Unrefined, slow, noisy, impractical compact 4x4 is a joy to drive and already one of our favourites



Suzuki Jimny

Local Launch

Werribee, Victoria

In 1970 the original three-seat Suzuki Jimny was launched in Japan, a tiny 4x4 whose mission was go berko off-road and get to places few other vehicles could reach – reliably and for chump change. Fast forward to 2019 (and almost 3m Jimny sales later) and the ethos hasn't changed. Today, the four-seat Jimny has a cheeky retro design, proper 4x4 undercarriage but now gets Apple CarPlay, autonomous emergency braking and a lane departure warning system as standard – all for under $24,000. A slam-dunk winner then? Yes... and no.

How does the Suzuki Jimny drive?

Off-road, the Suzuki Jimny is tip-top; think of it as the vehicular equivalent of a pint-sized mountain goat. Light, nimble, sure-footed and without fear – and like high-altitude goats it tends to vibrate a little at 5500rpm.

On-road, the Suzuki Jimny is… Well, I can’t say. The Australian launch of the highly-anticipated compact 4×4 took place exclusively off-road.

Perhaps, Suzuki’s top brass didn’t want pesky journalists driving the car on the road. Can’t really blame them… The overall score would probably drop like a lead balloon.

You can read about how the Suzuki Jimny fared on UK roads in our international test drive and overall gist is that its bitumen behaviour has improved. But we’ll have to save our on-road verdict on the Aussie spec car, which gets a lot more kit, for our seven-day test.

By the time you’ve stopped gawking at the Suzuki Jimny’s unusually appealing aesthetics (it blends the rugged boxiness of the Mercedes G-Class with the ultra-cuteness of a tiny Bonsai tree), you may spot its three-link rigid axles front and rear, each with separate diffs and coil-springs underneath.

It has a 210mm ride height and, importantly, a low-range transfer gearbox that swaps the car from 2WD (2H) to 4WD (4H), both of which work up to its claimed top speed of 145km/h. And if you’re really feeling the need to find some alone time up a mountain, there’s 4WD low (4L) – the Jimny’s most extreme off-road mode.

In regular 4H, the Jimny is a capable machine and even without a centre diff, the rigid axles and front and rear diffs transfer power to where it’s needed when either a wheel is lofted, or when one or two wheels fail to gain traction.

Just bury the foot and eventually the Jimny hauls its insignificant 1095kg mass up some very challenging climbs.

Indeed, on a 4WD course near Werribee in Victoria, the Jimny shone. In fact it felt like it could’ve taken even more punishment than what was on offer, which included some decent water crossings and a couple of difficult, sandy, low-grip climbs and drops that would require a little more planning in something larger and heavier.

There’s no front or rear diff lock for the new Suzuki Jimny but it doesn’t seem to hurt this outrageously charming mud-plugger on the rough (and low grip) stuff. Instead, it uses electronic wizardry (brake traction control) to stop low (or no) grip wheels from spinning uncontrollably, then transferring torque the wheels that do have traction.

Sometimes there’s a little pause as the Jimny’s puny computer brain figures things out, but it always seems to get the job done.

Climb the Jimny ladder to success

The Suzuki Jimny’s rugged suspension setup, and utilitarian steel ladder-frame chassis it is based upon, make this an epic little rock-hopper, but another reason why the Jimny is so talented on demanding terrain is because it is light and small.

Available in five-speed manual and four-speed automatic guises, fitted with a compact 40-litre fuel tank and weighing less than 1100kg, the Jimny’s slow-revving, wheezy and noisy 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine cranks out a paltry 75kW and 130Nm. But it really doesn’t need much more.

And all that clatter adds ‘character’, you see. Born-again adventurers and hipsters will love its coarseness.

Measuring 3645mm long, 1645mm wide and with a stocky 2250mm wheelbase the Suzuki’s compact footprint makes it an excellent scrabbler.

Bang the Jimny in 4L and it enables a crawl mode of sorts that should be good enough to get you to where you’re going – no matter how far off the beaten track you plan on ranging.

The steering in the Jimny is wooly and well-suited to the ponderous pace of off-roading, while the front disc and rear drum brakes feel than adequate for washing off speed or navigating steep descents. There’s also a somewhat basic but effective hill descent control system which operates at either 10km/h or 5km/h depending on whether you’ve slotted the transfer ‘box into 4H or 4L.

The five-speed manual has a nice clutch actuation and makes the car easy to manipulate off-road. The four-speed auto is slower to react but it’s not bad on the trails and also features the low-range transfer gearbox which is good.

Given the reliability of past models, it’s fair to say the new Jimny’s unsophisticated chassis and dated (sorry, “tried and tested”) powertrain will take a fair bit of punishment before something catastrophically malfunctions.

Why does the Suzuki Jimny look so cool?

The no-nonsense design is a vehicular throwback to a time when life was harsh and unforgiving, and that’s kind of how it is drive the Suzuki Jimny.

There’s no denying this nostalgic four-wheel-drive machine has head-turning looks and although the new design may upset some factions within the militantly loyal Suzuki Jimny Sierra fan club, I reckon the fact that every time we publish a Jimny story our servers go on the fritz implies there’s a whole lotta love for the new design.

The lurid ‘Kinetic Yellow’ hero colour is obnoxious but it’ll attract attention. There’s six colours in all, blue, gray, white and my personal faves, jungle green and chiffon ivory metallic – or safari brown as I call it.

Combining no-nonsense slab-sided proportions and unapologetic box-on-wheels design that serious off-roading machinery requires, the new Jimny delivers the sort of visual drama for which people are willingly pay a lot more than $23,990.

