22.11.2003, 00:00
The new Jimny has arrived!
Here in Norway we got it just around X-mas 98. First I´ll have to point out that this is probably not going to be the most unbiased report you can read. Many of the test drives I’ve read are influenced of the fake roll over in the late eighties conducted by C.R. The fact that we are talking about a real 4x4 and not an ordinary road car makes little of the many down sides I read about.
I’ve owned 3 Samurais, or what we here in Norway call them SJ 413. These are 4x4 that are meant for the forest roads and city driving. The Zuk is not meant for 3 weeks holiday driving.
We borrowed a new Suzuki Jimny from the dealer in Kristiansand called Abrahamsens Auto. It had just about 2600 km on the counter and was very crisp.
As you can see it’s quite wide, and have a bulky appearance. The five bars in the grill are a cheap copy of another brand of 4x4…..
Fog lights and bull bar can be equipped originally for more off-road appearance.
I’d like to categorize the test drive in different pieces and them sum it up in the end.
Chassis
The frame is of ladder type, which means rugged performance in the terrain. Both axles are solid and of the same type as the Samurai, only wider. The axles are hung from a 3-link setup in the front using coils; both for better articulation and better comfort. The back has the same set-up. We found the coils to be a better stock set up, but the articulation was decreased by the anti roll bars and limited wheel well space. The approach-angle is 42° , which means it needs a new bumper for the more challenging terrain. The overall tip angle is 31° , and the departure angle is 46° . These figures make for a quite nice performance, but the car would benefit from higher numbers for the extra little in off-road performance.
We didn’t find any suitable place to test real tire stuffing, but we managed to do it. The mod.factor is very high on this Zuk, as it shares the ladder frame from the Samurai and the SJ 413, as well as the solid axle set-up. There are 8 frame-connection points, which seems ideal for bodylift. The only hindrance I see is the problem with wires. Most car-manufacturers are very much into money saving were ever they can (obviously), this means very short wires, no slack, meaning some problems with major bodylifts. The axle set-up is very easy to elevate. Longer flexier coils and longer control arms would make the Jimny very trail worthy.
As you see the control arms are nicely situated away from the ground, and is easily modified
Engine
The full aluminum engine is the well-proven 1300 ccm, though with a new 16-valve top and multipoint fuel injection. The engine produces a peak Bhp at 79, (59 kW) and the 104 NM are delivered at 4500 rpms. The engine called G13BB is as many would think just a tad underpowered. This means that you’ll have too use the gearknob more often. (Like most of the Zuk owners are very used to!) On the trail the engine was performing, admirably. The engine is very silent and I nearly not heard. With this SOHC engine new cam should be available from any motorshop, making the Jimny even more capable.
Gearing
The Jimny has a 2WD and a 4WD option; these can be fitted with both the 5 gear manual case, and the 4 gear automatic. The ratiospec´s are as follows: the manual has a 1st at 3,652 Vs the auto at 1st 2,962. The x-fer case has a 2,145 low and a 1,320 high 4WD ratio. If we match these numbers with a stock Sj 413 that has a 1st at 3,650 and a x-fer ratio at 4WD high: 1,409 , Low: 2,268. We can clearly see the numbers nearly matching. The minimal difference makes the Jimny just as good stock as a SJ 413 stock. The debate between springs Vs coils can made long, but my opinion is that a stock 4wd has better off-road usage with coils rather than springs.
Comfort
There are many versions of this Jimny, and I mean many. Norway and some of Europe are getting the JLX version, with 4x4, misc. interior items, PS, PW and central locking system. JX is the 2WD version with only the most rudimentary items included. Even if there are the two, JLX and JX these can be outfitted with many buyer options. The Jimny proved to be very comfortable even into Grand Vitara division. The seating is very comfortable both in the back and front. The passengers in the back shouldn’t protrude more than 1.80 cm though. Even luggage space is available when 4 is seated.
The Jimny off / on-road.
The Jimny proved to very tarmac gripping. We where able to push it to its limits, and even make the rear end loose some control, but its surprisingly good. Off course this isn’t a low profile racing car, but should be driven as a 4wheeldrive-vehicle. The Jimny is a SWB and it’s noticeable over bumps, but the guys or gals at Suzuki have done their homework on the suspension.
The total sum.
I wouldn’t hesitate one sec if I had the means to buy this vehicle! The Jimny proved very nice both off/on –road. One can very easily compare a stock Samurai / Sj413 to the Jimny. The possibilities are the same, perhaps even better with use of the coils. The limiting factor to the stock Jimny is as the Sj413 the traction bar. The Jimny has more protruding exterior and more breakable plastic bits, which leads to a more expensive trail ride if something hits it (and it will!). Adding new bumpers front and rear would make the Jimny more capable. One factory option is actually skidplates, very nice. Covering the front and rear axlehousings as well as the x-fer case. More interesting factory options is the front skidplate, the nerf bars and rear bumper protection. We have already seen the Jimny in action in the Scandinavian Off-road Trial Championship, it performed very well, with stock rims and 205/70x15 BFG MT.
Sure hope you all get a chance to see and try this vehicle it’s really fun, hoping to see a jazzed up version soon…
Hope you all enjoyed this small and very biased report of Suzuki’s newest creation. If you have any questions please fell free to email me at: Norway@asakatana.org.
