Autumn has given us a lot of materials about real SUVs - those with sophisticated all-wheel drive systems, a lowered range, considerable ground clearance, rather large dimensions, and powerful engines. It's a great opportunity to mention another SUV, even if it's in a mini-format. I think it's already clear: we're talking about the Suzuki Jimny! Yes, this car is not new (I first met it more than five years ago), but it is still on the market and deserves attention.
Design: exactly what the Suzuki Jimny seems to be at first glance
Are miniature cars just a hatchback or crossover for the city with a youthful, playful design? But the Suzuki Jimny makes you instantly change your mind. After all, it is exactly what it looks like at first glance: wheel arch extensions, flat body panels and the preference for straight lines, a roof with gutters, a spare tire on the trunk lid - it's a real off-roader! Just a small one.
And the Suzuki Jimny is clearly one of those who honor their history. For example, the round headlights and the shape of the lights in the rear bumper are a clear reference to its predecessors. In addition, Suzuki Jimny is clearly one of those who, even in such a compact 3-door design, do not forget about practicality. For example, cutouts near the side mirrors improve visibility. Even without sticking your head out of the glass, you can see the front wheel arch extension and the edge of the turned wheel from some positions. It's a small thing, but it can help off-road. As for the size and practicality...
The Suzuki Jimny makes it clear from its design that it is a real off-roader! It's just small: length - 3.48 meters (or 3.645 meters with the spare wheel); width - 1.645 meters; height - 1.72 meters; wheelbase - 2.25 meters. The ground clearance is declared at 210 mm; however, other geometric cross-country ability parameters are also important for the SUV: the entry angle is 37 degrees, the exit angle is 49 degrees, and the ramp angle is 28 degrees. Interestingly, the geometric cross-country ability of the 5-door version of the Suzuki Jimny is not much worse, even with its overall length increased to 3.99 meters and wheelbase increased to 2.59 meters. Have you ever heard of the 5-door Suzuki Jimny? It exists! This car is produced at a local plant in India and was originally planned as a local model only, so there are no plans to import such a car to Ukraine.
We would like to dream of a 5-door car, but now we return to the usual 3-door Suzuki Jimny, where the story of the interior begins with the large doors. After all, in order to provide at least some opportunity to get to the second row of seats (and it is here!), we had to make the doors as big as the body dimensions allowed. It's funny: the entire space from the front wheel arch extension to the rear wheel arch extension is the doorway and the door itself!
Okay: we opened it, looked inside - and what did we see? We saw a dashboard with round windows for the speedometer and tachometer, showing hints of retro style; between them there was a place for a miniature display of the on-board computer. We also saw a large protruding multimedia system unit and three climate control switch rings below, and several buttons and a shelf even lower. The driver and passenger will notice simple seats without an obvious backrest profile, but with more or less sufficient adjustment ranges. And the front passenger will definitely notice a massive handle in front of him, which will definitely not be superfluous.
What about the rear passengers? If you manage to overcome the quest to get into the back seats - through the open door, the reclined front seat back, and by lifting your leg over a rather high threshold - you will be rewarded with an unexpected opportunity to breathe in the back! I'm not going to tell you fairy tales about the space, because it's cramped in the back. At the same time, I will tell you a fact - even an adult man can sit in the back, and he can drive there for quite a long time - an hour, an hour and a half, two. How do I know this? I once tested it on myself. That's why we give the rear seats a point; we also add points for the ability to adjust their angle and the ability to put your hand on the side protrusions of the wheel arches - we could call them armrests, but they are actually too low. And we would like to cover this open metal around the windows...
The interior is made of hard plastic (only the passenger's handle is soft), but there is room for several interesting details and four seats. By the way, the seat in front is quite high due to the frame structure of the car, and the upper edge of the windshield is also surprising - it gives the impression of considerable space. But this impression is instantly destroyed by the passenger's elbow in this miniature cabin: Suzuki Jimny brings you closer in every sense of the word! It is possible to sit in the back... just somehow you can sit in the back - and this is already good, taking into account the size of the car. What did you forget? That's right, the trunk! I forgot because with the rear seats in place, there is almost none: in this case, the trunk volume is 85 liters, which is barely enough for a couple of packages or bags. When the rear seats are folded and loaded under the roof, you can have up to 830 liters of space - much better. But on a long journey, it turns out, you need to go only two or three at most.
