Why the Suzuki Jimny is an overhyped and overrated 4WD | Opinion

The Suzuki Jimny set hearts a-flutter when it landed here in all its retro glory back in 2019.

Understandably, the car-curious public was excited as were most automotive writers who were guilty of waxing lyrical about the little Zook. (Oh, how they waxed.) And, yes, I'll admit it: even journalists such as myself were dazzled by the hearty nostalgia-injection the Jimny represented.

This mini real 4WD – with a full ladder-frame chassis and rigid axles front and rear – remains incredibly popular to this day, but is it any good as a daily driver? And is it actually as capable as you think it is off-road?

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With the launch of the five-door Jimny creeping ever closer, I'm about to tell you why I think the Jimny is really not as good as it's made out to be, so keep reading to enlighten yourself.

The Suzuki Jimny is not a good daily driver

(Note: for the purpose of this yarn, I'll refer to my time in an auto Jimny GLX. Bear in mind, I've driven manual and auto Jimny variants, on- and off-road, many times.)
The Jimny is 3645mm long, 1645mm wide, 1725mm high, and the auto has a listed kerb weight of 1110kg (automatic).

It's narrow (1645mm) and light (1110kg) with a 2250mm wheelbase, so it's a fun drive around town, highly manoeuvrable – with a of 9.8m turning circle – and, of course, easy to park pretty much anywhere.

Because it's so light, and its 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (75kW/130Nm) and four-speed automatic transmission are a gutsy enough combination, the Jimny can punch off the mark or on the go, which makes entering traffic from a standing start or overtaking on the highway simple enough tasks.

But that's about it for any positives.

The Jimny is 3645mm long, 1645mm wide, 1725mm high, and the auto has a listed kerb weight of 1110kg (automatic). (Image: James Cleary)

The novelty factor of driving the Jimny feeling like you're steering a go-kart around on streets and roads quickly wears thin.

Driving the Jimny swiftly becomes a tiring and tiresome experience because it requires micro-corrections of the steering, seemingly every nano-second, simply to keep the Jimny heading in a straight line, and the driver has to remain completely engaged in their responsibilities.

The Jimny feels underpowered and vulnerable on highways. Hit 100km/h or so and it feels like the little Zook can't afford to go any faster or harder.

Watch out for ‘wind waves' from passing bigger vehicles, especially trucks, and drive with extra care on stretches signposted "High Wind Area" or "Caution High Winds" because strong surprise gusts can severely rattle the little Jimny.

Ride is firm and jittery via a light narrow body on a ladder-frame chassis and coil springs, so book your physiotherapist and chiropractor well ahead of time because your body, particularly your spine, gets punished.

The Jimny is a real 4WD, albeit in mini form, with a full ladder-frame chassis and rigid axles front and rear.

Also, be warned, it is very noisy inside, so invest in some ear plugs and forget about having any meaningful conversations when you're driving the Jimny.

The little Zook has four barely-there seats, all of them bits of foam clad in durable cloth. They're all quite upright, but are generally comfortable enough for short-distance trips.

With all four seats in use, the rear cargo area is cramped, measuring 85 litres (VDA). That equates to an off-roading first-aid kit, three small daypacks and not much else. Or a few bags of groceries, if you're lucky.

If you drop those 50:50 seats, cargo space is listed as 377 litres.

If safety is a serious consideration, as it should be, it's worth noting that the Jimny has a three-star ANCAP safety rating, issued in January 2019.

The novelty factor of driving the Jimny feeling like you’re steering a go-kart around on streets and roads quickly wears thin.

It has six airbags (dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting curtain airbags), AEB, lane departure warning, weaving alert, hill descent control and more.

It has two ISOFIX child-seat attachment points in the back seat.

The Suzuki Jimny is not a good 4WD

(Note: for the purpose of this yarn, I'll refer to my time in an auto Jimny GLX. Bear in mind, I've driven manual and auto Jimny variants, on- and off-road, many times.)

The Jimny is a real 4WD, albeit in mini form, with a full ladder-frame chassis and rigid axles front and rear. It exists in a vehicular realm occupied by other purpose-built off-roaders, such as the Ford Ranger Raptor, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series and Land Rover Defender.

