Suzuki Jimny

Our verdict

The Suzuki Jimny is a tiny, cheap and rival-free hardcore off-roader. Does what it does quite brilliantly. Does everything else appallingly.

Comfort

Another seriously weak point. It's noisy and cramped inside. The long-travel suspension copes quite well with huge bumps, but shudders on smaller ones.

Performance

It is just possible to buy a slower-accelerating car elsewhere. Just about. But the plucky little 1.3 engine does a fair job, and certainly delivers all the performance that the chassis can handle. Useful for the occasional bit of towing, we suppose.

Cool

Seriously uncool when box-fresh. Only has any cred at all when absolutely caked in mud, and ideally with a couple of panel dents and a cracked fog light. Maybe some stickers picked at an obscure Baltic border crossing, and some badly concealed weapons inside. Anything to make you look a little bit hard.

Quality

The Jimny has superb unstoppable engineering, but a distinctly off-hand approach to fripperies like soft-feel plastics or chrome-edged dials.

Handling

Read the spec sheet: beam axles at both ends, a high seating position, a short wheelbase. You can speculate on the result. A pogo stick is more satisfactory through a series of curves.

Practicality

With only four seats and a small cargo bay the Jimny can't carry much but it can carry it anywhere. Oh and it does have one advantage as a town car: it's tiny and boxy so easy to park. Which is just as well as you'll be dying to stop and get out.

Running costs

It's so cheap it's practically disposable, but actually it'll last for ages and need very little care or attention. Yes there's only a petrol engine, but this is hardly a high-mileage vehicle so fuel costs aren't an issue.