Mild-hybrid turbo heart rumoured for five-door Suzuki Jimny

With testing having continued despite ongoing online spy images, a report from Japan has claimed that the incoming five-door Suzuki Jimny will eschew the normally aspirated petrol engine for a mild-hybrid assisted turbocharged unit.

Reportedly set to be called the Jimny Long, online publication MOTA claims the newcomer will have a 300 mm longer wheelbase than the three-door, while retaining the same overall length, height and width.

Though unable to confirm claims of the newcomer being underpinned by Daihatsu’s New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform, which is spun-off of Toyota’s TNGA, MOTA’s biggest uncovering is the mentioned forced induction powerplant aided by an electric motor.

Not revealing the engine’s size or indeed the final/estimated power and torque outputs, the online publication merely states that the figures in question will compensate for the Long’s added weight over the three-door, which is claimed to be as much as 100 kg for a kerb mass of 1 190 kg.

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If proven true, the Long’s choice of transmissions, which will continue to include a low range transfer case, could potentially be different from the five-speed manual or four-speed automatic the three-door currently uses.

As is already known, the Jimny Long will be manufactured by Suzuki’s Maruti division in India, where it will allegedly revive the Gypsy moniker, and debut sometime next year after previously being rumoured for this year.

Suzuki Auto South Africa has meanwhile indicated that it will be looking into bringing the Long to South Africa, but only if its sports five-doors as an extended wheelbase three-door will make little to no sense given the presence of the three-door.

“If that is a platform for a five-door, as soon as it becomes available, we will definitely study it. We understand how important the Jimny is and if we can be built on that success even further that will be a great opportunity for us to do so,” the brand’s Marketing Manager for South Africa, Brendon Carpenter, said last month.

Expect more details and possibly also complete details to emerge over the coming weeks and months in addition to the likelihood of undisguised production images in the form of online leaks.