suzuki jimny

[waterman]

Has anyone tried a suzi jimny?. The professional reviewers slag it of as the worst thing you could ever own. Owners think its the best thing since sliced bread.Bit like our current political parties, one says they are right the other says they got it wrong for years. I need a bomb proof motor.not interested in comfort or style. Must tow my little caravan better than my gutless berlingo.
Any views?

 

[Toddy]

Speak to Doc, he thinks his is the best thing since sliced bread His surgery covers a Highland area so the car really does get a work out.

cheers,
Toddy............who loves her Suzuki Ignis

 

[maddave]

I had an SJ413 way back in the day before the Jimny and I loved it. Same scenario the critics slated it but mine was a good little 4x4. needed WAY less attention than a Landrover for mechanics and rust and it was good enough offroad if a little top heavy. I'd always say talk to owners rather than critics. After all the critics get a limited time with the vehicle and you don't know who is slipping them the brown envelope for their "views"

 

[Shewie]

Me and a mate managed to roll his mums going round a roundabout when we'd "borrowed" it when they were on holiday. Took some explaining that one I tell you.

 

[Barn Owl]

Don't know if it'd be good for a caravan but I too had an SJ413 years ago and it was a brilliant wee motor.
Only got rid as I needed a bigger vehicle then.

 

[fast but dim]

jimny's are awesome off road , just go to a pay and play site! as for sj's, i sold a defender this weekend, and about an hour later bought this:

tbh, if it works ok, i'll be looking at a jimny at the end of summer. tbh it's a toy.

look here:
http://www.kapsuzuki4x4.co.uk/jimny.html
http://www.offroad-armory.com/jimny.html

 

[Adze]

It's a defender in everything but size really. With that said, it's not quite like owning an ordinary car either.

They do punch above their weight off road, their only real drawback is how light they are which can affect deep wading - or as it's known to most Suzi owners "rowing". They'll rust if abused - other than that it's all good really.

No need to go to a P&P site - youtube is stuff full of SJ videos. Suffice to say, like defenders, they're a darn sight more competent off road than most of the people who drive them

 

[MrEd]

Me and a mate managed to roll his mums going round a roundabout when we'd "borrowed" it when they were on holiday. Took some explaining that one I tell you.

yeah i was in one that rolled on back lanes a few years back, we fell onto a drystone wall, which then collapsed. put it back on its wheels and it still worked fine, was a proper beater though, and had a roll abr as it was used for 4x4'ing so that maybe why it survived. was cool but uncomfy lol

 

[Adze]

Should have just driven over the wall Mr.Ed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvc1bzxkG68

 

[MrEd]

Should have just driven over the wall Mr.Ed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvc1bzxkG68

well, we were slightly out of control, we hit a deer in the dark and its threw us all over the place. came to rest at 45 degrees against a drystone wall above a ditch, wall collapsed and we ended up in the ditch upside down lol.........

having said that i managed to roll a golf gti, and break a bone in my back once lol so you can roll any car.........

im so glad i grew out of driving everywhere fast lol

 

[helixpteron]

My girlfriend owned a Suzuki SJ413 and she loved it, took it everywhere on digs (she was a detectorist) and it never missed a beat.

I enjoyed it from a mechanical point of view (everything accessible) though it was cramped to sit in.

Its one of the few vehicles I'd like to own (especially one of the variants not sold here which have the LR Discovery type raised glazed roof) despite having absolutely no need for a 4 x 4.

 

[durulz]

I have a Jimny.
It's built like the proverbial - always goes through the MOT.
Like any 4X4 they can roll over if thrown round corners. Because they are small and 'cute' people treat them like town cars and hurl them around, which is why they got a bad reputation for rolling.
For on road driving don't expect to get anywhere fast. They are bouncy cars, but I don't mind that in the slightest. They are not towing vehicles, mind you. You can get tow bars for them, but they only have a tow weight of 1 (or is it 1 1/2?) tons?
As for off road, they are probably the cheapest true off-roaders (better than the pretenders like RAV 4s and the Daihatsu Terios - not true off-roaders). In that respect, the Jimny punches well above it's weight as an off-roader. So long as you've got off-road tyres, of course. When we had the snow down a nearby neighbour's BMW X5 got stuck in the snow. I drove straight around him! The Jimny is a surprisingly good off-roader (within reasons, of course - it's not a Humvee, after all). THere was an episode of Top Gear where they had to drive through a South American forest. Richard May used a SJ413 (the Jimny's predecessor, and basically the old model Jimny before it got new bodywork and a new name). It did everything the Range Rover did!

I love my Jimny. Best car I've ever owned, even if my girlfriend has nicknamed it 'The Tonka Toy'.

 

[Peter_t]

jimnys are very good but i would think you would be better off with the berlingo for towing. my berlingo van is a 1.9 diesel and it isn't gutless at all jimnys have a fairly small petrol engine don't they?

how about a vitara? i think some came with a 2L diesel which would be so much better for towing and better on fuel too. the last thing you want with towing is to be struggleing up hills in seccond revving the hell out of it.

daihatsu made a similar 4x4 called a sportrak which may be a good choice too. not too sure what size engine it has but from what iv heard it is basicly a miniture version of their fourtrak (defender size).



pete

 

[The Joker]

Here's a couple of pics of my Jimny, great little motor brilliant off road and surprisingly good on road. But as has been said probably not the best for towing on road.

 

[*Big Beast*]

depending on the size of your caravan i would think a jimny would be under powered as a tow car, if you are looking for a 4x4 and a good tow truck combined what about a diahatsu f/trak 2.8 td smallish truck but a 7 seater. i had one and it pulled my caravan, went off road like a tank. or there`s the swb 2.8 td shogun pajero, again great for towing and off roading and great for comfort and long drives towing a caravan.

 

[tobes01]

If you go to a 4WD Club meet you'll see the little Suzuki's playing in the big mud puddles like puppies - but Land Rovers wouldn't dare go where they do, they're amazing little machines. I had a SJ410, great fun, but desperately underpowered as a tow vehicle. If you want to pull a caravan then you're going to need something with more guts than the little Suzuki.

 

[MrEd]

could you get one as a tow vehicle and stick a small block in it lol

 

[Doc]

It's a great wee jeep. Mine is 11 years old, and nothing has gone wrong except consumables. They are very, very capable off road - it is not a 'soft roader'. Also very good in snow. For the first time, I got it stuck in snow this winter - but that was with ordinary tyres and about 14 inches of snow. Everything else it just ploughed through.

I don't know about towing - a tow bar is available so it must be able to tow something, but probably not an eight berth caravan.

I get maybe 35 to the gallon. It is pretty poky inside of course, though you can easily get three roe deer in the back with the seats down.

I'm likely to replace it this year. With another Jimny.

 

[Front Room Woodlander]

Ive owned and trialled the SJ (hybrid). Fine off road.

As for towing though I'd have to go for the advice above and go for a diesel such as Pajerio, Shogun, Sporttrak / Fourtrak or even the Honda CRV.

The biggest motor we managed to squeeze into the suzuki jimny was, I think, a 1.8 diesel. By then we had fitted coil strings, raised the floor pan and body shell, external roll cage, no glass, inboard fuel tank and so on.

Now I like comfort and would plumb for a SWB Pajerio.

 

[waterman]

Thanks for all the input. Just confirmed what I thought. Will probably stick to the berlingo as the other options are more expensive than I can currently go to.
The berlingo is ok without towing but struggles with a 750kg caravan. I just love the look of the jimny and its reputed reliability and capabilities.