Suzuki Jimny First Drive: The Kei Car Monster Truck

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on November 30th, 2018 in the Cars category.

 

Was eyeing this vehicle (likely the old one) as a rental vehicle next year. @Famine Would you not recommend?

 

Ok thanks

 

I was curious about this so I dug around to see if I could find an answer:

One theory is that it's a case of a mistranslation. The Suzuki top brass were in England or Scotland or something like that and heard the word "Jimmy". Apparently, it didn't translate correctly and ended up being "Jimny".

The other theory comes from its chassis (LJ) codename which is Gemini. Apparently, that got lost in translation too and worked out to be "Jimny".

Not sure which, or if either is correct. But it sounds plausible.

 

Kei and monster in the same sentence,that's a first.

 

Awesome rental car in Botswana, we did over 2000 miles in 3 weeks including a 300 mile off road stretch. It outperformed many larger 4x4

 

Im just upset we are not getting this in the US.

 

I just realized after all this time that the car is called the Jimny and not the Jimmy. Oh my god.

Edit: Never mind, I was thinking of the GMC Jimmy and not this.

 

Kind of wish they sold these over here.

Imagine if they made a 6X6 version.

 

I don’t imagine they’d sell in North America unless they were WELL under $20k. Which wouldn’t happen. Most people would be scared to drive them anywhere, since this isn’t the 80’s anymore.

A lot of people would remember the last time they tried selling the Jimny here (as the Samurai), when the vehicle was more likely to be on 2 or 0 wheels than 4. The few surviving examples do have a cult following still though.

If someone made a modern version of the original Vitara/Sidekick/Tracker it might be a hit though. Slightly bigger than this but still much smaller than a Wrangler.

Even 2 door Wrangler sales are decreasing over time though so the market for a small off-roader is shrinking. Most people just buy an ATV or Side By Side

 

I live 100 km away from mountains in a proper (old European) city (with narrow streets and also bad roads). This is a perfect affordable car both for the city (not that important to me.. I just walk or use PT) and especially for weekend excursions into the wilderness.

Fishermen, hunters, young couples who love active lifestyle without or with little kids, village people, overlanding enthusiasts, 4x4 maniacs, female townies who adore it for its size and looks these are the buyers of this car. Not so niche after all imo!

 

Man, this Jimny sure looks bold and bada**.

 

Read your review again. Still looks like I'm getting one. I half wish it would get a 6-speed, but I don't do much freeway driving. Just trips to Sydney Motorsport Park maybe twice a year. My Mazda can handle those trips.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a normal small car. Fabia 81TSI(new), Swift Sport(new) Yaris(new), Jazz(new), Polo GTI(used).
However, now that my step-daughter's boyfriend got his Land Cruiser Troop Carrier, we've been invited to camping and remote beach trips. Where having a 4x4 is a must. It'd be multiple trips through the year. Distances about 1 hour North, West and South from my location(I'm on the east coast).
A Troop Carrier would be cool, but I don't want or need anything that big for me.

It's cool that my wife said she prefers I get the Jimny. We'll see how I go mid-year 2020.

 

So this is how the Jimny would look like if it had 5-doors.

 

Too big.

 

Well, it has two additional doors and a longer wheelbase, making it look like a small 5-door Wrangler.

 

Shoot. Jimny's are hard to come by now. That thing would probably double the price at dealerships!

 

You bet. More so if Suzuki equipped it with a small turbodiesel mill.

 

I had no idea these came with a 660cc turbo and were kei cars in Japan. Notice smaller bumpers and lack of fender flares. The want is strong here, and it's real