Suzuki Jimny SZ5

[300bhp/ton]

Put a deposit down last May. Didn’t really think it would pan out. But I’m overjoyed to say I picked this up a couple of days ago.



I took one out on a test drive. But having now done 170 miles in mine. All I can say is, it hugely exceeds expectations. It is just so much fun!!! And I’ve not even taken it of road yet.

I’d like to put a shout out for the dealer too. Great service and very friendly.




Looking tiny next to the Range Rover:

[300bhp/ton]

rufusgti said:

What do you mean? Have Suzuki stopped offering them?

There are mutterings that they are going to drop them for the UK/EU. Or maybe remove the rear seats and offer as a commercial. But it’s only hearsay. Nothing confirmed.

The dealer I got mine from said they have been told only 750 Jimnys are being imported this year, about 2-4 per dealer.

They also only get 12-48hrs warning when one is coming in. I think I was very lucky to get one. I was 6th in the queue, but for various reasons the 5 people before me either couldn’t or didn’t want to buy when offered.

The dealership did offer me their demonstrator back in December as that is when the dealers had permission to sell them. They wanted £23,995 or £24,995 for it (I forget which).

Very pleased I got mine for list price (£19,399 with the paint).

[300bhp/ton]

Thanks for all of the kind comments.

I'm very please with my purchase

The biggest thing, it is just so much fun to drive. I think it is more fun than my Camaro. It has a real sense of occasion about it.

I'm also impressed at how quiet, refined and comfortable it is. It really does ride well and the engine is characterful. It has the sweetest gearbox and gear change too, the sort that makes you want to keep shifting gears, even when you don't need too

Trying it out with a flooded road, lol


Can't wait to get it off road, but think I'll wait until it is a little drier out. I'd like to underseal the car before getting it muddy.

Parked up with my brothers Trailhawk:



The Jeep and Jimny are built very differently, but do share some similarity. Round headlights, barred grill, off road capable, square styling and fairly similar size. The Trailhawk is actually a rather impressive bit of kit, it's all independent suspension and a unibody. But has a very pokey 2.0 litre diesel and 9 speed auto. It's really rather rapid and has a very satisfying surge of grunt, that could fool you into thinking it has something far bigger and more potent than a litre under the bonnet.

The Trailhawk is also well specced and rather plush inside. A friend has a 3.0 V6 diesel Disco 4, and apart from the Renegade being smaller and to less seats, it is amazingly close in what it offers.

However I digress, the Jimny is

Picking it up at the dealership:



Have done over 200 miles in it now. And it's currently showing over 37mpg, which I reckon ain't bad at all for a petrol 4x4.

[300bhp/ton]

Gummi said:

Such a cool little car! I'm seriously considering getting one of these to repalce my Z4C. How is it in the motorway and can you get a bike in it?

How many miles do you plan on doing in it? My milage would be about 12k per year, much of it schlepping up and down the M40.

Edited by Gummi on Friday 14th February 15:02

Edited by Gummi on Friday 14th February 15:02

I've not been on the motorway yet, although done some dual carriage way. It'll happily sit at 60/65mph no probs and not really that unhappy at 70mph, although you are over 3000rpm by then.

I'd say it is no worse than my 2017 Smart ForTwo was, or most hatchbacks I've been in tbh. But I accept it is not a motorway cruiser and is far more happy on country lanes.

[300bhp/ton]

Gave it whirl off road today. Lots of fun, highly capable. But will need to address a few areas in due time.





Moderator edit: no YouTube links please.

Edited by jeremyc on Saturday 22 February 18:56

[300bhp/ton]

Since when no YouTube links??? If it's getting that petty here, might be time to look for a new forum.

[300bhp/ton]

Master Bean said:

I really love the Jimny. It is such a cool car. This one is a lovely colour and is used properly off road.

https://youtu.be/ZjeU1vEALRM

Many thanks.

[300bhp/ton]

Couple more pics:

[300bhp/ton]

Living with a Jimny – The 2 week Road-test Review

I have had my Jimny for two weeks now. Yes, that’s right, it is mine. Undoubtedly this review will be slightly biased. However, having now spent 25 hours or more seat time and over 650 miles covered. I suspect I’m well placed to offer an initial opinion. Remember many motoring journalists may only get a few hours or a day with a vehicle to review it.

