road, some old some new!
Engine:
The Suzuki Jimny comes with a 4 cylinder 1.5L petrol engine that outputs 75 kW and 130 Nm of torque. You have the choice of either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearbox. I drove the automatic version. I found that the gearbox is best suited to a slower acceleration, that is how the Jimny drives best. This is because this auto gearbox has power delivery at low revs, perfect for off-road situations. So this is not the kind of vehicle you would want to put your foot flat down in but rather aim for a gradual increase in speed. The Jimny also has hill hold control, to keep you from rolling back on hills!
Provided Average fuel consumption is 6.8L per 100km but I got around 9.7L per 100km. I certainly have a heavy right foot. If I was being more conservative, I could have dropped to around the 7L mark.
Off-road:
Where the Jimny really handles its own is off-road.
Thanks to its ride height and compact design, the Suzuki Jimny can go anywhere. The Jimny features a rigid ladder frame chassis. This frame offers a solid foundation for off-road performance. The 3 Link rigid axle suspension system with coil springs ensures that the Jimny can handle it all. This system will push one wheel down when an obstacle pushes another wheel up.
The Jimny comes with a lever to change between two-wheel drive, high range four-wheel drive and low range four-wheel drive. Switch between these modes to get the best off off-road performance and fuel economy.
The Jimny has lots of ground clearance so you won’t be scrapping obstacles. To assist with this the Jimny has a high approach angle, ramp break-over angle and departure angle.
Thanks to Brake LSD Traction Control and Hill Descent Control, the Jimny can tackle rough and slippery terrain with ease.
With Brake LSD Traction control, if two wheels diagonal from each other lose grip while you’re travelling over slippery surfaces, this feature is designed to automatically brake the slipping wheels and redistribute torque to the other two wheels.
Hill Descent Control Automatically applies the brakes with the push of a button to maintain a fixed decent speed while you concentrate on steering without using the brake pedal or clutch.
Lastly, the Suzuki Jimny comes with either 15-inch Steel tyres (GA model) or Alloys in the GLX model, with an appropriate spare. These wheels are well suited for off-road as well as city driving.
The Jimny loves taking you everywhere..
Safety:
To keep you safe on your adventures, the new Suzuki Jimny comes with Dual front airbags, side-impact door beams, ABS, ISOFIX points, ESP and an immobilizer, to keep the Jimny protected when it’s alone.
The GLX features LED projector headlights with an “Auto on/off” feature.
Price:
The new Suzuki Jimny starts from R279 900 (For the 1.5 GA 5MT model, R316 900 (for the 1.5 GLX 5MT model) and the model that I had on test, the 1.5 GLX 4AT sells for R336 900. You are really getting lots for your money and compared to other off-road vehicles off similar shapes, such as a Jeep, you are really saving money!
Verdict:
I really enjoyed my time with the latest Suzuki Jimny. From its super cool exterior, simple but cosy interior, to its ability to handle pavements in the city and bumps when off-road, the Jimny is certainly an all-rounder. Now that I have spent some time with the Jimny, my initial feelings of wanting one are the same, and I know that one day, I will get myself the new Suzuki Jimny! When are you getting yours?
PS: My colleague gives the Jimny the thumbs up!