Equipment: frame and axles, steering damper, lowering row
Why do I keep emphasizing the word "SUV" in the description of the Suzuki Jimny? Because that's what it is in terms of the design of this car. It all starts with the base frame, which received an additional X-shaped reinforcement in the new generation of the car. The story continues with solid beam axles in the front and rear. Thankfully, there are no springs - we have the usual springs plus traditional shock absorbers. By the way, not only for the suspension, but also for the steering wheel! The steering mechanism has a special damper (visually and in design resembling a horizontally located shock absorber), which reduces the level of vibrations and steering wheel jolts when driving off-road. Under the hood is a longitudinally mounted atmospheric 1.5-liter 4-cylinder K15B gasoline engine with VVT variable valve timing and conventional distributed fuel injection. It can be mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a traditional 4-speed hydromechanical automatic transmission, as in the test car.
Finally, the ALL GRIP PRO 4WD all-wheel drive system deserves special attention, which involves constant operation of the vehicle in rear-wheel drive with periodic rigid connection of the front axle. That is, this is a classic example of Part-Time all-wheel drive, which forces you to constantly shift the tight transmission lever between positions 2H-4H; however, if you have already engaged 4H all-wheel drive, it is equivalent to blocking the center differential (although there is no such thing and the front wheels are connected directly). Finally, there is also a 4L position on this lever, which provides for the engagement of a lower transmission range. Interestingly, the manual and automatic transmissions have different downshift ratios in 4L mode, different final drives, and (expectedly) different gear ratios for each gear.
TheSuzuki Jimny is a true off-road vehicle with a design that fully meets the title of a true off-roader: Frame and axles, steering damper, all-wheel drive with a low-range, longitudinally mounted engine. By the way, the latter develops 102 hp at 6000 rpm and 130 Nm at 4000 rpm, which should be enough for a fairly light car: 1090-1135 kg are declared, depending on the configuration. And the maximum speed of 140-145 km/h (more for the manual transmission, less for the automatic transmission) and fuel consumption in the combined cycle at the level of 7.4 liters (manual transmission) to 8.1-8.2 liters (automatic transmission) are also declared. So...
Driving: go off-road more often!
We first met with the current fourth generation Suzuki Jimny more than five years ago, and even then I immediately noted one of the key comments: it really needs an automatic transmission with more gears! Five years have passed, but nothing has changed - this comment remains. What does a normal ride in a Suzuki Jimny look like? A more or less active start from a traffic light, active acceleration to 50-60 km/h, and then it's like a cutoff. Accelerating to a speed of 70-80 km/h already requires more active pressure on the accelerator pedal, as if the car is asking: are you sure you want to do this? Further acceleration to 100-110 km/h really gives you time to think about the question.
So: the start is given in first gear, then all city driving takes place in second or third gear and at about 2,500-3,500 rpm (thank you, the engine is surprisingly quiet in such modes) - and all because the automatic transmission simply has no other choice. Finally, the highway "hundred" is achieved in fourth gear and at a considerable three thousand revolutions. Together with a distinctive design, a vertical radiator grille, and not too tilted glass, the result is quite noticeable fuel consumption - on the highway, it's about the same as in the city. And you don't really want to go faster than 100-110 km/h: fuel consumption, sensitivity to side wind, no good reserve of dynamics for overtaking.
And we haven't even talked about corners and bumps, where there are many surprises as well. For example, the steering wheel is very long (four turns from stop to stop) and rather light, with almost no backlash. Together with the high-profile tires, all this means a lot of swerves and only approximate adherence to the desired course. But in the case of the miniature Suzuki Jimny, there are no problems: by the time you realize the need to correct the course, by the time you turn the steering wheel, the car still has enough lane width. So you drive like a snake. And in the corners you can drive like a "mom's drift racer"! What I mean is that a tall and narrow car, which in most cases drives on rear-wheel drive, is prone to rear wheel slip and skids. But again, they occur in a tiny amplitude and at minimal speeds. If you start treating this not as a comment on stability, but as another piece of entertainment, you'll start doing this every second or third corner.