I’ll dive straight in and say it is an extremely pleasing and satisfying vehicle to pilot. It isn’t 100% perfect, but no car is. However, it is getting rather close for me, with only a few minor niggles or complaints.

This is purely an ‘on-road’ review at this stage. The vehicle will be going off road, but it has been far to wet and muddy to get something I own completely filthy off road. Therefore, an ‘off-road’ review will be following this article in due course.
The Jimny is an Ivory Chiffon SZ5 5-speed manual. Therefore, comes with all the toys offered in the UK for the Jimny. The interior is a very pleasant place to be, the seats are squishy, but very comfortable. They are also heated and will cook your behind, they really do get rather toasty. My previous daily driver, a Smart ForTwo Prime Sport of 2017 vintage also had superb heated seats, that also heated the lower portion of the seat back. Unfortunately, the Jimny seems confined to only heating the seat base. A shame for certain, but certainly not a deal breaker.



There is ample headroom in the Jimny, not that I worry about such things, being more akin to Richard Hammond in height than that of most average Britons. And there is also ample elbow room, provided you are of a regular girth. The Jimny’s external width is quite narrow, and therefore so is its interior. Large people may end up at rather close quarters to each other.

The rest of the cabin is airy and generally a pleasant place to be. The door trims are simple plastic but fit the character of the car. The dash top is of a very nice stippled material. Which would have gone well in other places in the interior. However, the interior is my only real complaint. Not in its materials though. Just a general lack of cubby storage. For instance, there is small tray below the dash in front of the gearstick. Conveniently placed near the only USB port. Hooray, somewhere to place your smartphone. Yet, alas no. The tray is fine for a decade old iPhone 5, but a modern larger phone does not fit. Come on Suzuki, how can you make such a basic error! It is unforgivable, well almost.

While on this subject, the lack of USB ports is also somewhat of a shame. There is a 12v power outlet next to the USB port and a second 12v socket in the boot, which will be handy for a cooler/fridge when out laning or similar. But in a modern car, you are likely to want maybe four or five USB ports; smartphone, passengers smartphone, iPad (for mapping duties when overlanding/laning), dashcam and so on. My only other niggle with the interior, which some might sight is petty are the sun visors. They leave a large gap between the left edge (right hand drive car) and the interior mirror. Allowing that pesky low sun at this time of year to easily shine right past.



The rest of the interior carries no complaints, the Jimny comes reasonably well specced with Cruise Control/Speed Limiter, Climate Control, leccy windows, heated mirrors and central dashboard touchscreen with in-built Navigation, DAB radio and Apple CarPlay support.

In terms of driver focused interior components. The steering wheel is a work of art. Thin rimmed, nice grippy material and very comfortable to hold and rotate. Lots of room for your fingers and easy to reach controls. It must be one of the nicest modern steering wheels I’ve had my hands on. Mercedes-Benz, please take note. I recently drove a brand new GLA and my lasting impression is what a ghastly, uncomfortable, horrid steering wheel it had, with absolutely nowhere to put your fingers!

The gearbox in the Jimny is a joy to behold too. The standard gearknob may not look all that pretty, but in the hand, it is comfortable to use. The gearbox itself is also one of the sweetest I have stirred. It makes you want to shift cogs, even if you don’t need too. The pedals are also well placed with sensible grippy pads, something I’m sure I will appreciate even more when off road and driving with muddy boots. The handbrake is also placed exactly where you hand lands, allowing you to easily use it without the need to look down to find it.

The boot is laughably small on these. But this should come as no surprise to anyone. The Jimny has two rows of seats and a longitudinal mounted engine. All packaged into a vehicle that is only 140” in long. Fortunately the rear seats fold down quickly and easily. Offering up a fairly large load area for such a small vehicle.



Enough of the interior, what is it like on the open road? Well, I have read many a review and comment posted across the inter-web. And I often see people saying things like skittering over bumps, rolling in corners, uncomfortable, crashy suspension and other such stereotypical nonsense many 4x4’s get associated with. However, I must wonder if some of these people have actually been in the vehicle they are claiming to be reviewing? As my personal experience couldn’t be further from this.