Little touches like the curled-up leading edges of the roof that stymie drippage in wet weather and simplify roof rack attachments are neat, as is the utilitarian interior that you could almost spray out with a high pressure hose.

Aussie models feature LED headlights and black plastic cladding around the front and rear bumpers and also around the wheel arches. This is handy because you won’t have to fret too much about bent metal when you’re bouncing through the bush looking to get off the grid for the weekend.

The design enables an impressive 49-degree departure angle, with 37-degree approach and 28-degree ramp over angles. Translation? You won’t hear the undercarriage go ‘clang’ unless you really botch your line.

The spare wheel on the rear tailgate is another visual signal of the Jimny’s daring attitude, and contains a full-sized 15-inch alloy wheel shod with the same 195/80 R15 Bridgestone Desert Dueler H/T rubber as the other four rims.

The design will also find favour with city slickers who don’t plan to drive the Jimny as intended but these buyers will probably be thwacked with the karmic stick of retribution and quickly discover that the lack of boot space, poor three-star safety rating and unrefined powertrain make it a bad choice for commuting.

Perhaps the only thing that could make the Jimny look cooler is a rear tray — a micro pick-up.

That said, there’s growing momentum within Suzuki to bring a Jimny ute to fruition.

What’s the Suzuki Jimny like inside?

The rudimentary exterior design flows through the interior with a minimum of controls to confuse you while exploring Kosciusko or tracking migratory birds near Lake Eyre. Or parking at mum’s place.

Two important dials – the speedo and engine rev counter – are shoved into ultra-cool rectangular housings. But the car revs so slowly and accelerates likewise that you probably don’t need either.

Suzuki has added a new 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard on all Aussie Jimny 4x4s. It’s a pretty good setup, with GPS-based satellite navigation fitted as standard and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto adding better mapping and audio streaming.

Like so many other aspects of the Suzuki Jimny, the two-speaker stereo system is unsophisticated but lovable. I reckon the only thing it’s missing is a tape deck.

Other standard equipment includes a reversing camera, 15-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, automatically-dipping high beam headlights and a leather-covered steering wheel with buttons for cruise and audio controls. The steering wheel only has tilt adjust (no reach), which is not good for long monkey-arms types such as the author.

That said, the seats are pretty comfy and despite being 50mm shorter than the previous Jimny, the cabin has excellent head room and the front seats now slide 240mm aft, which means more leg room for taller drivers.

There’s one USB port, one AUX port, two 12-volt sockets and the rear seats are actually not that cramped for a car that’s only slightly larger and more rounded than a tool box.

Incidental storage is pretty crummy, with no central arm rest or cubby and precious little room for keys or phone. The glovebox is small and door pockets have just enough width for one or two slices of A4 paper and the electric window buttons are located on the centre console.

How safe is the Suzuki Jimny?

It’s not very safe, according to ANCAP, Australia’s independent car safety authority.

Despite the standard fitment of autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning and six airbags, the car has a below-average three star Euro NCAP safety rating.

This is not a sophisticated vehicle by any stretch and given that it’s compact and built to a price, the low safety rating is not a surprise.

Suzuki Automotive Australia’s managing director, Michael Pachota explained that “…with the gear this car has, it’s fairly capable to avoid or prevent accidents, especially having AEB and safety technology it is.”

The response from ANCAP’s chief executive, James Goodwin, was blunt.

“The results show that the fundamentals of vehicle safety are still critical, and simply fitting an AEB system is not enough to earn a good rating.

“While marketed for off-road driving, these vehicles also spend much of their time on regular roads and buyers shouldn’t have to forego safety,” said Goodwin.

As has proven to be the case with the Ford Mustang, many buyers will not be dissuaded by the Suzuki’s below average safety credentials. Only 1100 Jimny vehicles are being imported into Australia in 2019 due to intense global demand, and around a third of Aussie vehicles have already been sold before the price was even announced.

“It’s very safe. I don’t think [the ANACP score] will affect sales whatsoever,” Pachota stated.

Suzuki offers a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty with the Jimny, together with three-year’s free roadside (as opposed to off-roadside). Given its basic setup and light weight, cost of ownership should be very reasonable.

Even if the new Jimny was a bucket of bolts, a shameful excuse for a motor vehicle, a messy rush job riddled with awkwardness, it would still find many adoring customers. Unsafe according to ANCAP, it may be about as refined and sophisticated as a coffee cup full of broken glass bouncing down a stairwell, but nothing will deter the die-hards because – bless their cotton socks – they love what the Jimny stands for.

Affordable adventure

Rivals? There’s not many. The $40,290 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk is about the only small-ish 4×4 that comes close to the Jimny’s off-road prowess, and even with all its traction gadgets it can’t match the cheap Japanese icon’s entry price of $23,990 (plus ORCs).

The fourth-generation Jimny 4WD is a big improvement on its predecessor but that was always expected, given the previous $21,990 1.3-litre bush-basher was almost 20 years’ old. Imagine what ANCAP safety rating the old Jimbo would get today!

The Suzuki Jimny is a flawed vehicle on many levels and it makes more compromises than an out-of-favour politician. But there’s no denying the joy to be had fording a river, effortlessly climbing the bank on the other side then scrambling up a track so steep a mountain goat would walk away.

We love it!

How much does the 2019 Suzuki Jimny cost?

Price: $23,990 manual; $25,990 auto (plus ORCs)

Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol

Output: 75kW/130Nm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined)

CO2: 146g/km (ADR Combined)

Safety Rating: Three-star ANCAP (2019)