Little Boxes

SUZUKI’S NEW JIMNY IS CERTAINLY WINNING POPULARITY CONTESTS IN 2019, BUT HOW DOES IT GO OFF-ROAD? WE TAKE IT TO THE HIGH COUNTRY TO FIND OUT.

- Matt Raudonikis

AMONG AN ocean of same-same compact SUVs with little or no appeal or individuality and even less off-road ability, Suzuki’s venerable Jimny is a welcome addition. Putting function to the fore but with boxy styling that wins on the cool and cute scales, the Jimny has no real competition in its class. As a three-door small 4x4, the closest vehicles you will get to the Jimny are the short wheelbase Jeep Wrangler or the no-longer-in-production Land Rover Defender 90, but even those are bigger vehicles.

Suzuki’s small 4x4 harks back to the original LJ10 released in 1970, and the 2019 iteration of that vehicle retains many of the hallmarks that made the original such a success. Most importantly, it’s a no-frills, lightweight vehicle, constructed on a ladder-frame chassis with live axles at both the front and rear for better off-road performance and durability.

However, it’s now 2019, and the new Suzuki 4x4 – now called the Jimny after progressing though LJ10, LJ20, LJ50, LJ80, Sierra and Stockman models – has to meet the extra demands and regulations of the modern era. The Jimny can’t match the roughly 600kg weight of its ancestors, but, at 1095kg for the manual version, it’s still the lightest true 4x4 you can buy.