Tiny Jimny hits the right note

Declared the 2019 World Urban Car in New York, named one of the top three finalists in the World Car Design of the Year and named winner of a British game-changer award last year, the diminutive four-wheel-drive Jimny appears to be one of a few cars that has no peers.

Independent critics rated the 3.48-metre long Suzuki as fun, innovative and “a fantastic piece of practical design in an era of big and heavy SUVs. 

Unlike most modern cars, Jimny has a rigid ladder frame, high ground clearance and part time 4WD system with low range transfer gear. 

At the heart of the car is a 1.5 litre, 16-valve engine, while the model is available with either a four-stage automatic transmission or five speed manual gearbox.

Standard equipment includes limited-slip differential traction control, hill hold and hill descent functions, cruise control and speed limiter. 

Lane departure warning, weaving alert, headlight high beam assist, autonomous emergency braking and six airbags are also included in Jimmy’s specification.

“There has been no reduction in buyer enthusiasm since the fourth generation Jimny arrived on our shores a year ago, despite an order bank and customers having to wait,” said  Gary Collins, general manager of automobile marketing for Suzuki New Zealand. 

“The volume of sales is purely a reflection of our allocation and we could clearly have registered more sales had we been able to secure extra units,” said Collins

The Jimny, backed by a five-year warranty package, has already earned a high ranking for strong residual values, and in Britain, leading industry specialists CAP Automotive forecasts the model’s “very slow depreciation and good retained value” offers good peace of mind to owners.