To give a little parody to this, on the day I collected my Jimny I also drove my then 2017 Smart ForTwo as well as a brand new Mercedes GLA200 (had 26 miles on the clock). Out of the three vehicles, the Jimny is easily the most comfortable and I’d argue rode nicer than the GLA did. The Mercedes was shod with massive alloys and low-profile tyres and every imperfection in the road, and I do mean every. Was transmitted into the cabin with a very audible “thump”. Which was felt throughout the entire car. The Jimny positively glides over the same roads. Yes, some may accuse me of being biased and having a personal stake in the Jimny. But at the end of the day, all I can do is report my findings and offer my opinion. And based on this, I’d rather ride in the archaic live axle vehicle, if comfort was a concern, despite popular opinion found across the internet.

I admit there are some rare occasions where a particular road surface does give a particular sensation, most likely due to the short wheelbase combined with live axles. However, I would still say the ride comfort is still very, very good. And if you are complaining about it, then you’d not like over 90% of the cars on the roads either. There really is nothing wrong at all with how they ride.



So, what about the handling I hear you ask? Well, here again I may be labelled as biased. Although, I’d much prefer to use the term experienced. I have grown up with 4x4’s. My first “car” was a Defender 90 way back in 1997. And since then I have owned a good number of 4-wheel drives from Land Rover and Jeep and driven many more besides. While not wanting to sound big headed, I suspect many people less familiar with off road vehicles simply don’t grasp that a live axle vehicle will feel somewhat different in the corners compared to a vehicle running independent suspension at each corner.

In direct regard to the Jimny, I have found it to be most pleasing and exciting out on the country roads. It handles really well and is a huge amount of fun. From the inside it certainly doesn’t feel like it is leaning and rolling excessively or uncontrollably. Which completely baffles me when people claim that it does. I’ll go as far to say, that I have enjoyed driving it as much as any sports car I’ve been in. In reality you won’t be making the same kind of progress or speed. But you’d never know you this from the driver’s seat unless looking at the speedo. You truly feel like you are flying along. For anyone experienced with how well a Defender 90 can tackle British B-roads, the Jimny drives in much the same way, but feels lighter and more nimble.

The steering may lack feedback for some, but the rest of the chassis communicates well and will reward a smooth driving style. To which the wonderful gearbox compliments this experience tenfold.



The engine is rather a peach too, on paper a 1.5 litre naturally aspirated inline 4 with only 100hp or so, doesn’t sound all that much. But it is super smooth, very characterful and will pull from nothing. Sub 1500rpm kind of nothing in any of the 5 forward gears.

With plenty of mid-range punch and will, unlike many modern turbo units happily, rev out to the red line. Obviously with only 100’ish bhp on tap, even for a vehicle weighing just over a tonne, the Jimny is never going to be a rocketship. That said, it actually has a respectable power to weight ratio when you look at certain sporty hatchbacks and sports cars from yesteryear. But here the Jimny has another party trick, the engine makes a surprisingly nice rumble above 3500rpm, one of the nicer sounding inline 4’s I’ve encountered. The engine has wonderful character and eagerness. This eagerness makes you believe and feel that it is accelerating far quicker than you actually are. Which is rather ideal out on the public roads and simply adds to the already high levels of fun. This is truly a vehicle to make you smile, while remaining at fairly sane and legal speeds.

On the subject of speed, the Jimny is no motorway cruiser. While it will happily sit at motorway speed; 70mph is nearing 3500rpm on the tacho and wind noise picks up too. However, sit at 60-65mph and it is very comfortable. But you need to change your mindset to simply not care about other cars buzzing past you. In reality you’ll probably get where you are going in almost the same time anyhow. And more than likely you’ll be doing it with a bigger smile on your face than most.

Do I recommend the 4th Generation Jimny? Absolutely!

[300bhp/ton]

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.

[300bhp/ton]

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.

[300bhp/ton]

Mats and dashtop tray in.

[300bhp/ton]

unsprung said:

clickable thumbnail

Very cool. Thanks.

[300bhp/ton]

A couple more mods.....


Today's job was to fit some diff guards from Jimnybits. These were kindly bought for me as a birthday present recently

Rear guard, looks simple enough to fit:



Up on some ramps for better access:



It fixes via two bolts on the diff to diff housing, then a U bolt over the axle tube at each end. Nothing more than a 12mm sock, extension and deep 17mm socket required. One of the easiest off road mods I've performed:


All done



Now onto the front diff. Sadly no instructions were included with the guards, although once ushered up, they are fairly obvious how they fit.


The front guard is of distinctly different design. No bolts included part from a single U bolt. Looking at the front diff, you can see the bracket for the front radius arm as some studs that the bolt passes through. The guard is designed to hang onto those.


