VEHICLES
Last month Isaac took the reigns of the Jimny and went about his best to upset people, calling it a toy and that it wasn't for him because he had a "family" and needed a vehicle with more room. So instead of him receiving more hate mail, I took the reigns of the Jimny. See, I'm a single male, who likes the outdoors and to get off-road, so it should be perfect for me, or so the theory goes.
Despite wanting to get off-road as often as possible, I am inconveniently required to turn up for work five days a week, which is an hour-long commute on some of Sydney's 'best' motorways. I was under no illusion the Jimny wouldn't be comfortable being driven at 110km/h alongside semi-trailers, but the experience was eye-opening. Instead of just sitting happily on the speed limit trundling along the Jimny was like walking a hyped-up puppy dog. The steering felt loose and required constant correction. Then when truck drivers became tired of sitting behind a lane-wandering Jimny that was doing its best to stay at the speed limit and overtook I thought the thing would be blown off the road, with what felt like a cyclone rocking and rolling the Jimny.
2019 Suzuki Jimny
The world has gone ga-ga for the Jimny, but we wanted to see what it was like to live with. It's got three-months to prove itself.
WORDS BY JOSH NEEDS
What are we testing? 2019 Suzuki Jimny (automatic)
Who’s running it? The whole team
Why are we running it? To find out just how far we can go with a stock Jimny
What it needs to do? It needs to be able to handle the daily commute, weekend work, off-road trips from the mountains to the desert and just about everything in between.
Our long-termer Jimny is an automatic, which for off-road driving is excellent, but on-road it can be quite frustrating. With only 75kW of power you would hope for a gearbox that's able to try and get the best from the engine: unfortunately, the four-speed auto is not that transmission. Hills are the biggest nightmare, with momentum needed otherwise the gearbox will start shuffling between gears, none of which will help you get anywhere quickly. When I tested the manual variant on-road, it was the way to go; however, off-road the automatic is the best choice.
After using it as a daily commuter, I was finally tasked to take it down to help out on a custom shoot, stay tuned for that one. Being able to get out into the bush with the Jimny had me excited. But my excitement soon turned to dread at the thought of a two-hour motorway slog. The Jimny messes with your emotions, one minute you love it, and the next you loathe it.
I'm glad I persevered with the Jimny, instead of taking what would've been the more comfortable option of unicycling to the shoot location, because once off-road it came to life. It wasn't just in the slow, tough stuff either; this thing is a hoot to drive on a dirt road.
SOFT SHACKLE
Safe, light weight, easy to use alternative to conventional steel bow shackles
Reduces the likelihood of increased driveline vibrations with the increased ride height.
Lift & Alignment
all in one!
2019 Suzuki Jimny Specifications
PRICE $25,490 (auto – as tested)
WARRANTY Five-years, unlimited kilometres
SAFETY 3-star ANCAP rating
ENGINE 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
POWER 75kW at 6000rpm
TORQUE 130Nm at 4000rpm
TRANSMISSION Four-speed automatic
DRIVE Part-time 4WD with low range
DIMENSIONS 3645mm long (incl spare), 3480mm long (exc spare), 1645mm high, 1720mm wide (incl mirrors), 2250mm wheelbase
TURNING CIRCLE 9.8m
GROUND CLEARANCE 210mm claimed; 200mm (measured to bottom off diff pumpkin but control arms are lower at a measured 190mm)
ANGLES 37-degrees approach, 28-degrees rampover, 49 degrees departure
WADING DEPTH 300mm
MAX BRAKED TOWING 1300kg
MAX TOW BALL MASS 75kg
FUEL TANK 40 litres
THIRST 6.9L/100km claimed combined (automatic)
Let's face it the Jimny isn't made for commuting, or long-distance touring, it was made for fun. From following a four-inch lifted Patrol with 35s through rutted tracks, to tiptoeing through water crossings, the Jimny did it all. If it couldn't do something, you just backed out and took another line, because when you're in something so small, there are so many other lines you can take to get up, over or around something.
Unfortunately as the day of shooting was coming to a close dread set back in, the same feeling you get on Sunday afternoon when you realise the alarm is set for work on Monday morning. The return journey was long and tedious.
The Jimny isn’t a family vehicle (unless your family consists of you, your partner, and a tiny dog), it isn't designed for long-distance touring either, but it's still a whole heap of fun to drive. If the furthest I had to drive on-road was to the local shops, and then head out onto some tracks on the weekend, it would be great. Maybe the boss was right after all? Cue the hate mail.
Want to stay in the loop with our long-term Jimny, then follow its journey by clicking here.
