Jimny goes big on character

The Suzuki Jimny might not seem like the usual Wanted car. It’s not luxurious, it doesn’t go fast and it’s not even technologically advanced, but there is something incredibly endearing about it. In three-door guise it isn’t even that practical, but then along came the five-door and suddenly it ticked some important boxes.

Mercedes-Benz is always promising to make a baby G-Class, something that has all the attitude, luxury and go-anywhere capability of the famous Gelandewagen, but without the size and price tag. The new Ineos Fusilier could be the closest thing, but it’s not arriving until 2027. In the meantime, it’s all about the Jimny and, with prices starting at R429,000, it’s significantly cheaper than a Merc or a Jeep Wrangler.

Neither is really a direct comparison, of course the Jimny has a little 1.5l petrol engine that has to use its 75kW and 130Nm of torque to pull it along. It seemed meagre in the three-door, but with an extra 340mm added to the length to create the five-door model and the additional weight it’s not going to win any races and can become slightly painful on uphill stretches.

But it’s not about performance, at least not on the road. The Jimny has a ladder frame chassis like most pukka off-roaders. It has three-link suspension to cope with the rough stuff, and you can select your 4x4 modes using an actual lever rather than buttons or by swiping through menus on a touchscreen.

We took it to an off-road track near Ballito where a representative of the Suzuki Jimny Club was to be our guide. It didn’t need low range for most of it, even on some very steep declines and muddy stretches. Like a puppy, it happily romped along the tracks, between the sugar cane and underneath electricity pylons that had fallen eerily on their sides in the storms of last year. With its basic mechanicals, relatively light weight and 210mm of ground clearance, it made light work of it all and felt more comfortable and more capable than on the road. Off-road is its true home. Even when we hit a rather nasty bit of mud and it bogged down, it just seemed like part of the fun, the adventure.

Most will rarely go beyond a bit of gravel road driving, though it is a great urban slicker too. Its compact dimensions mean it will slot in between Range Rovers and Land Cruisers with ease. It whizzes through underground car parks and nestles between Jeep Wranglers with a little chuckle, like Milo in the movie The Mask.

It’s easy to drive, and in town you barely notice the lack of power, instead simply enjoying the feeling of being in a car that is small on price but big on attitude.

The main aspect of the interior is the addition of the extra doors providing access to the back seats. There’s plenty of space there for passengers, although only two seat belts. There’s slightly more boot space as well and we got all the family’s holiday luggage in there without packing to the roof. A rather clever trick is that you can fold all the seats flat to make a large bed, so you can sleep under the stars during your adventures.

It’s also not as basic as its design might imply. It has seriously bright LED headlamps, a touchscreen infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as off-road stuff such as a compass. It has cruise control, electronic safety systems and USB ports. It’s not as luxurious as some of its equally capable rivals, but it has all the essentials, and ticks the compact SUV box when it comes to practicality.

The Jimny isn’t perfect by any means, but given the company it can stand up to, it doesn’t have to be. It could do with a bit more power, possibly even a hybrid system to give it better acceleration and fuel economy, but even that fails to detract too much from the Jimny experience.

It has the sort of character that has defined other famous models like the Mini or the classic Land Rover Defender. It is as charming as it is capable, and is the ideal urban warrior and occasional off-road adventurer. You can even add accessories to make it even more capable or give it more attitude.

Not everyone wants to be in that club though, and that’s fine because the Jimny is great as it is. After a week or so with the latest five-door version, it proved to be the Jimny we always wanted as a family and we fell in love with it. Would we take one over a G-Class? You know what, we probably would.