Suzuki Jimny SZ5
Discussion
Probably one of the better reader reviews that I've seen here on PH.
First of all: the photographs are superb, especially given the games played by the impish winter sun that tosses long shadows here and there and which can lighten without illuminating.
The tan or sand colour gives this car a classical accent. Considering the size and form of Jimny, I'm also partial to some of the bright or shouty colours -- a bright blue or lime green could do well on a Caribbean island, for example. This tan or sand is of course a sort of overland livery of the ages. Appropriate for both this car and this car that lives in the UK.
I was just briefly surprised to be reminded that, yes, both axles are live. And, like other readers, I suspect that this will mean very good things indeed during the off-road review to come later. It's good to know that this spec does not produce an unbearable compromise on-road. I imagine that a good number of people here will know what you mean about Jimny behaving, on B roads, not unlike a Defender 90, yet with a notable increase in agility.
Personally, I might want a sixth gear for motorway driving, but I wouldn't call that a deal breaker in a vehicle that, given its suspension setup, is likely to be very skilled off road. More like the "nice to have" response to USB ports and the size and shape of the sun visors.
I noticed that, when mentioning said sun visors, you took a breath to focus the reader's mind on the fact that this is a RHD car in the UK -- a nice touch in expository writing that is likely to be consumed by an international audience.
Great write up. Glad you are enjoying it. You may find Suzuki make a map net to screw onto the centre console which will be useful for putting your phone in.
One thing you didn't mention, so I will.
In my experience, Suzuki dealers seem to be a very friendly and helpful bunch of people. Spares and serving prices are reasonable too. I'm not surprised the cars have a loyal following.
One thing you didn't mention, so I will.
In my experience, Suzuki dealers seem to be a very friendly and helpful bunch of people. Spares and serving prices are reasonable too. I'm not surprised the cars have a loyal following.Lovely car and a great write up of your ownership so far.
I can't help but think that Suzuki are missing a trick by not offering a slightly more road biased, less utilitarian version to get around the emmisions targets. Fit one of their booster jet engines and ditch the low range box, stick a Jimmy Sport badge on it and they'd sell like hot cakes. On the other hand, the fact they're a rare sight on the roads does add to their 'specialness'.
I can't help but think that Suzuki are missing a trick by not offering a slightly more road biased, less utilitarian version to get around the emmisions targets. Fit one of their booster jet engines and ditch the low range box, stick a Jimmy Sport badge on it and they'd sell like hot cakes. On the other hand, the fact they're a rare sight on the roads does add to their 'specialness'.
RicksAlfas said:
One thing you didn't mention, so I will. In my experience, Suzuki dealers seem to be a very friendly and helpful bunch of people. Spares and serving prices are reasonable too. I'm not surprised the cars have a loyal following.
In my experience, Suzuki dealers seem to be a very friendly and helpful bunch of people. Spares and serving prices are reasonable too. I'm not surprised the cars have a loyal following.300bhp/ton said:
I’d like to put a shout out for the dealer too. Great service and very friendly.
If the vibrant cities and world-renowned skiing don't manage to tempt one to visit Japan, perhaps the Jimny museum will.
article
http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/suzuki-jimny-museu...
Suzuki Jimny | A Closer Look
Before getting to the off road review of the Jimny. I thought some of you might appreciate a more detailed look at what makes the Jimny, a Jimny.
Some of you may be surprised to find out that the Jimny is actually celebrating its 50th Birthday this year. Another surprise is that the Jimny, the first one in 1970 known as an LJ10, or Light Jeep originated as a Kei Car, although it was likely inspired by the then Mitsubishi Jeep. Which was a Jeep CJ built under licence by Mitsubishi in Japan.
The Jimny has always been smaller and lighter than the equivalent Jeep model however. And this new 4th Generation, known internally as JB64 or JB74 is no exception. The JB64 variant is still a Kei class vehicle and has narrower bumpers, lack of wheel arch flares and a smaller engine. The JB74 is the model we get in the UK and most other places around the World where the Jimny is sold. Although oddly, Suzuki isn't offering the Jimny in the USA or North American market. I suspect it would prove quite popular over there however, especially with all the internet hype surrounding the model currently.
Something I have found very refreshing on a new car in 2020, the engine bay is completely devoid of plastic engine covers! It is so pleasing to see a naked engine on a modern car.
