Suzuki Jimny 2013 News

New safety regulations brought into force from today herald the end of the Chinese-built Chery J1 city car and the Great Wall X240 SUV. The new laws require all new vehicles sold to have stability control -- a feature neither of those two offers. The Chery J1 has been a slow seller this year, beset by stiff competition from mainstream brands that saw it slice its price from $11,000 to $9,990 driveway. However even with the price drop, it has sold only 744 this year to the end of September -- down from 969 at the same time last year. The $23,990 Great Wall X240 SUV has fared even worse in sales, moving 340 year to date compared to 849 this time last year. Other vehicles affected by the new laws include the Suzuki Jimny Sierra, however some vehicles that miss out on stability control -- including the Toyota 70 Series LandCruiser and Foton Tunland -- are classified as commercial vehicles and therefore exempt from the ruling. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

It's the Suzuki Jimny - also known as the Sierra - and there is no sign yet of of its death.The tiny little off-roader has been sold in 188 countries worldwide and Australia was one of the first, as Suzuki even claims to have invented the recreational four-wheel drive category ahead of Toyota."It's been one of the foundation stones. It's part of Suzuki's DNA. It's gone from a baby workhorse to a recreation four-wheel drive," says Tony Devers, general manager of Suzuki Australia.Work on the Sierra - originally called the LJ10 - began in 1968, when it was powered by a baby 360cc two-stroke engine. But it had a robust ladder chassis with dual-range four-wheel drive. The second-generation LJ20 came to Australia in 1974 and was upgraded to a three-cylinder engine, with a pickup called the Stockman also in the range, from 1975.Development has continued down the years, with bigger engines and a slightly bigger body, but the basics remain the same. Suzuki Australia even re-launched the Jimny Sierra last year with a new price push from $20,490 and claims of category leading fuel economy of just 7.0 litres/100km.It will never win an award for comfort or refinement, but Suzuki says it is still a worthwhile member of the family."We are selling about 1000 a year in Australia. It is now a niche product," says Devers. "What has evolved from the Jimny is the Grand Vitara, and Suzuki's all- wheel drive SX4 models. It's part of the jigsaw puzzle. The beauty of them is that there is a waiting list on the used-car front. People love them for beach work and fishing and that sort of thing."