RE: Suzuki Jimny versus... the Lake District

[anonymous-user]

fido said:

Look all i'm saying (and it seems i am not alone) is that it is too small for modern usage - 3.6m length might have been okay 50 years ago - but people (and their stuff) have got bigger since then. The MX-5 or A1 are small cars and around 4m in length - just make it 10% bigger and stick in a 1.8 diesel - it would still look cute and have decent boot space. Sigh.

If you want a bigger car, buy a Jeep Wrangler and enjoy the 1 star Euro ncap safety rating.

The Jimny is clearly not too small, as it meets my needs and those of other owners just fine. It might not meet your needs, so just go and buy something else rather than suggesting that a small car is in some way fundamentally flawed.

[300bhp/ton]

caelite said:

I would love a LWB one though, but unfortunately the 80s is over, type approval is a thing, and stretching a chassis 40cm & adding a set of doors isn't something that is as easily done for a manufacturer as it was in the SJ410 days.

Edited by caelite on Tuesday 21st May 13:21

Cough cough




Will be interesting to see if Suzuki have the appetite for such a vehicle. In the past the Vitara fulfilled this role for them. But today that model it just glorified hatchback.

[caelite]

300bhp/ton said:

Cough cough




Will be interesting to see if Suzuki have the appetite for such a vehicle. In the past the Vitara fulfilled this role for them. But today that model it just glorified hatchback.

Oh yeah, I fully agree, but the Jeep is a totally different vehicle at a totally different price point. The Suzukis primary market is in SE Asia where they do seem happier to cram 8 kids in and put the luggage on the roof, the Jeep sells in its hundreds of thousands in the US market where they want the LWB 5 door body. In Europe the Jeep also costs 4 times as much which I imagine better offsets the costs of offering a varied model line.

That being said, with the demand for the new Jimny globally and the Vitara moving into another market we might just see Suzuki putting the money in.

[jamesson]

fido said:

just make it 10% bigger and stick in a 1.8 diesel - it would still look cute and have decent boot space. Sigh.

It can't be 10% bigger because then Suzuki couldn't sell it as a kei car in Japan. It is built primarily to satisfy the Japanese domestic market, not the UK.

There are plenty of other choices out there if you need a larger vehicle and the Jimny's small size isn't putting off the masses so clearly there is no need for it to be bigger.

[Ilovejapcrap]

i love the jimny,

also love the wrangler as a two door variant, this thread got me looking for fun:

https://www.jeep.co.uk/wrangler-jl/gallery

HOW MUCH !!!!

[300bhp/ton]

jamesson said:

fido said:

just make it 10% bigger and stick in a 1.8 diesel - it would still look cute and have decent boot space. Sigh.

It can't be 10% bigger because then Suzuki couldn't sell it as a kei car in Japan. It is built primarily to satisfy the Japanese domestic market, not the UK.

There are plenty of other choices out there if you need a larger vehicle and the Jimny's small size isn't putting off the masses so clearly there is no need for it to be bigger.

Also 10% is quite a difference. i.e. a Discovery 1/classic Range Rover has about a 10% longer wheelbase than a Defender 90, and less than 10% in other dimensions. It makes for a much larger vehicle however.

[rb_89]

Enjoyable writeup, have soft spot for these!

And spookily after not having seen a single one on UK roads, today down a random sidestreet in the city I found a 19 plate!

[shtu]

tim0409 said:

We are driving from Edinburgh to Norwich (and back) at the weekend, which may test my love for the car though; I think my wife wishes we had something more suitable for longer journeys like a Mini or a diesel Porsche SUV

Nice work, there.

[Vocht]

Great photos in the article. Looks like a great day out!

I really want a Jimny but, and I may be alone here, I was waiting to see if they announce a convertible model! For me they're a bit of fun and that would just really add to their quirkiness.

[loveice]

caelite said:

300bhp/ton said:

Cough cough




Will be interesting to see if Suzuki have the appetite for such a vehicle. In the past the Vitara fulfilled this role for them. But today that model it just glorified hatchback.

Oh yeah, I fully agree, but the Jeep is a totally different vehicle at a totally different price point. The Suzukis primary market is in SE Asia where they do seem happier to cram 8 kids in and put the luggage on the roof, the Jeep sells in its hundreds of thousands in the US market where they want the LWB 5 door body. In Europe the Jeep also costs 4 times as much which I imagine better offsets the costs of offering a varied model line.

That being said, with the demand for the new Jimny globally and the Vitara moving into another market we might just see Suzuki putting the money in.

Wow, where do you get "Suzukis primary market is in SE Asia where they do seem happier to cram 8 kids in and put the luggage on the roof" statement from? Have you got any proof of that? I personally haven't seen that many Jimnys in SE Asia. And the very few I've seen were driven either by young local upper middle class or tourists who rent them. I don't even want to explain how wrong of you automatically thinking people in SE Asia would want to cram 8 of their own kids in a Jimny, btw do you even know how many families who can afford to buy a Jimny (second hand or new) have 8 kids in SE Asia? Because of the low percentage of SE Asia population in West Europe, people here seem to be fine with these type of comment on people from SE Asia.

The size of Jimny has nothing to do with potential customers from SE Asia or Europe. It is solely determined by Japanese Kei car rules.

[caelite]

loveice said:

Wow, where do you get "Suzukis primary market is in SE Asia where they do seem happier to cram 8 kids in and put the luggage on the roof" statement from? Have you got any proof of that?

You know, I stand corrected. I did go & attempt to look up figures. My statement was going on the logic that over half of Suzuki's global sales come from Maruti Suzuki, with other huge portions coming from Pak Suzuki, Magyar Suzuki & IndoMobil Suzuki. However after attempting to look up sales figures I found that the Jimny doesn't actually sell in those markets (other than Indonesia), and their sales prodominantly come from small 2WD models like the Alto, Wagon R, Swift etc. With the Gypsy (the Maruti Jimny) stopping production in the early 00s. My apologies, whilst somewhat creative vehicle loading is common in these markets, the Jimny it seems, is not.

Funnily enough well I was looking to see how popular it is with Maruti Suzuki I did stumble across this Indian press article: https://www.autox.com/opinion/karl-peskett/maruti-...

Which seems to hint that Suzuki intends to bring a 4 door version, at least to some markets: "Suzuki tells us there’s likely to be a four-door version later on. But think of how many they will sell as is."

[Hobbs92]

Great article, I was part of the group of Land Rovers in front of you on Gatescarth. Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!

[craig_m67]

shtu said:

tim0409 said:

We are driving from Edinburgh to Norwich (and back) at the weekend, which may test my love for the car though; I think my wife wishes we had something more suitable for longer journeys like a Mini or a diesel Porsche SUV

Nice work, there.

HA! Brilliant, I am laughing through crunchy peanut butter on toast, quite difficult!

[SL22]

So, there are more Gen 4 Jimny’s available on AT today than at any point - 16 in total. Word is Suzuki are de-fleeting the press cars (so 68 plate cars), but the dealers are selling them at £4K-£5k OVER list price! Not exactly a bargain then...