The only Norwegian Zuk club has now got its own homepage at http://offroad.no/suzuki/
Bilder kommer
Vidar, 48041562
Here in Norway we got it just around X-mas 98. First I´ll have to point out that this is probably not going to be the most unbiased report you can read. Many of the test drives I’ve read are influenced of the fake roll over in the late eighties conducted by C.R. The fact that we are talking about a real 4x4 and not an ordinary road car makes little of the many down sides I read about.
I’ve owned 3 Samurais, or what we here in Norway call them SJ 413. These are 4x4 that are meant for the forest roads and city driving. The Zuk is not meant for 3 weeks holiday driving.
We borrowed a new Suzuki Jimny from the dealer in Kristiansand called Abrahamsens Auto. It had just about 2600 km on the counter and was very crisp.
As you can see it’s quite wide, and have a bulky appearance. The five bars in the grill are a cheap copy of another brand of 4x4…..
Fog lights and bull bar can be equipped originally for more off-road appearance.
I’d like to categorize the test drive in different pieces and them sum it up in the end.
Chassis
The frame is of ladder type, which means rugged performance in the terrain. Both axles are solid and of the same type as the Samurai, only wider. The axles are hung from a 3-link setup in the front using coils; both for better articulation and better comfort. The back has the same set-up. We found the coils to be a better stock set up, but the articulation was decreased by the anti roll bars and limited wheel well space. The approach-angle is 42° , which means it needs a new bumper for the more challenging terrain. The overall tip angle is 31° , and the departure angle is 46° . These figures make for a quite nice performance, but the car would benefit from higher numbers for the extra little in off-road performance.
We didn’t find any suitable place to test real tire stuffing, but we managed to do it. The mod.factor is very high on this Zuk, as it shares the ladder frame from the Samurai and the SJ 413, as well as the solid axle set-up. There are 8 frame-connection points, which seems ideal for bodylift. The only hindrance I see is the problem with wires. Most car-manufacturers are very much into money saving were ever they can (obviously), this means very short wires, no slack, meaning some problems with major bodylifts. The axle set-up is very easy to elevate. Longer flexier coils and longer control arms would make the Jimny very trail worthy.
As you see the control arms are nicely situated away from the ground, and is easily modified
Engine
The full aluminum engine is the well-proven 1300 ccm, though with a new 16-valve top and multipoint fuel injection. The engine produces a peak Bhp at 79, (59 kW) and the 104 NM are delivered at 4500 rpms. The engine called G13BB is as many would think just a tad underpowered. This means that you’ll have too use the gearknob more often. (Like most of the Zuk owners are very used to!) On the trail the engine was performing, admirably. The engine is very silent and I nearly not heard. With this SOHC engine new cam should be available from any motorshop, making the Jimny even more capable.
Gearing
The Jimny has a 2WD and a 4WD option; these can be fitted with both the 5 gear manual case, and the 4 gear automatic. The ratiospec´s are as follows: the manual has a 1st at 3,652 Vs the auto at 1st 2,962. The x-fer case has a 2,145 low and a 1,320 high 4WD ratio. If we match these numbers with a stock Sj 413 that has a 1st at 3,650 and a x-fer ratio at 4WD high: 1,409 , Low: 2,268. We can clearly see the numbers nearly matching. The minimal difference makes the Jimny just as good stock as a SJ 413 stock. The debate between springs Vs coils can made long, but my opinion is that a stock 4wd has better off-road usage with coils rather than springs.
Comfort
There are many versions of this Jimny, and I mean many. Norway and some of Europe are getting the JLX version, with 4x4, misc. interior items, PS, PW and central locking system. JX is the 2WD version with only the most rudimentary items included. Even if there are the two, JLX and JX these can be outfitted with many buyer options. The Jimny proved to be very comfortable even into Grand Vitara division. The seating is very comfortable both in the back and front. The passengers in the back shouldn’t protrude more than 1.80 cm though. Even luggage space is available when 4 is seated.
The Jimny off / on-road.
The Jimny proved to very tarmac gripping. We where able to push it to its limits, and even make the rear end loose some control, but its surprisingly good. Off course this isn’t a low profile racing car, but should be driven as a 4wheeldrive-vehicle. The Jimny is a SWB and it’s noticeable over bumps, but the guys or gals at Suzuki have done their homework on the suspension.
The total sum.
I wouldn’t hesitate one sec if I had the means to buy this vehicle! The Jimny proved very nice both off/on –road. One can very easily compare a stock Samurai / Sj413 to the Jimny. The possibilities are the same, perhaps even better with use of the coils. The limiting factor to the stock Jimny is as the Sj413 the traction bar. The Jimny has more protruding exterior and more breakable plastic bits, which leads to a more expensive trail ride if something hits it (and it will!). Adding new bumpers front and rear would make the Jimny more capable. One factory option is actually skidplates, very nice. Covering the front and rear axlehousings as well as the x-fer case. More interesting factory options is the front skidplate, the nerf bars and rear bumper protection. We have already seen the Jimny in action in the Scandinavian Off-road Trial Championship, it performed very well, with stock rims and 205/70x15 BFG MT.
Sure hope you all get a chance to see and try this vehicle it’s really fun, hoping to see a jazzed up version soon…
Hope you all enjoyed this small and very biased report of Suzuki’s newest creation. If you have any questions please fell free to email me at: Norway@asakatana.org.
The only Norwegian Zuk club has now got its own homepage at http://offroad.no/suzuki/
Bilder kommer
Vidar, 48041562