Access is good too, the large clamshell bonnet lifts easily and offers up a suitably spacious engine bay. Although, I’m rather hoping I’ll not be needing to invest much time under there, apart from occasionally checking the oil level or topping up the washer fluid.
Overall the engine bay layout looks well designed. The air intake and filter housing are purposely placed high, so to avoid water and other contaminants getting near the filter when off road. As noted in my previous road-test, the engine is a bit of a gem to drive. It is also turning out to be rather frugal as well, thus far returning a fairly consistent 37.5 - 39.1mpg (Imperial gallons) according to the trip computer. I did verify one of the fill ups by looking at distance covered and amount of fuel to refill and that gave me a figure of 40.8mpg. For a petrol 4x4 I am rather surprised and very pleased with how little fuel it seems to be consuming.
Let's move on and have a look at the chassis. The Jimny is a traditional design of 4x4, whereby it uses a box section ladder chassis. Despite the Jimny’s diminutive stature, the chassis looks remarkably solid and rugged. Although of a lighter duty nature compared to a traditional Defender or Jeep Wrangler. Which is probably one of attributes that allows the Jimny to weigh 3?4 tonne or more less than either of them.
The Jimny also uses traditional live axles front and rear, with open differentials. Although the aftermarket does cater for ATB style limited slip diffs or even full on lockers if so desired. Of interest is the suspension. You’ll find coil springs at each corner and the axles are located by use of radius arms and a panhard rod, at both ends of the vehicle. This setup is not so dissimilar from what you’d find on the front end of a Land Rover Ninety and is proven to work very well. Although you won’t typically get the level of suspension flex that a 4-link setup could offer.
The Jimny is also very compact, it has a wheelbase of 88.6”, which is very comparable to a Series II or III Land Rover. The big difference is in the width. The Jimny has a much more narrow body than the Land Rover, which makes the Jimny look a lot smaller and feel a lot more nimble. Especially when in tight confines off road. To highlight just how compact the Jimny is, a current model Fiesta has a wheelbase 10” greater and is nearly a foot and a half longer than the Jimny overall.
The body tub, this also carries some interesting design features. Firstly and most evident is its square profile. This is not only practical off road, as it makes it a lot easier to see and gauge where the edge of the vehicle is. It also harks back to the styling of the1970’s LJ20 model.
There are some nice touches in the body design, the recessed windscreen, the traditional rain gutter that stops water dripping on you from the roof. And one of my favourites, the door handles. The Jimny seems to be one of the few vehicles on sale today that doesn’t use the pull out lever handles. Instead it uses a more classical flush fit lift up handle. The benefits in an off roader are twofold. Firstly, they are much less likely to collect mud, thus saving you from getting filthy hands when opening the door from the outside while out 4 wheeling. And secondly, should you end up getting a little too close to some scenery, they are far less susceptible to damage. Such as rubbing up against a tree trunk. Any diehard Defender off roaders will know the pain of both of these with the late model push button doors that Land Rover fitted to the Ninety in the late 80’s and kept until it’s end in 2016. Older Land Rover’s, including the early Ninety and One Ten had lift up door handles and much the better they were for them.
Another critical aspect of the body design are it’s flat sides. Again this design features offers multiple benefits for the off roader. Primary of these is, like the squared off corners, it allows the driver to know exactly where the edge of the vehicle is. Allowing you to get closer to objects and obstacles, such as trees and boulders, without actually impacting the bodywork on them. To further this, and something often forgotten in today's modern off road vehicles. Visibility is key when on challenging terrain and you simply cannot beat being able to easily stick your head out of the window and look down and see exactly where the front wheel is, which direction it is pointing in and what is underneath it. Likewise the square flat bodywork also allows the driver to perform the same trick with the rear wheel too.
The last benefit of the flat bodywork and protruding flexible plastic wheel arches is again damage avoidance. When off roading there are times when you will end up a lot closer to the scenario and landscape than you intended to be. Such as in a deep trench, with sides as high as the window line or on servere off camber sections and side slopes. In situations such as this, a more bulbous rounded body is highly vulnerable to rubbing against the scenery. With the Jimny’s flat sides this is far less likely and the widest part of the vehicle are the flexible and replaceable wheel arches. So while avoiding damage is always preferable, if it should occur, damaging a part that can easily be replaced and is less likely to show up the damage in the first place is always a bonus.
Before getting to the off road review of the Jimny. I thought some of you might appreciate a more detailed look at what makes the Jimny, a Jimny.
