What’s new?

It is like the popular iconic three-door model, but it’s longer to accommodate five doors. For the rest, Suzuki pretty much stuck to the winning recipe of the three-door version.

Exterior:

The wheelbase of the five-door Jimny is stretched to 2 590 mm to allow for two extra doors and much more room on the inside. The overall length, measured from bumper to bumper, has therefore increased by 340 mm to 3 820 mm.

The other vital statistics remained very close to those of the three-door model. This includes a width of 1 645 mm and a height of 1 720 mm. Ground clearance remains 210 mm, while the approach, breakover and departure angles are measured at 36 degrees, 24 degrees and 47 degrees, respectively.

Designers kept the same front and rear designs as the three-door model. This includes the upright grille, round headlamps fitted in an almost utilitarian manner on either side of the grille, the square edges and the fitment of the spare wheel to the side hinging rear door.

The side profile has invariably changed, owing to the extra doors, but this was done with so much design finesse and care for the Jimny heritage that it is possible to mistake the five-door model for the three-door version at first glance.

Interior:

Suzuki has transferred the design of the dashboard, seats and controls directly into the five-door model, giving future owners the same commanding driving position that makes off-road driving easy.

All South African versions of the five-door Jimny will have a 50:50 split rear bench, an additional power socket in the luggage compartment and a multi-functional height-adjustable steering wheel. The GLX specification adds leather cladding to the steering wheel and complements the Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio controls with additional buttons for cruise control.

The GLX further adds two inches to the infotainment screen (from 7" on the GL to 9" on the GLX). All versions have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in full colour and will show images from the reverse camera on the infotainment screen.

All models have electric windows on all passenger doors, and the GLX models have automatic climate control as opposed to the GL's standard air conditioning system.

The two rear seats can fold individually or together, increasing the rear loading space from 211 litres to 332 litres. The cabin has 1 113 litres of space in total.

All five-door models also have a unique design feature that allows the front seats to fold completely flat and integrate with the rear seats to offer two lay-flat beds. This will prove useful for overlanders who often sleep in their vehicles in extreme conditions or on short overnight stops.

The Jimny in GL-specification has two airbags and the GLX-models have six, including front-side airbags and curtain airbags that run the length of the cabin.

Engine & gearbox:

The five-door model has the same 1.5 litre petrol engine delivering 75 kW and 130 Nm. The power is delivered through a five-speed manual transmission (available on the GL and GLX models) or a four-speed automatic transmission (GLX only) to the rear wheels under normal circumstances or all-four wheels when the transfer gearbox is engaged.

The Suzuki Jimny is fitted with a complete off-road system, including a transfer gearbox with 2H, 4H and 4 Low Range modes.

Price and range:

GL 5MT (429 900), 1.5 GLX 5MT (R457 900) and the 1.5 GLX 4AT (R479 900).