Jimny punches above its weight

Little Suzuki is a giant off road

THE new Suzuki Jimny has just been given a kicking by the crash test group NCAP.

In a world in which most new cars get five stars, the Jimny has been given three. So is the little Suzuki a failure before it’s even hit the showrooms?

Not in my eyes. Not only is it one of the best cars that I’ve driven this year, it’s one of the best in the last five years.

First off, it looks terrific. Traditional 4wd style without any aggression. It’s the nearest you’ll get to the late departed Land Rover Defender in spirit. So, let’s have a look under its skin.

We’re talking old school. For starters the Jimny has a ladder chassis. Almost all modern cars, including SUVs, have a unitary or monocoque body – where the bodyshell is the chassis.

Even more old fashioned are the two solid axles front and back. But it’s exactly what you want for a serious off-road vehicle because as one wheel on the axle hits a bump, the other is pressed down to give more grip.

The Jimny has a 1.5-litre fourcylinder petrol engine, a simple unit that produces 100bhp and which replaces the previous generation Jimny’s 1.3-litre unit. This torquey engine drives through a five-speed gearbox with switchable rear-wheel or fourwheel drive in high and low ratios.

The businesslike exterior styling is carried through to the cabin. Suzuki bills the Jimny as the professional’s 4wd which means farmers, foresters and people who actually challenge their off-

It revives the spirit of the late, departed Land Rover Defender

roader’s ability... and get it dirty.

There’s a simple dashboard which in the higher SZ5 grade includes a touch screen (SZ4 is the entry level grade).

The instruments are angular and there’s hard plastic everywhere because it’s tough and easy to clean.

The switchgear is chunky and easy to operate while wearing gloves – I’m loving this honest practicality more by the minute.

The Jimny is actually shorter than the 10-year-old outgoing model, but has an extra 40mm of interior space.

The boot isn’t huge – 377 litres with the seats folded down – but it’s a very sensible shape with five hooks on each side and trim panels that don’t get in the way.

The new Jimny is better to drive on the road than the old one and that’s partly down to Suzuki fitting it with a steering damper – the old version’s wheels used to shimmy and vibrate when you hit a bump.

With two rigid axles – live axles as opposed to independent suspension – the ride quality is never going to be first class. That’s a price customers will have to pay for exceptional off-road ability.

Talking of which, Suzuki launched the new Jimny near Frankfurt in Germany and as well as including a long road drive, we got a taste of off-roading.

Disappointingly the off-road route wasn’t challenging and the Jimny could have covered most of it in 2wd. Like the old one, this will be giant-killing off-road.

We don’t have a price yet but an educated guess puts it at around £16,000 (we’ll know for sure in November). I’ve heard that in Japan one dealer has a year’s waiting list for the car. I’m absolutely sure that the new Jimny is going to be a huge hit here, too. I don’t need one but I want one.

And that three-star crash test score? I don’t think it’ll make much difference. Not least because the tests are getting progressively harder which means that a small car like the Jimny could, in practice, be as safe as a bigger car from five years ago that scored higher in the tests.