Some of you may be surprised to find out that the Jimny is actually celebrating its 50th Birthday this year. Another surprise is that the Jimny, the first one in 1970 known as an LJ10, or Light Jeep originated as a Kei Car, although it was likely inspired by the then Mitsubishi Jeep. Which was a Jeep CJ built under licence by Mitsubishi in Japan.
The Jimny has always been smaller and lighter than the equivalent Jeep model however. And this new 4th Generation, known internally as JB64 or JB74 is no exception. The JB64 variant is still a Kei class vehicle and has narrower bumpers, lack of wheel arch flares and a smaller engine. The JB74 is the model we get in the UK and most other places around the World where the Jimny is sold. Although oddly, Suzuki isn't offering the Jimny in the USA or North American market. I suspect it would prove quite popular over there however, especially with all the internet hype surrounding the model currently.
Something I have found very refreshing on a new car in 2020, the engine bay is completely devoid of plastic engine covers! It is so pleasing to see a naked engine on a modern car.
Access is good too, the large clamshell bonnet lifts easily and offers up a suitably spacious engine bay. Although, I’m rather hoping I’ll not be needing to invest much time under there, apart from occasionally checking the oil level or topping up the washer fluid.
Overall the engine bay layout looks well designed. The air intake and filter housing are purposely placed high, so to avoid water and other contaminants getting near the filter when off road. As noted in my previous road-test, the engine is a bit of a gem to drive. It is also turning out to be rather frugal as well, thus far returning a fairly consistent 37.5 - 39.1mpg (Imperial gallons) according to the trip computer. I did verify one of the fill ups by looking at distance covered and amount of fuel to refill and that gave me a figure of 40.8mpg. For a petrol 4x4 I am rather surprised and very pleased with how little fuel it seems to be consuming.
Let's move on and have a look at the chassis. The Jimny is a traditional design of 4x4, whereby it uses a box section ladder chassis. Despite the Jimny’s diminutive stature, the chassis looks remarkably solid and rugged. Although of a lighter duty nature compared to a traditional Defender or Jeep Wrangler. Which is probably one of attributes that allows the Jimny to weigh 3?4 tonne or more less than either of them.
The Jimny also uses traditional live axles front and rear, with open differentials. Although the aftermarket does cater for ATB style limited slip diffs or even full on lockers if so desired. Of interest is the suspension. You’ll find coil springs at each corner and the axles are located by use of radius arms and a panhard rod, at both ends of the vehicle. This setup is not so dissimilar from what you’d find on the front end of a Land Rover Ninety and is proven to work very well. Although you won’t typically get the level of suspension flex that a 4-link setup could offer.
The Jimny is also very compact, it has a wheelbase of 88.6”, which is very comparable to a Series II or III Land Rover. The big difference is in the width. The Jimny has a much more narrow body than the Land Rover, which makes the Jimny look a lot smaller and feel a lot more nimble. Especially when in tight confines off road. To highlight just how compact the Jimny is, a current model Fiesta has a wheelbase 10” greater and is nearly a foot and a half longer than the Jimny overall.
The body tub, this also carries some interesting design features. Firstly and most evident is its square profile. This is not only practical off road, as it makes it a lot easier to see and gauge where the edge of the vehicle is. It also harks back to the styling of the1970’s LJ20 model.
There are some nice touches in the body design, the recessed windscreen, the traditional rain gutter that stops water dripping on you from the roof. And one of my favourites, the door handles. The Jimny seems to be one of the few vehicles on sale today that doesn’t use the pull out lever handles. Instead it uses a more classical flush fit lift up handle. The benefits in an off roader are twofold. Firstly, they are much less likely to collect mud, thus saving you from getting filthy hands when opening the door from the outside while out 4 wheeling. And secondly, should you end up getting a little too close to some scenery, they are far less susceptible to damage. Such as rubbing up against a tree trunk. Any diehard Defender off roaders will know the pain of both of these with the late model push button doors that Land Rover fitted to the Ninety in the late 80’s and kept until it’s end in 2016. Older Land Rover’s, including the early Ninety and One Ten had lift up door handles and much the better they were for them.
