UK firm pioneers new Suzuki Jimny pick-up
Without much fuss, Shropshire Quads is quietly building the best thing ever
One man in Shropshire isn't letting the lockdown get in the way of his latest venture: building pick-up truck versions of Suzuki's plucky Jimny. David Johnson, the mastermind behind Shropshire Quads and its Jimny conversion, has seen demand pick up (sorry) since creating a Jimny test car for the UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It looks the part, but something tells us the following blue conversion, created for a Jimny-loving farmer, might see Johnson's workload increase further because it looks like a miniature monster truck on a set of off-road boots.
The all-terrain vehicle specialist - made up of Johnson alone - has been converting Jimnys into pick-ups for four years, with most of the work obviously focusing on the older model. But the latest 101hp 1.5-litre-powered Jimny has presented Johnson with the opportunity to expand business as the car's fanbase grows, while retaining his in-house-developed conversion's ruggedness. He explained to PH that the product is "mainly intended for the agricultural market", but remains "fully road legal".
The seat belt anchor points all fully-tested and the rear closing bulkhead is "a proper panel that is factory made and fits perfectly every time", Johnson said. He handles the work on his own land, but the conversion is capable of surviving the tough life of a farming workhorse. On average, Johnson completes two cars per month, with some Jimnys receiving only the new rear-end, and others getting other mods including suspension lifts.
"We normally offer two lifts, either one or three-inch," said Johnson, with "the latter forcing changes elsewhere in the suspension". The body shell itself receives the new rear with "template cuts", before the rear metal panel goes on and plastic side mouldings are added to seal it all off. The chassis is wax-oiled, and Johnson said the suspension mods are "tuned to suit whatever the customer requires". The agricultural focus is entirely logical, but the potential market for quirk-obsessed urbanites is probably sizeable, too.
Prices vary from car to car, but to give an idea, Shropshire Quads' RNLI Jimny conversion - in this case just the rear-end and no further mods - cost about £7,000, while the work to create the more substantially-modded blue Jimny cost £8.5k. Johnson said that buyers who allow him to source a brand new Jimny can actually lessen their costs, thanks to the commercial vehicle status allowing a VAT rebate for business users. Suffice it to say the product is proving popular; Shropshire Quads is extending its UK reach and receiving enquiries from all over the world.
For those wondering about Suzuki's potential switch to supplying the UK with Jimny vans exclusively, Johnson isn't worried. The transition might be necessary to ensure the SUV's survival in Britain in the face of tightening CO2 targets, as commercial vehicles have different limits. But Johnson said the Shropshire Quads kit will remain compatible with the commercial vehicle bodyshell; good news for those of us suddenly day dreaming about adding a Jimny pick-up to the fleet.
Read the PH Review of the Suzuki Jimny here
"The former 1.3-litre engine is replaced by a 1.5-litre unit in the new Jimny. It delivers higher torque than its predecessor with ample torque available at low revolutions which enhances driving performance especially while driving off-road where a low engine speed is often needed. Despite the increased displacement, it has smaller overall dimensions than the engine it replaces, with 15 per cent reduced weight, contributing to enhanced fuel efficiency."
Fair enough that a turbo Boosterjet engine might not have low rev grunt but Suzuki are long established experts at making good small engines so I still think they could try harder.
Here's another Jimny pickup;
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1127476_suzuki...
Rumour has it that Maruti Suzuki in India is doing a LWB 5 door Jimny, which could result in something like this becoming a reality (also note last year's Suzuki's own pickup concepts);
https://www.motor1.com/news/373244/suzuki-jimny-tr...
The EU emission regs have been tailored to favour 2.5 tonne suvs by the makers of said vehicles.
Given a Jimny is about £15.5k for the cheapest one, add £7k, that's £22.5k. Which is very close to what a base spec OE pick up truck costs (ie an L200 is from £24k roughly) and that is a normal sized pickup, not a comedy sized one?
No need for a pick up version.....As for the engine argument, forget it, 1.5 (or the old 1.3 in our case) is more than adequate, It’s not a sports car....
It is a bit of a crossover car, from a frankly utilitarian niche to something potentially mainstream in a generation, it seems like a bit of an oversight (or maybe Suzuki just don’t care!).
would be ok round town.. but wat to overpriced for just that.. then the uk didnt get the cool milatry green.. epic fail suzuki.... this one looks great, but i doubt the engine could even move it with those size wheels..let alone a load.. and even if it could it would do single digit mpg... so much potential.. but its just a noddy car..
Given a Jimny is about £15.5k for the cheapest one, add £7k, that's £22.5k. Which is very close to what a base spec OE pick up truck costs (ie an L200 is from £24k roughly) and that is a normal sized pickup, not a comedy sized one?
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