Suzuki Jimny 5-door tames the urban jungle with relative ease

Why it took Suzuki more than half a century to build a bigger version of the ever-popular Jimny is anyone’s guess. But after the long-awaited arrival of the Suzuki Jimny 5-door, it’s a classic case of better late than never.

What started life as the only mini car in the off-road vehicle segment in 1970 has over four generations progressed into a true icon for the Japanese carmaker. Not only in South Africa, but the world over.

Curiously enough, it was only last year – five years into the current JB74 generation – that the first five-door derivative of the boxy SUV rolled off the assembly line.

While the Suzuki Jimny has always excelled at its intended purpose – hard-core off-roading – it lacked everyday practicality for more than two occupants. With only 85 litres of boot space in the three-door version and the inconvenience of rear-seated passengers having to squeeze in and out with the front seats tilted forward, it’s definitely not ideal for daily school runs.

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Suzuki Jimny put to the test

So when a Suzuki Jimny 5-door arrived at The Citizen Motoring‘s office in March for a prolonged two-month stay, we were keen to see how it lived up to its main task of coping with daily life. Or in this writer’s case, as dad’s taxi. And in this regard, the R457 900 Jimny five-door went about its business exceptionally well. Albeit in the urban jungle and not the one it was originally built to conquer.

Even in top spec GLX guise it is rather puzzling how a car this sparsely specced can be so popular. Flagship-specific interior details include nine-inch infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, reverse camera, cruise control, leather wrapped steering wheel, dual zone climate control and revised TFT display in the instrument cluster.

But this humble set of specifications is as good as it gets and there isn’t much in the offing for rear occupants. The absence of rear vents, storage space and USB ports might suffice on short city hops, but will definitely limit comfort on road trips.

Ample space in the rear

Much to the Suzuki Jimny 5-door’s credit though is the ample leg room in the rear along with the hordes of head room due to the high roof. It passed this test with flying colours while carrying four adults on a round trip from Johannesburg to Sasolburg. An hour in each direction was just short enough for rear occupants not to start noticing what they were missing out on.

With the Suzuki Jimny 5-door derivate being 340mm longer than its three-door sibling boot space increases to 211 litres. It still sounds small, but is very practical. The barn-door tailgate and that the absence of a boot cover allows you to stack luggage in all the way to the roof.

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Versatile boot space

On the trek to school every day the boot fitted two school bags, two sports bags and two lunch-boxes with ease. And the monthly grocery shopping also fitted in easily.

With the rear seats folded flat, the Suzuki Jimny 5-door offers 1 113 litres of boot space, 377 more than its smaller sibling.

On the outside, the GLX benefits from LED projector-type headlights with washer alongside the five-door specific chrome grill. Safety-wise, the GLX features six airbags as standard, ABS with EBD, hill-hold control and rear parking sensors.

Power par for the course

The Suzuki Jimny 5-door is powered by the same 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine as its three-door sibling. The four-pot mill produces 75kW of power and 130Nm. This is sent to either the front wheels or all four corners via selectable transfer case. Our tester featured five-speed manual transmission, with the other option being four-speed automatic.

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The short gear ratios means a lot of rowing in everyday traffic. But this is done with ease due to a light clutch pedal and the added benefit of hill-hold control. Steering is slightly heavy, but a turning circle of only 9.8m allow the driver to manoeuvre anywhere.

Lots of down-shifting to keep it on the boil was also required on the freeway with four adults on board. But the mill still performed admirably when pushed harder than usual. That is if you appreciate the fact that the Jimny was never meant to threaten the national speed limit.

Suzuki Jimny 5-door conclusion

We covered more than 5 000km in our two months in the Suzuki Jimny 5-door. Almost half included a round trip to colleague Charl Bosch’s home town of Despatch in the Eastern Cape. At the end of our journey, fuel consumption stood at a very credible 6.7L/100km.

The Suzuki Jimny 5-door GLX had a special place in our garage. It did whatever job it was thrown at it with aplomb. All the while being an honest, rugged, boxy and loveable little thing. With much-needed practicality too.