Another critical aspect of the body design are it’s flat sides. Again this design features offers multiple benefits for the off roader. Primary of these is, like the squared off corners, it allows the driver to know exactly where the edge of the vehicle is. Allowing you to get closer to objects and obstacles, such as trees and boulders, without actually impacting the bodywork on them. To further this, and something often forgotten in today's modern off road vehicles. Visibility is key when on challenging terrain and you simply cannot beat being able to easily stick your head out of the window and look down and see exactly where the front wheel is, which direction it is pointing in and what is underneath it. Likewise the square flat bodywork also allows the driver to perform the same trick with the rear wheel too.
The last benefit of the flat bodywork and protruding flexible plastic wheel arches is again damage avoidance. When off roading there are times when you will end up a lot closer to the scenario and landscape than you intended to be. Such as in a deep trench, with sides as high as the window line or on servere off camber sections and side slopes. In situations such as this, a more bulbous rounded body is highly vulnerable to rubbing against the scenery. With the Jimny’s flat sides this is far less likely and the widest part of the vehicle are the flexible and replaceable wheel arches. So while avoiding damage is always preferable, if it should occur, damaging a part that can easily be replaced and is less likely to show up the damage in the first place is always a bonus.
Noted detail - the Jimny must be one of very few cars that still retains a wing mounted side indicator, rather than one built into the wing mirror?
The only other cars that spring to mind are Rolls Royce Phantoms and Cullinans...
There are times when these mirror mounted indicators are not visible and really should be - specifically when the person in the next lane wants to get in front of you in two lines of traffic, but you can't tell this because their lights are all forward/rear facing relative to your position
The only other cars that spring to mind are Rolls Royce Phantoms and Cullinans...
There are times when these mirror mounted indicators are not visible and really should be - specifically when the person in the next lane wants to get in front of you in two lines of traffic, but you can't tell this because their lights are all forward/rear facing relative to your position
So I booked my Jimny in with the dealer. I wanted the headlight alignment checking, as they seemed high. And indeed, they were. I think it had slipped the net on being checked and isn't part of their normal checks on a new car.
Either way, headlights are now adjusted and I'm no longer being flashed by on-coming traffic. And the LED headlights are still as awesome as ever!!!
However, the main reason for the dealership visit was to have the rear view camera installed. I kind of wish I'd known about it at the time of buying, as I might have included it in the finance agreement. But it just doesn't appear as an option when using the website.
I know there are options, on either fitting myself or a complete DIY one from eBay. And yes the official one is expensive and actually the video quality is fairly low. But I wanted it all sound as a pound warranty wise and a tidy install.
The camera installs just above the number plate and is actually really hard to see unless you get on your hands and knees.
Now whenever I select reverse I get the rear view camera appear on the screen.
While the dealer had bits of the dash out, they very kindly routed the USB cable for my dashcam and completely hid it, all the way up to the interior mirror. I didn't ask them to do this, but it was very nice they took the initiative in doing so.
Either way, headlights are now adjusted and I'm no longer being flashed by on-coming traffic. And the LED headlights are still as awesome as ever!!!
However, the main reason for the dealership visit was to have the rear view camera installed. I kind of wish I'd known about it at the time of buying, as I might have included it in the finance agreement. But it just doesn't appear as an option when using the website.
I know there are options, on either fitting myself or a complete DIY one from eBay. And yes the official one is expensive and actually the video quality is fairly low. But I wanted it all sound as a pound warranty wise and a tidy install.
The camera installs just above the number plate and is actually really hard to see unless you get on your hands and knees.
Now whenever I select reverse I get the rear view camera appear on the screen.
While the dealer had bits of the dash out, they very kindly routed the USB cable for my dashcam and completely hid it, all the way up to the interior mirror. I didn't ask them to do this, but it was very nice they took the initiative in doing so.
For those gushing over this new version, try the old one as well. Same on road manners (good below 60mph - well mostly good!), great off road and dead easy to park in todays car parks. Had our 2007 version for 7 Years now (always used for local journeys ahead of a C Class estate and MX5), but we do live in the depths of Devon so muddy narrow lanes proliferate and really comes into its own.
As for the earlier discussion on wing mounted indicators, good job they don’t have them as they are always the first casualty in narrow lanes!
Recommendation for nice shiny new ones, get it under sealed as soon as possible, these will rust with all those deep crevices underneath ready to trap mud!
As for the earlier discussion on wing mounted indicators, good job they don’t have them as they are always the first casualty in narrow lanes!
Recommendation for nice shiny new ones, get it under sealed as soon as possible, these will rust with all those deep crevices underneath ready to trap mud!
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