Suzuki Jimny 3-door: A squirt in the mud

0 0 April 29, 2026 Edit this post

by Chris Riley

What is it?

It's been more than five years since we last drove the "new" Suzuki Jimny.

The scary thing is that not much has changed in this time -- it's still fundamentally the same.

It's the same engine, the same transmission and the same four-wheel drive system.

There's a new touchscreen and operating system, while auto cruise control and parking sensors have been added front and back.

And along the way, a cheaper, more accessible version of the little 4x4 was added to the mix -- known simply as the Jimny Lite.

What’s it cost?

Five years ago, three-door Jimny was priced from $23,990.

To get into the car now, it's $31,990 and that is for the Lite version.

The full-blown version is $33,990 for the manual or $36,490 for the automatic.

Five-door Jimny XL meanwhile is priced from $34,990, while the better equipped Heritage edition is $40,990 -- all prices before on-road costs.

Any colour except white adds to the price, with Premium paint $745 and two-tone paintwork with a black roof is $1345.

Lite is available only in Superior White or Jungle Green.

The bright green or perhaps yellow that everyone wants is called Kinetic Yellow and is available only in combination with a black roof.

Interestingly, it's a very close match for the colour of Ryobi power tools.

There's seven colours to choose from, three of them two-tone combinations: Superior White, Jungle Green, Medium Gray, Chiffon Ivory Metallic/Bluish Black Pearl, Kinetic Yellow/Bluish Black Pearl, Brisk Blue Metallic/Bluish Black Pearl.

Our test vehicle is the three-door Jimny in top spec, finished in the black and yellow combo.

Cloth trim is standard across all grades, with a leather-clad steering wheel and single zone climate control for this grade.

Adaptive cruise control is also now standard on both three-doors, but only the auto version of the five-door gets it.

And you still start the car with a key.

There's also LED headlights, auto high beam, traffic sign recognition, front fog lights, daytime running Lights (DRLs), privacy glass and 15-inch alloys with skinny 195/80 tyres.

The big story, if you can call it that, is the upgrade to the infotainment system.

A 9.0-inch screen (7.0-inch for Lite) now heads up the system, with Bluetooth, voice control, AM/FM and now DAB+ digital radio, plus wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, with sound delivered via an ancient two-speaker audio system.

Built-in navigation, once standard, is missing in action.

There's a single USB-A port and a 12-volt outlet in the front, with another 12-volt outlet for the luggage area.

Safety compromises six airbags and autonomous emergency braking which uses a camera and a laser sensor to scan the road ahead for traffic and/or pedestrians.

You also get lane departure warning, weaving assist to fight fatigue, plus automatic, traffic-sensing high beam.

Despite all this, Jimny scores only three of a possible five stars for safety.

What’s it go like?

It's a cutie, that's for sure -- but looks aren't everything.

At the business end, a 1.5-litre, four cylinder, naturally-aspirated petrol engine delivers a stingy 75kW of power and 130Nm of torque -- the latter at 4000 revs.

The 1.5 is available with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, with lockout overdrive that prevents the auto from changing into top gear -- sort of a sport mode.

A part-time four-wheel drive system, featuring high and low range gearing, is engaged via a second stubby transfer lever located at the rear of the main one.

This can be accomplished on the move for high range, which is permissible on wet roads, but the change to low range for the rough stuff requires a stop and shift to Park before it can be engaged.

The rest of the time the car remains rear-wheel drive.

As well as hill hold and hill descent control, the 4x4 system also boasts what's known as Brake LSD Traction Control.

Basically, it means that if two diagonally opposed wheels lose their grip in slippery conditions, it will automatically brake the slipping wheels and redistribute torque to the other two.

With a tiny 40-litre tank, it takes standard 91 unleaded, with fuel consumption rated at 6.4L/100km for the manual or 6.9L/100km for the auto.

It's a stubby thing, at 3.64 metres in length, with a 2250mm wheelbase.

But Jimny still accommodates four people, although the two rear seats are child-sized with little leg room and very little room remaining for luggage.

There are no air vents in the back either, nor cupholders or storage bins -- just the one seat pocket on the passenger side.

The body is bolted to a separate ladder chassis, as preferred by the 4x4 set, with a spare wheel that sits on the tailgate.

It opens from left to right in keeping with right hand drive needs, but it can be heavy to manoeuvre, particularly if parked on a slope.

With the rear seats laid flat, storage is a thousand times better, but the hard plastic surface is extremely slippery and items slide around.

Suspension is three-link rigid axles front and back with shocks and coil springs, and it rides on 15 inch wheels with 195/80 series Dunlop AT20 rubber.

With a creditable 210mm of ground clearance and short front and rear overhangs, it has an approach angle of 37 degrees, ramp over angle of 28 degrees and departure angle of 49 degrees.

But no figure is provided for its water crossing capability, although we understand the figure to be 300mm.

Getting into the car requires a step up and in, with a door-lip the same as a Jeep to prevent the entry of water.

The driver's seat adjusts backwards and forwards, but there's no height adjustment and the steering wheel moves only up and down.

Jimny is started with the twist of a key, just like cars all used to be in the old days.

With a small four cylinder engine, it needs some revs to get going, with maximum torque not available until 4000 rpm.

The electric steering is interesting, as it is possible to move the wheel from side to side without actually generating any kind of response.

The auto, with only four gears, could do with an update, but of course there's only so much room to fit a larger transmission.

Despite this, it works reasonably well around town and is probably the pick because it doesn't use much more fuel.

No test of the Jimny would be complete without taking it off road.

Changing in and out of high range four-wheel drive is simple and the suspension and ground clearance are adequate.

Engaging low range requires a stop and the transmission moved to Park.

This is a vehicle that has little trouble scaling rocks and rock shelves, but seems to have an aversion to mud and water.

Embarrassingly, we got it bogged and it was time to dial a friend . . .

Jimny's small size allows it to squeeze easily in and out of tight situations, but don't expect too much from the car and you won't wind up disappointed.

Get to know it, get to know what it can and can't do, and it won't let you down.

However, for full-on four-wheel driving, we'd suggest chunkier rubber and a lift kit -- the skinny tyres don't do the car justice.

In terms of fuel consumption, we were getting 7.8L/100km after 330km, including some hard four-wheel driving.

That's a bit disappointing considering the diminutive size of the vehicle and its small engine.