It seems the pint-sized Jimny is growing up
The Suzuki five-door Jimny (should we call it Jimny Long?) was finally unveiled at the 2023 Auto Expo held in Delhi, India. Learn more here.
Published on: 24 January 2023
The pint-sized Jimny has a bit of a cult following in Australia and has not been immune to the ridiculous price rises within both the new and used market in recent years. The long waiting times on a new Jimny last year meant that owners were able to sell their late model Jimnys for more than the cost of a brand new one.
But Jimny does have its faults, one of the most obvious being a lack of space. So that’s why it’s more than a bit exciting that after months of leaked spy shots, the Suzuki five-door Jimny (should we call it Jimny Long?) was finally unveiled at the 2023 Auto Expo held in Delhi, India.
Even more exciting? They’re expected to hit Aussie shores in the last quarter of 2023!
The details are a bit light on
We don’t know too much about the details for Australia but we do know it utilises the same rugged ladder frame design as the three-door, albeit a bit longer. The longer design doesn’t mean more seats though, it means more space in the back.
Based on the Indian specs, while the Jimny has been stretched into a five-door variant, it’s still not a large off-roader. Coming in at just under 4 metres and gaining around 505mm in length (340mm increase in wheelbase), it’s still going to fit into your garage with ease. Width and height are the same as the three-door (bar around 5mm difference in height) at 1,645mm and 1,729mm respectively.
Jimny Long has the same boxy styling as the three-door Jimny as well as the round headlights, flared wheel arches and slatted front grille. Wheels appear to be 15-inch with the spare mounted on the rear. Basically, it’s very obviously still a Jimny.
On the inside, it looks very similar, except there is now more room behind the back seats. A much-needed increase in cargo size from a measly 85L with the seats up to a more usable 208L. With the back seats down, this is expanded to 332L. Infotainment is via a nine-inch screen and on the safety side of things, features hill hold and descent assist, six airbags, a rearview camera, ESP and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD).
What’s driving the Jimny Long?
The ‘Jimny Long’ unveiled in India is powered by the same 1.5-litre petrol engine as the three-door but reportedly makes use of mild hybrid technology to produce 78kW and 134Nm of power. Given the three-door specs here in Australia delivers 75kW and 130Nm, it’s a bit of a disappointing leap. It looks like a choice of either a five-speed manual or a four-speed auto is on the cards with 4WD low, 4WD high and 2WD high.
With the extra length in the wheelbase, the break-over angle reduces from 28 degrees to 24 degrees with only 1 degree of difference between the approach and departure angles (36 degrees and 50 degrees respectively on the five-door) between models. Ground clearance remains the same at 210 mm.
The Gurugram plant is already taking orders in India where it will go on sale in May, 2023 and Australia will soon follow with expected availability here in the last quarter of 2023. Pricing is yet to be released.
