For South Africans the Suzuki Jimny is not a new vehicle it has been around for 50 years in some sort of format. Most recently in 2018 the latest version of the Jimny was introduced with initially very few units available for the local market. When stocks eventually started to flow the sales started to rocket as the demand for this very capable and affordable 4×4 became obvious.
Now in 2023 you see this funky little icon in every street and town in South Africa idolised by the young and old, as it is not unusual to see young mums behind the wheel or a few pensioners off to the store for supplies.
Its true many more buyers almost made the purchase but unfortunately for their lifestyle or circumstances the two-door compact Jimny was just too small. Well not anymore, it is time to pop into your local Suzuki dealer and see the newly launched Suzuki Jimny five-door version. Available in GL or GLX, five-speed manual or four-speed automatic equipped with the popular K15B 1.5 litre petrol engine. Now if you are a family and require a larger four passenger door transport you can also own a Funky Jimny in a range of vibrant colours.
The Suzuki engineers stretched the wheelbase of the three-door model to 2 590mm, enough to add on two rear passenger doors and more cabin room. Overall length was increased by 340mm to 3 820mm. Ground clearance remains an impressive 210mm while the approach, breakover and departure angles measure an impressive 36 degrees, 24 degrees and 47 degrees.
Same front and rear design as the three-door with only the side profile changing with the extra length. The designers have remained true to the original Jimny heritage making it possible to mistake the new 5-door model for the 3-door version even with the addition of two rear small rectangular side windows between the rear doors and the rear pillars.
All Five-door models have 195/80 on/off road tyres on 15-inch alloy wheels including the spare wheel.
Inside the dashboard, seats and controls are the same as the three-door version. The rear bench has a 50:50 split and an additional power socket in the luggage compartment has been added. The GLX specification adds leather cladding to the steering wheel, blue tooth hands-free phone facility and audio controls with additional button for cruise control. GLX also has a larger infotainment screen moving from a 7-inch on the GL to a 9-inch. All versions have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in full colour from the reverse camera on the infotainment screen.
Other small additions to the five-door are rear assist grips for the rear passengers, the two rear seats can fold individually or together increasing the load space from 211 litres to 332 litres. (The cabin is now 1 113 litres of space in total). The five-door can also create two lay-flat beds from a unique design feature allowing the front seats to fold completely flat and integrate with the rear seats.
The 1.5 litre petrol engine with 16 valves delivers 75kW at 6 000 rpm and 130 Nm at 4 000 rpm. The power is delivered to the two rear wheels in normal conditions and all-four wheels when the transfer gearbox is engaged.
Other features are the AllGrip Pro, Hill Descent Control, Hill assist and Brake Assistance as standard. Safety is taken care of with ABS brakes, Electronic Stability Program, side-impact beams, and child-seat anchors.
Two airbags in the GL and six in the GLX with curtain airbags that run the length of the cabin.
To welcome the five-door Jimny to SA, Suzuki has created an exclusive two-tone paint option for this model range. The Two-tone colour options are Chiffon Ivory Metallic, Kinetic Yellow, and Sizzling Red Metallic (new) with a roof painted with Pearlescent Bluish Black paint. Single colour options are Celestial Blue Pearl Metallic (new), Artic White Pearl, Silky Silver Metallic, Bluish Black Pearl, Granite Grey Metallic (new) and Jungle Green.
Retail Price (Five-Door Jimny)
1.5 GL 5MT R429 900 incl vat
1.5 GLX 5MT R457 900 incl vat
1.5 GLX 4AT R479 900 incl vat
Single tone: R1 500
Dual tone: R3 500
5yr/200 000km promotional warranty
4yr/60 000km service plan.
