Barely ten months after its international unveiling at Auto Expo India, the highly anticipated five-door Suzuki Jimny is finally a reality on local roads. Last month, we headed across the Botswana border with Suzuki to experience the bigger Jimny in its natural habitat.
For over 50 years, the Suzuki Jimny has fascinated its fans and frustrated its frenemies with its indomitable spirit, go-anywhere attitude, and loveable character. From the rudimentary first-generation to the latest, fifth-generation global sales phenomenon, the Jimny has grown exponentially in standing and, at last, also in stature, with two extra doors, more load space, and a heck of a lot of attitude.
While it may be the first official five-door variant, it is not the first long wheelbase (LWB) version of the Jimny – such a version (the LJ81model in the SJ20 series) was already introduced 45 years ago. Also, the Indian Maruti Gypsy is based on the LWB version of the second-generation SJ40, and this model was marketed globally under different names, including Santana, Samurai, Sierra, Potohar, Fox, Katana, and Caribian.
Suzuki, seemingly, was not interested in developing a five-door version of the Jimny but enterprising body conversion companies realised the potential of a five-door Jimny and in Indonesia the Alexander conversion company (now part of Armada Mobil in Magelang) constructed a five-door variant of the SJ40 LWB model, called the Katana Corsica, for eight years until 1992.
This conversion, the first Jimny with five doors (the rear doors were equipped with window winders) had a longer cabin and high-placed side window that made it look like a miniature version of the earlier Land Rover Discovery models.
What is New?
In much the same fashion, the latest five-door Jimny with its boxy shape looks very much like a junior version of the Mercedes-Benz GClass, especially when viewed from a distance. Also, by adding 340 mm to the overall length of its three-door sibling, Suzuki engineers have added loads more versatility to the Jimny, making it possible for up to four passengers to join in the fun.
The Jimny five-door has more legroom in the rear and received a significant bump in load capacity from 85 litres to 211 litres with the rear seats in use, and from 830 litres to 1 113 litres with the rear seats and passenger seat folded down. Incidentally, the folding front seat is unique to the five-door Jimny.
The increased overall length also means a longer wheelbase (by 340 mm to 2 590 mm), which improves the little tyke’s on-road stability without compromising its off-road ability by any significant margin. Approach, breakover, and departure angles are a mere one-, four-, and two-degrees dearer, respectively.
The other vital statistics remain very close to those of the three-door model. This includes a width of 1 645 mm and a height of 1 720 mm. All local versions of the five-door Jimny boast a 50:50 split rear bench, an additional power socket in the luggage compartment, and a height-adjustable multi-functional steering wheel.
Into the Bush
To launch the newly expanded Jimny, Suzuki headed off to Botswana, where we had the opportunity to sample the Jimny five-door in a variety of conditions, including the pothole strewn tar roads of the Limpopo Province, the coarse gravel roads of Botswana, and the sandy riverbeds of the Tuli Block.
Suzuki has not fiddled with the interior much, either. As in the three-door model, the Jimny five-door has a seveninch infotainment screen on the GL model, and a nineinch system on the range-topping GLX. For passenger comfort, all models have electric windows, while the GLX boasts automatic climate control and the GL a standard air-conditioning system.
On the safety front, all models get Electronic Stability Program (ESP), ABS brakes, side-impact beams in all doors, and three-point seatbelts for all four seats. Both rear seats are equipped with ISOFIX child-seat anchors. GL models are fitted with two airbags, while the five-door GLX boasts a range-first six airbags.
Although the longer Jimny is 110 kg heavier than its three-door stablemate, Suzuki has kept its trusty 1.5litre four-cylinder mill in place, with the GL Jimny available with five-speed manual gearing and the GLX with either manual or a four-speed automatic transmission.
Despite the slight increase in weight, the new Jimny showed almost no change in performance during our near600 km launch drive across various terrains. Its 75 kW of power and 300 Nm of torque is more than enough to maintain a comfortable 110 km/h on the road between Polokwane and the Platjan border post with Botswana.
It also made light work of the sandy off-road conditions that made up most of our journey through the Thule region and back to South Africa via the Pontdrift border post. Credit must also go to the tried-and-tested AllGrip Pro off-road system of the Jimny that includes a transfer gearbox with 2H, 4H, and 4L modes.
A slight upgrade from the standard AllGrip system fitted to other Jimnys, AllGrip Pro amplifies the capabilities of the four-wheel-drive system with electronic assistance, such as selective braking on wheels with no traction that emulates a traditional differential lock. All five-door models further have Hill Descent Control, Hill Assist, and Brake Assistance as standard.
Five-door Jimny models can also be differentiated from other Jimnys by the addition of metallic grill surrounds and its longer rump provides a perfect canvas for a new set of unique colour options. Two-tone options include Chiffon Ivory Metallic, Kinetic Yellow, and Sizzling Red Metallic (new) with a pearlescent blue-black roof, while single-colour choices include Celestial Blue Pearl Metallic (new), Arctic White Pearl, Silky Silver Metallic, Bluish Black Pearl, Granite Grey Metallic (new), and Jungle Green.
Although Suzuki has taken great care to keep the longer Jimny looking, well, just like a Jimny, the extended design is unmistakably unique. The love affair South Africa has with the Jimny will undoubtedly continue to grow, and we would not be surprised if five-door sales soon outstrip those of the three-door as more South Africans clamber to introduce their families to the joy of Jimny.
Text: Bernie Hellberg/Ferdi de Vos
Images: Colin Mileman/Suzuki Auto South Africa
