More space with the same charm and off-road ability

YOU recognise it the moment you see it; there aren’t any swooping lines or aerodynamic curves, and owners absolutely love them.

- Willem van de Putte

No prizes for guessing it’s the Suzuki Jimny, which has burrowed into the hearts of South Africans unlike any other vehicle currently on sale.

They wave at each other on the road, have massive Jimny gatherings, and there are Jimny clubs scattered throughout the country that gather at off-road tracks regularly.

Five doors

This was the first time I had the opportunity to test the five-door GLX version, having previously spent many thousands of kilometres in the three-door driving up the West Coast's Diamond Route, as well as a memorable trip through Botswana.

Purists initially said that adding an extra two doors would take some of the Jimny's charm away, but I'd argue it’s a small price to pay for a lot more space and stability at higher speeds.

It's the same width and height but the wheelbase has been stretched by only 340mm, as has the body to accommodate the extra space.

This slightly changes the approach angle from 37 to 36 degrees and the departure angle from 49 to 47 degrees, while the break-over angle changes from 28 to 24 degrees, which is unlikely to make any difference in a real world application.

Ground clearance is still 210mm and its weight increases from 1050kg to 1200kg.

Exterior and interior

There's nothing much to say about the exterior. It’s basically a box with four wheels that would heroically fail any modern-day aerodynamic wind tunnel test.

Inside the five-door Jimny, you get everything you need without any bells and whistles, which is part of the car's charm.