VEHICLES
2019 Suzuki Jimny
The world has gone ga-ga for the Jimny, but we wanted to see what it was like to live with. It's got three-months to prove itself.
What are we testing? 2019 Suzuki Jimny (automatic)
Who’s running it? The whole team
Why are we running it? To find out just how far we can go with a stock Jimny
What it needs to do? It needs to be able to handle the daily commute, weekend work, off-road trips from the mountains to the desert and just about everything in between.
Last month Isaac took the reigns of the Jimny and went about his best to upset people, calling it a toy and that it wasn't for him because he had a "family" and needed a vehicle with more room. So instead of him receiving more hate mail, I took the reigns of the Jimny. See, I'm a single male, who likes the outdoors and to get off-road, so it should be perfect for me, or so the theory goes.
Despite wanting to get off-road as often as possible, I am inconveniently required to turn up for work five days a week, which is an hour-long commute on some of Sydney's 'best' motorways. I was under no illusion the Jimny wouldn't be comfortable being driven at 110km/h alongside semi-trailers, but the experience was eye-opening. Instead of just sitting happily on the speed limit trundling along the Jimny was like walking a hyped-up puppy dog. The steering felt loose and required constant correction. Then when truck drivers became tired of sitting behind a lane-wandering Jimny that was doing its best to stay at the speed limit and overtook I thought the thing would be blown off the road, with what felt like a cyclone rocking and rolling the Jimny.
WORDS BY JOSH NEEDS
Our long-termer Jimny is an automatic, which for off-road driving is excellent, but on-road it can be quite frustrating. With only 75kW of power you would hope for a gearbox that's able to try and get the best from the engine: unfortunately, the four-speed auto is not that transmission. Hills are the biggest nightmare, with momentum needed otherwise the gearbox will start shuffling between gears, none of which will help you get anywhere quickly. When I tested the manual variant on-road, it was the way to go; however, off-road the automatic is the best choice.
After using it as a daily commuter, I was finally tasked to take it down to help out on a custom shoot, stay tuned for that one. Being able to get out into the bush with the Jimny had me excited. But my excitement soon turned to dread at the thought of a two-hour motorway slog. The Jimny messes with your emotions, one minute you love it, and the next you loathe it.
I'm glad I persevered with the Jimny, instead of taking what would've been the more comfortable option of unicycling to the shoot location, because once off-road it came to life. It wasn't just in the slow, tough stuff either; this thing is a hoot to drive on a dirt road.
SOFT SHACKLE
Safe, light weight, easy to use alternative to conventional steel bow shackles
Reduces the likelihood of increased driveline vibrations with the increased ride height.
Lift & Alignment
all in one!
2019 Suzuki Jimny Specifications
PRICE $25,490 (auto – as tested)
WARRANTY Five-years, unlimited kilometres
SAFETY 3-star ANCAP rating
ENGINE 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
POWER 75kW at 6000rpm
TORQUE 130Nm at 4000rpm
TRANSMISSION Four-speed automatic
DRIVE Part-time 4WD with low range
DIMENSIONS 3645mm long (incl spare), 3480mm long (exc spare), 1645mm high, 1720mm wide (incl mirrors), 2250mm wheelbase
TURNING CIRCLE 9.8m
GROUND CLEARANCE 210mm claimed; 200mm (measured to bottom off diff pumpkin but control arms are lower at a measured 190mm)
ANGLES 37-degrees approach, 28-degrees rampover, 49 degrees departure
WADING DEPTH 300mm
MAX BRAKED TOWING 1300kg
MAX TOW BALL MASS 75kg
FUEL TANK 40 litres
THIRST 6.9L/100km claimed combined (automatic)
Let's face it the Jimny isn't made for commuting, or long-distance touring, it was made for fun. From following a four-inch lifted Patrol with 35s through rutted tracks, to tiptoeing through water crossings, the Jimny did it all. If it couldn't do something, you just backed out and took another line, because when you're in something so small, there are so many other lines you can take to get up, over or around something.
Unfortunately as the day of shooting was coming to a close dread set back in, the same feeling you get on Sunday afternoon when you realise the alarm is set for work on Monday morning. The return journey was long and tedious.
The Jimny isn’t a family vehicle (unless your family consists of you, your partner, and a tiny dog), it isn't designed for long-distance touring either, but it's still a whole heap of fun to drive. If the furthest I had to drive on-road was to the local shops, and then head out onto some tracks on the weekend, it would be great. Maybe the boss was right after all? Cue the hate mail.
Want to stay in the loop with our long-term Jimny, then follow its journey by clicking here.