However, the real fun for the Suzuki Jimny is off-road! The very comfortable chassis completely eliminates the jarring feel that sometimes bothered you at speed bumps or manholes in city streets: now the car just feels as soft as possible. This lightweight steering wheel fits perfectly into this mood, allowing you to simply steer the Suzuki Jimny in the right direction, rather than fight jerks on the road; here, a special "thank you" to the steering damper. The Part-Time all-wheel drive is even better! The engine traction is enough, the wheels spin and slip furiously, splashes of first snow and mud fly everywhere - and we confidently drive forward. For most cases, the top row of the transmission is enough; however, the 4L mode helps you climb uphill at minimum speed and with minimal risk of wheel slip. It also helps you go downhill by slowing down the engine. It turns out that with certain driving skills, the hill descent assist system is even unnecessary (although it is also present here). Among the advantages that you notice on the road are the wheel arch extensions, which really protect against mud; and the engine constantly operates in the range of 2-3-3.5 thousand, where there is a smooth thrust and good silence - so its sound does not strain or tire your ears, even during long slow off-road travel.
Bored in the city? Slow on the highway? Then go off-road - that's where Suzuki Jimny really shines! There is enough engine power, the classic automatic transmission with the "old-school" button O/D shifts very smoothly, all-wheel drive makes all wheels turn at once, the lightness and compactness of the car work wonders - you don't fall into the mud, you can drive along the ridge of the track. There is no rear differential lock, but when one of the wheels is unloaded, the electronics are triggered, which selectively clamps the brakes and the baby is ready to crawl on under the squeaks of the brake pads. It's hard to say how much fuel is consumed when driving off-road, it all depends on the driving conditions. However, I advise you to take into account the small fuel tank with a capacity of only 40 liters: if you go on long off-road trips, take fuel cans with you in reserve (that is, again minus the trunk). Fuel consumption in the city averages 8-9 liters per 100 km (plus or minus 1 liter for traffic jams and driving style), fuel consumption on the highway at 100 km/h is similar at 8.5 liters. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 13.4-14.4 seconds, depending on rear wheel slip (or lack thereof) and, it seems, even on headwind or tailwind. During such measurements of dynamics "with the pedal to the floor", it is noticeable how the engine seems to open a "second wind" around 4 thousand, and so it reaches the marks of 5-5.5-6 thousand revolutions; but then it is already loud.
Price: how much does a Suzuki Jimny cost and who is the competition
The Suzuki Jimny is available in Ukraine only in a 3-door body, always with the unaltered 1.5-liter gasoline engine. However, you can choose the GL or GLX trim level and gearbox type; moreover, the trim level and gearbox are interconnected.
The range is opened by the Suzuki Jimny GL: ABS and ESP, automatic braking system and lane departure warning system, front and side airbags, inflatable side curtains, air conditioning, cruise control, multimedia system with Android Auto and Apple Car Play support, heated front seats, 15-inch steel wheels, LED headlights with automatic headlight switching sensor, automatic low beam/high beam switching function, etc. The price of Suzuki Jimny GL 1.5 102 ALL GRIP PRO 4WD 5MT starts from 918 thousand UAH or $22 thousand.
One level higher is the Suzuki Jimny GLX, where the following is added: climate control, rear interior lighting and a left footrest, heated side mirrors, body-colored handles, 15-inch alloy wheels, a trunk organizer, tinted rear windows, etc. The price of theSuzuki Jimny GLX 1.5 102 ALL GRIP PRO 4WD 4AT starts from UAH 1.12 million or almost $27 thousand.
Already in the starting package there are LED-headlights and (a pleasant surprise!) several security systems. Also in the starting package is a multimedia system that is familiar from the model Suzuki Vitara Hybrid: simple menu, good performance, Android Auto and Apple Car Play, a normal picture from the rearview camera (at the beginning of the car's career, it was not available, now it has been added) - you can't ask for more from it. However, only in the maximum configuration do alloy wheels, climate control, and heated side mirrors appear. And all this happens with the mandatory addition of an automatic transmission, which results in a considerable surcharge.
Who is the competition? Here, you can spend a long time looking for small but real SUVs, and you'll hardly find any. And if we talk about a crossover, even in the same Suzuki showroom, there will be two more cars next to the Jimny - the Suzuki Vitara and the Suzuki S-Cross - with a more practical 5-door body, a more powerful engine, a more modern automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive, which will be sufficient in 90% of cases. However, I think that in the case of the Suzuki Jimny, the situation with the choice of competitors is similar to that of the Jeep Wrangler. Because of the very strong emotional component, competitors are not necessarily cars, but basically any emotional things: for example, a motorcycle or a fishing boat. So...
