Jim Jiminy, Jim Jiminy, Jim Jim Jerroo…

It’s not often that I find myself conflicted over whether or not a like a car. Most often I will be the guy defending a car from my group of friends, even when their criticisms are valid, however the Jimny had me flummoxed.

I think I struggled to not see the Jimny as a grown up version of Barbie’s Malibu dream car, give the Jimny a splash of pink, accessories sold separate, and the Barbies would be ready to hit the road. I say this, but sitting in the driver’s seat I found myself feeling a bit more like a GI Joe. 

The Jimny is a small car, but then again it has never pretended it wasn’t. And I think that’s where I really started to like the Jimny. Driving this little beast I constantly felt like I was driving a go-kart, and trust me that is a good thing in this car. Often manufactures develop, re-develop, touch up, stich up and face lift their cars to the point where the driver often feels like an optional extra.

The little off roader handles extremely well with quick receptive steering and a great grip on the road. In recent weeks I swear I’ve seen an increase of them on the road. A friend of mine was astounded when his Jimny conquered some adventurous terrain before safely getting them to some of the best views in South Africa.

The Jimny’s cabin gains redesigned head restraints for both front and rear passengers. The new headrests provide improved comfort and support, and also allow the rear seats to be folded flat without the need to remove the head restraints.

Smarter cloth trim for the front bucket seats and the rear bench seat has been introduced, while a new colour, Breeze Blue metallic, has been added to the palette of colour options.

From a safety perspective, the latest Jimny now offers ISOFIX child seat anchor points, which augment an array of active and passive safety features that already includes ABS anti-lock brakes, dual SRS front airbags, three-point inertia reel seatbelts, and front and rear head restraints.

While the updates endow the Jimny with a fresher appearance inside and out, the compact all-terrainer’s technical underpinnings continue to offer a compelling combination of agile handling, legendary all-terrain capability, willing performance and pocket-pleasing fuel efficiency.

The latest Suzuki Jimny goes on sale through Suzuki Auto SA’s national network of authorised dealers in mid-July, and retails for R198 900. The price includes a four-year/60 000 km service plan, and a three-year/100 000 km warranty.

Words: Justin Stephenson

Photo Credit: Steve Nomico