The Suzuki Jimny. You've seen them on the roads for several years now but with Suzuki only having a local presence for the past 12-years means that we're only accustomed to their latest wares. The Jimny story is one that reaches considerably further back, all the way back to 1970.
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It started with the acquisition of the Hope ON360, a compact Kei car developed by Hope Motor Company in 1968. Suzuki rebodied the chassis and drivetrain, replacing the Mitsubishi engine with one of their own; a 2-cylinder, 2-stroke, 349cc air-cooled unit that developed a 'colossal' 18 kW and roughly 30 Nm. It featured an innovative oil injection system, called CCI (Cylinder Crank Injection) that automatically mixed the 2-stroke oil with the fuel, circumventing the need for pre-mixing. This was a first for the engine type and made running and maintenance considerably easier.
Equipped with a robust and dependable 4x4 drive with a low-range option, it was an immediate success, selling more than 6 000 units in 1971. To date, the Suzuki Jimny (and derivatives thereof) has sold more than 3 000 000 units globally and the success of the latest one has seen more than 3 500 fourth-generation Jimnys sold in South Africa since its launch in October 2018. There is still a waiting list for the Suzuki Jimny.
But where does the name 'Jimny' come from? The world's most popular 4x4 at the time was the Jeep and the name Jeep was soon synonymous with 4x4 vehicles. Even if you didn't drive a branded Jeep, your 4x4 was still referred to as a Jeep. With the Suzuki being a compact Kei car, they thought that they would blend the name Jeep with the word Mini. Jeep-mini. Jiminy. The Suzuki Jimny was thus born.
A walk through history
Suzuki South Africa invited the media to attend a celebration of the 100 years of Suzuki and 50 years of Jimny, offering up 5 different versions of the friendly little 4x4 for us to sample at the daunting ADA training facility in Broodestroom. We would get to see the progression through the years as the SJ became the Samurai and then the Jimny, as the power increased and electronics started to play a role, but never losing the essence of what the Jimny is all about.
LJ50
We were even fortunate enough to have a first-generation LJ50 model on hand to try, and yes, this 44-year old version (which was never sold in South Africa) would be tackling the exact same course as the rest.
This slightly later model of the first version is powered by a 2-stroke, 3-cylinder, 539 cc producing 24.5 kW (and yes, even that half a kW matters!) and a meaty 52 Nm. Still, it has 4x4 with a low-range option but that's about all you get. I was actually surprised to see that the windscreen wipers had an electric motor - whether this was a retrofit or not, I'm unsure, but when you ordinarily wouldn't get doors (another retrofit by the owner), you're not expecting much in the way of convenience. Spartan at best.
All of this felt very military - only what you need, and nothing that you don't. That goes for seatbelts too. You are the crumple zone and there are no airbags, you just go out in a blaze of glory. Perhaps blaze isn't the right word. Nothing with a top speed of only 100 km/h has ever been referred to as 'blazing'...
Driving the LJ50 was an experience. I love weird and wonderful machines and never having driven a 2-stoke car before, I was eager to get behind the wheel. I've driven a steam traction engine, so this should be a walk in the park.
And indeed, it was. As the engine was warm, it only took a few cranks before it fired into life with that unmistakable 2-stroke thrum and the sweet, hazy smoke of the mix filling the air - Greta would have done her nut. The gearbox was a hit-and-miss affair but after a few meters, you get the hang of it.
There's very little in the way of engine braking, so I was not able to tackle descents in gear and had to rely on the Diahatsu-sourced drum brakes. Still, it completed everything that the others did, even if it did need a little run-up for some of the climbs. Everything is mechanical and you just know that whatever is linking the clutch pedal to the gearbox was cast in a foundry, each aspect is purposeful and deliberate.
SJ410 and SJ413
I moved onto the 80s and started the first of two drives in a car the same age as me. Having cut my teeth in an 80s car, both figuratively and literally, I was able to recall what my first 1981 model was like to drive, what technology existed in that era and how this relatively sparsely equipped SJ410 drove by comparison.
Of all the cars I drove that day, the SJ410 was my favourite. Admittedly, this was a well-looked-after example and every mechanical interaction felt direct and solid. I still joked with my driving partner that I would be inclined to record a sound-bite of the gear shift sound and use it as a message alert tone, so sweet was the snick-snick from the gear lever.
The SJ410 is powered by a 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, 970 cc engine producing 33 kW and 74 Nm in a package that weighs a stout 890 kg. It's no record-setter but the drive was sublime. Very little in the way of creature comforts and convenience but at least this one had seat belts, even if they weren't inertia reel items.
The second drive, in the SJ413 with the 1.3-litre engine, was less eventful. This one was starting to feel its age and while it offered more in the way of luxuries, presented a slightly more watered down approach to the theme. This model, dubbed the Samurai, was a closed top version with inertia reel seatbelts, a more intricate HVAC system and better trimmings. It's clear to see that this was designed with the export market in mind, particularly America.
The interior was rather spacious in this model and it was still as capable off-road as the others, but you get the impression that the focus had shifted to on-road manners, rather than off-road credibility. This range, the second-generation, enjoyed a long run, starting in 1981 and only being replaced by the third-generation in 1998 - an impressive 17-year haul.
JB43
Suzuki only really started their local automotive offensive in 2008, but the first official Jimny model we saw, the JB43, had already been on sale for the better part of 10-years. This is the one that we all know and love and we've written our fair share about them here.
The quick facts will give you a 1.3-litre engine, 63 kW and 110 Nm with a top speed of 145 km/h. You get a 5-speed gearbox (or 4-speed auto in our case) and for the first (and only time) the 4x4 drive control was electronic with three push-buttons on the dashboard for 2-wheel-drive, 4-high range and 4-low range. The fuel and temperature readouts are digital and the interior trimmed in a very late-90s leatherette.
The third-gen Jimny remains a solid buy for those who are looking for a cheap, economical 4x4 for weekends or zipping about town. It's small stature, narrow wheelbase and track means that it can almost turn around its own trunk lid-mounted spare wheel.
JB74
The latest incarnation of the model is more striking, more contemporary and yet it manages to retain a retro-cool. There isn't a bad angle to approach the new Jimny from. It's only when you take a walk through the history that you see how many nods there are to the predecessors. The interior grab handle on the passenger side, that's the SJ413. The dual gauge arrangement, a throwback to the SJ410. Those small ridges at the base of the A-pillar, you'll find similar on the LJ and SJ models. The grille spars, the round headlights, the taillight arrangement, all modern takes on the original theme.
The new Jimny remains a great little car (wait, that's a Mazda, the 323 GLC) with tonnes of character and presence. The third-generation enjoyed 20-years of service and I don't doubt that the JB74 will be as successful as its predecessors, it has filled the tiny shoes to the very brim.
Here's to another amazing 50-years of Jimny!
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