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Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - mcb100
Having appeared and then disappeared shortly after, Jimny is apparently on its way back.

www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/battery-electr...e

Given that it’s extremely capable off road with a not particularly torquey 1.5 petrol engine, I’m guessing it’ll be almost unstoppable with a couple of electric motors.

Edited by mcb100 on 27/01/2023 at 21:31

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - groaver

I hope it doesn't become a weighty little truck though.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - John Boy

I saw the petrol version in police livery recently on a BBC TV local webpage. The photo showed it behind other police vehicles, so I couldn't see what exactly it was being used for.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - edlithgow

Apparently coming back to Europe. Not clear from that article that it'll be backing Brexitistan.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - expat

Very popular here in Australia. Last I heard the waiting list was over three months. People who have one are getting approached in the car park by guys wanting to buy it.

www.drive.com.au/news/electric-hybrid-suzuki-jimny.../

Also a 5 door made in India

www.drive.com.au/news/2023-suzuki-jimny-five-door-.../

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - paul 1963

I am surprised Suzuki didn't fit the 1.4T hybrid power train into it, I know the last time they where available dealers couldn't keep up with demand, I'd personally love one.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - badbusdriver

I am surprised Suzuki didn't fit the 1.4T hybrid power train into it, I know the last time they where available dealers couldn't keep up with demand, I'd personally love one.

I'm not sure about that. With the Jimny's dimensions, proportions and centre of gravity, I think that would be a recipe for trouble!.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - newguy2015

I loved this when it launched and seriously considered buying one . I think it was about £15k when this first came out.

One of my neighbours had one. I remember talking to him about it. He loved it but told me it really wasn’t great to drive especially on motorway where he spent a lot if time. His wouldn’t have gone anywhere near a field in one!

At the time I really hoped that Suzuki would bring out a sports version which a bit more grunt and better road manners. I do get that it's primary function was a 4 by 4 go anywhere car.

my neighbour didn’t keep his very long I don’t know whether he got a silly offer due to the really high demand or just got sick of the road manners. He replaced it with a polestar electric car

a Jimmy electric one is going to end up costing what £30k+ which is out of my price range

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - edlithgow

At the time I really hoped that Suzuki would bring out a sports version which a bit more grunt and better road manners. I do get that it's primary function was a 4 by 4 go anywhere car.

I've seen a Suzuki Vitara here that someone had fitted a rear spoiler to and apparently lowered the suspension

Sports version of a Jimny could'nt really be sillier than that

Well OK, maybe a bit

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - newguy2015

At the time I really hoped that Suzuki would bring out a sports version which a bit more grunt and better road manners. I do get that it's primary function was a 4 by 4 go anywhere car.

I've seen a Suzuki Vitara here that someone had fitted a rear spoiler to and apparently lowered the suspension

Sports version of a Jimny could'nt really be sillier than that

Well OK, maybe a bit

I had a Suzuki swift which had great road manners and the 1.5 motor had enough grunt. I really didn’t need the swift sport. I suppose what I was really after was a 4 wheel drive Subaru in the jimmy body shell. Something good to drive on all Roads and with a bit of grunt when you needed it. I really wasn’t thinking about lowered suspension or big spoilers! I just felt the new Jimmy was too comprised as a car and I do get that it’s purpose was to be able to get anywhere

Edited by newguy2015 on 29/01/2023 at 11:49

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - badbusdriver

At the time I really hoped that Suzuki would bring out a sports version which a bit more grunt and better road manners.

The Jimny is 3645mm long, 1645m wide, 1725mm tall and has a 2250mm wheelbase. It has live axles (so a lot of 'unsprung' weight) and a separate chassis (no use for precise handling). It has a high centre of gravity relative to its length and width and is also pretty heavy for its size at 1135kg, thanks to that separate chassis. All of the above make it about the worst possible choice to try and make sporty.