But it's actually a real let-down as a 4WD, and I'll get to that soon.

The Jimny has part-time 4WD (with high- and low-range 4WD) and an AllGrip Pro system of driver-assist tech that includes hill descent control, hill hold assist and more – all adequate in terms of performance.

Because it's so small and light, the Jimny can be severely unsettled by dramatic changes in terrain or driving conditions.

However, the Jimny is fun and highly manoeuvrable on rough terrain, not because of any mechanical or off-road traction control system, but because it is so small and light.

In the 4WD world, in terms of off-road measurements, the bigger the number the better, and the Jimny has impressive approach, departure and ramp break-over angles of 37 degrees, 49 degrees, and 28 degrees respectively.

And because of its size, offering up plenty of visibility and with a wheel at each corner, the Jimny is very easy to steer through rough terrain, because the driver knows exactly where the tyres are at any time.

It has a full-sized spare wheel mounted on the rear door. (Image: Matt Campbell).

When low-range 4WDing in the Jimny, you do have to use plenty of throttle – keeping the revs up and the wheels spinning in order to get the most out of that traction control – and that can create problems.

Because it's so small and light, the Jimny can be severely unsettled by dramatic changes in terrain or driving conditions – a surprise wheel drop into a deep rut, or a sudden shift in onboard load, or a wind gust while driving up a rocky hill. These abrupt forced shifts in weight or wheel placement can become tricky, even serious, issues to overcome if the Jimny tips in one direction too suddenly.

The Jimny is on 15-inch alloy wheels and standard road tyres (Bridgestone Dueler H/Ts, 195/80R15) and those are fine for on-road driving, but far from ideal for off-roading. It has a full-sized spare wheel mounted on the rear door.

There’s little to like about the basic and cramped interior.(image: Dean McCartney)

Less importantly, there's a lot of in-cabin noise from any track surface, and a noticeable transmission whine.

Ground clearance is 210mm and I've bellied out on the crown of mud ruts after slipping sideways into them from a section off the track, higher up a muddy hill.

Wading depth is about 300mm, but the air intake is quite high in the engine bay so shallow water crossings shouldn't be a problem.

It has a claimed GVM of 1435kg so, with a kerb weight of 1110kg, that leaves 325kg of payload. Not a lot of wiggle room there, especially considering that, as a basic starting point for a weekend away, you load in two adults, a dog, and a few bags. That's not factoring in the weight of any aftermarket accessories (storage platform on the roof etc) either.

Towing capacity is a claimed 350kg (unbraked) and 1300kg (braked).

With all four seats in use, the rear cargo area is cramped, measuring 85 litres (VDA). (Image: Matt Campbell).

Fuel consumption for the auto Jimny is listed as 6.9L/100km (combined). I've most recently recorded 7.4L/100km on test and that included a lot of low-range 4WDing.

The Jimny has a 40-litre fuel tank, so going by that on-test fuel consumption, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 540km out of a full tank.

The good news is that a diff lock, aftermarket suspension and off-road tyres would go a long way to boosting the Jimny's off-road capabilities, and there are numerous OEM and aftermarket accessories available.

So, while there are some positive aspects about the Jimny - most of them hinge on the fun factor - there's no getting past the fact that the Jimny is a real let-down as a 4WD.

The Suzuki Jimny is expensive

At time of writing, it'll cost you $33,490 (excluding on-road costs) to buy a Jimny GLX auto, if you can find one.

For a small, impractical 4WD, which is rather ordinary as a daily driver, that's a lot of cash.

What I reckon

The Suzuki Jimny is a lot of fun to drive off-road ... but that's about it.

On-road, it's noisy and bouncy and exhausting to drive for any great length of time.

And there's little to like about the basic and cramped interior.

On-road, it’s noisy and bouncy and exhausting to drive for any great length of time. (Image: Matt Campbell).

The Jimny is not even a particularly good 4WD, it's simply so small and light that it will climb pretty much anything you point it at, if driven with extreme care by someone with a lot of patience and experience.

As with any real 4WD, the Jimny demands that the driver makes many sacrifices in terms of standard features, safety and comfort and while those aren't deal-breakers for many, for the rest of us it's further proof that the Jimny is nowhere near as good as you think.