A year ago, the five-door Suzuki Jimny was launched in SA as a more practical alternative to the three-door version, which remains on sale. Retaining the charismatically boxy styling that has helped make the Jimny something of a cult car, the larger new model is a full 34cm longer, has two extra doors to provide easier access to the rear seat, and adds a R30,000 price premium.
After spending much of the time driving off road in the new five-door Jimny at its media launch a year ago, we wanted to see how the little SUV fares as an urban commuter and whether it makes the grade as a reasonably practical family car.
The Jimny’s 4x4 skills are well known, and at the media launch held in Limpopo and Botswana’s Tuli Block, the boxy little vehicle scampered through dongas and riverbeds with great dexterity. Its short wheelbase, generous 210mm ground clearance and robust ladder-frame chassis made easy work of soft sand and rocky trails, supported by a shift-on-the-fly 4x4 system, low-range transfer case, limited-slip rear differential, rigid front and rear axles with coil spring suspension for maximum wheel articulation, and hill descent control.
This time, the test was to see how the little car would fare in two-wheel drive mode in the daily grind of suburbia, where owners are likely to use it most of the time. Have two extra doors and extra space turned it into a useful family runaround, or is it destined to remain a quirky toy bought mostly for its boxy charm and off road skills?
In terms of practicality the extra boot space makes a significant difference, I can confirm. Compared to the three-door Jimny’s lunchbox-sized 85l, the five-door has a much more useful 211l which is large enough for a couple of tog bags, while the rear seat backs are able to fold down in a 50/50 split to boost the cargo area to 332l. It won’t take four people’s luggage, but for holiday trips the lengthened Jimny would make an ideal two-person car, with the rear seats flipped down to accommodate the bags.
For daily driving the cabin is large enough for four adults with fairly comfortable leg- and head room. Burlier occupants may find shoulder room a little cramped as the car has the same compact width as the Jimny three-door.
The longer wheelbase gives the bigger Jimny a smoother ride than its truncated stablemate, with less jiggling over rough surfaces. It is a less choppy ride and it cruises over most surfaces in pleasant comfort, though the presence of a ladder-frame chassis is sometimes revealed with mild juddering.
Handling-wise the little SUV, in both three- and five-door formats, feels a little top heavy if you try hustle through corners too fast. The Jimny feels nimble when driven at medium pace and with its small size and great visibility the little runt is a pleasure to park, helped by a reversing camera.
With outputs of 75kW and 130Nm, the 1.5l normally aspirated petrol engine is not a thing to be hurried but is sufficiently powered for the urban grind, with enough punch to zip into gaps. On the open road it is able to cruise at the 120km/h speed limit and more, though overtaking moves need to be well planned as in-gear acceleration is not brisk.
The test car was a five-speed manual and, at a saving of R22,000 compared to the automatic model, has a shift action that feels relatively slick and a clutch with a light, progressive action that makes the car easy enough to drive in stop-start traffic. One quirk is that the steering’s ability to self centre is reduced at looking-for-parking speeds, and it takes more muscle to turn the car.
The manual test car averaged a respectably economical 7.1l / 100km in mostly town driving, and Suzuki claims it will consume 6.3l on the combined cycle.
The Jimny five-door is available in three variants: the basic GL for R429,900 and the fancier GLX for R457,900 in manual form and R479,900 in automatic guise.
In the GLX manual tester, the gizmos were plentiful and included a 9-inch infotainment system with wireless Android Auto integration, automatic climate control, auto-on headlights, six airbags, stability control, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, electronically retractable side mirrors, a reversing camera, front fog lamps, and automatic LED headlights with a washer system.
With cars becoming increasingly digitised, the Jimny retains some old-school feel with physical buttons to complement the touchscreen, while shifting driving modes from road to off road is done by an old-fashioned gear lever.
The cabin exudes a robust feel with sturdy grab handles and squared-off styling elements that match the chunky exterior. In terms of styling charm, the lengthened Jimny doesn’t lose out much to its runt-sized brother and still has a cute, dinky-car look.
The original three-door Jimny is neither powerful nor practical, but to judge a cult car in such clinical terms is to miss the point. What it lacks in rational aspects, the little SUV makes up for in exceptional off road ability and larger-than-life charisma.
The five-door Jimny does the same in a more sensible real-world package. Driving it off road is its primary comfort zone, but the enlarged Jimny is a respectably practical daily driver despite some quirks.
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