Only one radius arm bolt need undoing, just enough to move the threads inside the stud, then the guard slipped up and into place.


Tighten the U bolt and job jobbed!



Jimny vs Jeep:

[300bhp/ton]

New tyres have arrived!!! Will need to wait until next week to get fitted though.

Edited by 300bhp/ton on Monday 13th April 15:52

[300bhp/ton]

Mercury00 said:

I really can't believe how much Suzuki fked up with these, they were a licence to print money. How did they not have the foresight to realise that emissions would be a problem? I think the design is so good they'll still look decent in 20 years.

I'm not sure I understand the emissions problem myself. I wonder if it is just being used as an excuse, due to the fact they can't build enough of them for the markets outside the UK/EU.

Lets face it, a 1.5 litre petrol making 100hp doesn't pollute all that much. And almost every other car maker sells bigger engines, especially in 4x4's. e.g.

Parkers claim a Jeep Wrangler (not sure which engines) are 195-209g/km. My Jimny is something like 154g/km. A petrol Focus ST is 179g/km.

[300bhp/ton]

595Heaven said:

Why do the tyres have that horrible blue writing?

I had to get new tyres for my Freelander once, and they came with white writing. Felt like such a jerk driving round with those on, but the blue is even worse.

You might need to let you insurers know about all the mods as well.

Have you undersealed it yet? That seems to be a very good idea.

They are very cool little cars though. Hope you’re still enjoying it.

The blue is just for transport. The letters will be white. Personally I rather like the white lettering. For those that are offended, tyre makers only put the white letters on one side, so you just need to mount them with the white letters on the inside. I won't though.

Underseal is a job on the schedule now the warmer weather is here.

Scrump said:

Great thread and an interesting car.
I am enjoying reading this, looking forward to the next update.

Thanks.

I have plans, but the lockdown has put hold to most things. All the tyre fitters locally seem to be shut, so I haven't got those mounted yet. And while there is some uncertainty in the current climate, I didn't want to splash out for some new bits. Once we are through this I have other bits to buy and fit.

Also I've only done about 100 miles in it for the past 3-4 weeks. But watch this space...

[300bhp/ton]

595Heaven said:

The emissions issue is to do with corporate fleet compliance. All (a few exceptions exist) manufacturers have to achieve 95g CO2 as an average across their passenger car sales, or pay fines per gram over the limit for every car. Some OEMs can partially absorb or pass on these costs, or have bought ‘credits’ (Fiat bought a lot of credits from Tesla who have a 0g fleet), or have introduced with PHEV or full BEV products which help massively to achieve compliance, or at least to get them closer to achieving it, thus making the fines manageable.

Smaller importers like Suzuki have far fewer levers to pull (eg no BEV) and thus have had to take the decision to stop importing vehicles that are way above their average fleet CO2. The Jimny is inexpensive, but not exactly cheap, so increasing the price to offset the fines isn’t really tenable in the longer term.

It’s a shame, but rules are rules. It’s definitely not being used as an excuse.

Interesting thanks.

I wonder how much the 'fines' are. As it seems pretty much every car maker sells stuff that puts out more emissions than the Jimny does. I'm not denying there is an impact of this, what I don't get is why Suzuki are a special case. Although I don't know how many vehicles they sell in the UK in total. I'd have thought quite a few based on how many dealerships there are.

The Jimny might not be expensive, but it is one of the more expensive Suzuki's. It's the 2nd most expensive starting price of their range:

[300bhp/ton]

webstercivet said:

To add to that: the Jimny's low weight is actually a problem.

The EU emissions penalties are adjusted by weight -- a heavier car is allowed to emit more before it gets fined. This is an absurd bit of policy design, but was introduced as a sop to European manufacturers (I assume as the big German brands make a lot of heavy SUVs and saloons).

So the relatively light Jimny is penalised for its emissions more harshly than a heavier SUV (all else equal).

lol, well i guess it goes to prove that on the whole, most governments don't really care about emissions and pollution and it's all about the £/$ value of charing people to pollute.

[300bhp/ton]

150bhp said:

Does your brother have a thread for his Renegade Trailhawk, would be interested to see his opinions on it? Love your Jimny btw, if only they made a 5 door model I’d be all over it!

No he doesn't. But it is very impressive. It's comfy and quiet and fairly rapid. Lots of grunt and the gearbox is very smooth. I also love the look of them. Surprisingly capable off road too.