• A capable car that’s tough and fun off-road
• Poor on-road manners will disappoint some buyers
• It’s slow, noisy and a bit wobbly

Suzuki Jimny petrol engine

The Suzuki Jimny’s 1.5-litre petrol engine produces a modest 101hp and 130Nm of torque. With the standard five-speed manual gearbox it will touch 90mph, officially – fast enough to keep up with motorway traffic.

But travelling at such speeds isn’t the most relaxing experience in a tiny box with a short wheelbase, and getting up to them isn’t the work of a moment either. Suzuki doesn’t even quote a 0-62mph time, which gives you a clue about the rate of acceleration.

There is decent pulling power at lower speeds but you need to rev the engine hard, and make full use of the gearbox, to make any meaningful progress. Even extra passengers will have an impact on the Jimny’s performance, as the car itself is so comparatively light. Fortunately, the five-speed manual is a delight to use – its long-throw lever is precise, can be hurried if required and feels satisfyingly well engineered.

A four-speed automatic was optional on top-spec SZ5 variants. This is limited to 87mph flat out and accelerates even more slowly; fundamentally less efficient, the Jimny automatic is thirstier, noisier and costs more in tax and fuel alike. They’re surprisingly expensive, too – if you’re considering a self-shifting Jimny for comfort, almost any rival will be better value and more gratifying.

What’s the Suzuki Jimny like to drive on the road?

• Can feel unstable at speed
• Even confident drivers may require adjustment
• Optimised for off-road driving

If you’re planning on taking regular long journeys, particularly those taking in stretches of motorway, we’d suggest you look elsewhere. The Jimny will tolerate motorways but getting to 70mph with more than one person on board takes a little time – and, in top gear, the engine’s spinning at more than 3500rpm. This can get tiring quickly, particularly in conjunction with the Jimny’s busy nature at speed.

It’s this ‘business’ rather than the lack of acceleration that’s really the issue. As a small, upright and lightweight vehicle, the Jimny is highly susceptible to side winds, and will be buffeted about by passing trucks. The short-wheelbase, imprecise steering and off-road orientated suspension also makes for a bumpy ride with a tendency to follow ruts in the road.

As a result, anything over around 40mph can become quite involving, to the extent that even keeping the Jimny pointed in a relatively straight line requires much more concentration than in practically any other relatively recent vehicle. Some drivers will love this, others will find it intolerable.

Part of the reason for this is the Jimny’s ‘recirculating ball’ steering system. This is an old-fashioned design that works well to minimise kickback when driving off-road, but it lacks the accuracy and feedback of the ‘rack-and-pinion’ steering you’ll find in nearly every other car on the road. The Jimny also has high-profile tyres that further rob it of steering feel.

What’s more, both front and rear axles are of the traditional solid type. These are again advantageous for off-road use but nothing like the independent suspension the vast majority of other vehicles use. So unless you’re used to driving other bespoke off-roaders or classic cars in general, the Jimny is going to require some adjustment.

It rolls in the corners and the steering initially feels so vague that you might be mistaken into thinking it can’t tackle bends at all. And while you’ll soon learn the Jimny’s limits (hopefully not by exceeding them), and making clean and tidy progress is possible with some effort, it will never inspire huge amounts of confidence.

What’s the Suzuki Jimny like off-road?

This is where the Jimny makes up for its lack of refinement and on-road prowess – it’s an agile and capable off-roader, like its predecessors, and capable of traversing terrain that would challenge the likes of a Land Rover Defender. The Suzuki is also as much a rival for purpose-made all-terrain vehicles, such as the John Deere Gator, but with vastly improved comfort and convenience.

This supreme off-road talent is thanks to good ground clearance, small overhangs, light weight and lots of traction. Traction is particularly impressive on regular road tyres, especially given the lack of front and rear differential locks. Some credit for this goes to the ‘brake LSD’ system the Jimny uses, which deploys the brakes to slow spinning wheels, redirecting torque to the remaining wheels with traction. A clever solution that’s ideal for a light, affordable and low-powered 4×4.

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In addition to this, however, the Jimny has AllGrip Pro selectable four-wheel drive and a low range transmission setting, plus standard Hill Descent Control and hill-hold systems. AllGrip Pro means the Jimny is rear-wheel drive in normal circumstances but when four-wheel drive is selected by the driver, power is evenly split between the front and rear axles. Unlike the automatic all-wheel drive in other Suzukis, it’s not intended for road use at all.

We’ve tried the Jimny on a variety of challenging surfaces and have always come away wondering if we’d even scratched the surface of its capabilities. The low weight means it can cruise over muddy surfaces where heavier off-roaders would bog-down and get stuck, too. Few vehicles are as effective at any price.

Here are the Suzuki Jimny’s off-road stats:

• Ground clearance: 210mm
• Approach angle: 37 degrees
• Ramp breakover angle: 28 degrees
• Departure angle: 49 degrees