You could of course add more power with a different engine, a turbo conversion or some other form of tuning. But without major improvement in its road manners, any extra power would be essentially unusable unless going in a straight line. But frankly, major improvements in its road manners would be impossible without truly massive costs. With a more modest budget like Suzuki's, you could lower the suspension and stiffen it, which would mean higher cornering speeds were possible (at least in theory). But be in no doubt, the end result would be absolutely rubbish!. The ride, already poor, would deteriorate to the point of making the car unusable. It would still be very unstable in a rapid change of direction due to the very short wheelbase, narrowness and height (which, while lower than the standard Jimny, would still be way higher than something like a Fiesta). Also, unless the road surface was as smooth as a snooker table, it would be bouncing about all over the place like pogo stick.

I also love the Jimny...............

As it is.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - badbusdriver

I've seen a Suzuki Vitara here that someone had fitted a rear spoiler to and apparently lowered the suspension

Sports version of a Jimny could'nt really be sillier than that

Well OK, maybe a bit

Back in the days of the first Vitara, modifying them in a particular way was quite a big thing. They were called something like Vitara 'wide boy' if memory serves, and it would typically involve a lurid colour of paint, being lowered and having hugely flared wheelarch extensions to cover wheels as wide as 12".

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - Metropolis.
I think Suzuki just need to increase suspension travel. solid axles can provide very smooth ride if set up correctly like in a Range Rover classic. A separate chassis can have great benefits in NVH. The Suzuki doesnt seem to have much articulation which to me suggests it might be quite a stiff set up.
Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - badbusdriver

I think Suzuki just need to increase suspension travel.

Yes, but if it had softer suspension with greater travel, the risk in it falling over is higher due to its proportions. A Jimny is taller than it is wide, much more so in the case of the JDM Kei versions which don't have the extra 15cm of track width allowed by the wheelarch extensions.

solid axles can provide very smooth ride if set up correctly like in a Range Rover classic.

Yes they can, but only if the vehicle they are fitted to is heavy relative to the weight of the axles. The Jimny, while heavy for its size, is light for something with solid axles. So the effect of that unsprung weight over potholes, ridges etc, is very much magnified. But the bottom line is that solid axles are chosen for their strength and (in off road applications) superiority in most more extreme circumstances than an independent setup, not for their cushy ride

A separate chassis can have great benefits in NVH.

Yes, it can. But in most cases it doesn't. On a vehicle with a separate chassis, the body is almost(*) never going to be as rigid and stiff as a monocoque because it doesn't need to be. Which means it is going to flex more, resulting in creaks and groans, which inevitably will get worse as the vehicle ages. Having a separate chassis also means double the potential for NVH as you have to deal with that between the road and the chassis, but also that between the chassis and the body. With a monocoque, its just between the road and the body. There are exceptions, but as a general rule, unless the vehicle is a large heavy and very expensive SUV, NVH will be worse on a vehicle with a separate chassis.

*The reason the Disco 3 and RR Sport were so heavy is because they were designed to be monocoque construction. But at the last minute, it was decided they should sit on a separate chassis to appease the traditionalists!.

Suzuki Jimny - It’s coming back. - mcb100
‘ my neighbour didn’t keep his very long I don’t know whether he got a silly offer due to the really high demand or just got sick of the road manners. He replaced it with a polestar electric car’

That’s quite a contrast, going from a Jimny to a Polestar 2….

‘ I think Suzuki just need to increase suspension travel. solid axles can provide very smooth ride if set up correctly like in a Range Rover classic. A separate chassis can have great benefits in NVH. The Suzuki doesnt seem to have much articulation which to me suggests it might be quite a stiff set up.’

As ever, it’s finding a compromise. I’ve no experience with it on road, but I have spent a week demonstrating Jimny off-road. Even on road tyres it was pretty much unstoppable on what was quite a tough course. No, it won’t go clambering over boulders but then I suspect the need to do that is limited.
Just when you thought it was stuck and going nowhere, it’d eventually find a bit of grip with one wheel and the electronics would attribute torque to resume forward motion. I’ve some on-car footage, but it doesn’t show the severity of the gradients it would deal with.

Edited by mcb100 on 29/01/2023 at 13:53