Meet the Yomper: a British-built utility vehicle based on the third-gen Jimny

Yomper – what a great name for a new car. And yes, this is a new car, although that may not be entirely obvious from a quick glance at the front end.

It’s the work of West Yorkshire-based startup Samson Engineering Ltd and is aimed at farmers and small business owners out in the sticks who want a cheap, small, off-road utility vehicle that can carry a load of stuff and won’t leave heavy tyre tracks across wet fields. Makes sense.

It is of course based on the third-generation Suzuki Jimny, but its makers say it’s more than just a pickup conversion. There’s a new bespoke chassis and you can have the body in either tray back ‘Bergan’ or alloy drop side ‘Commercial’ spec. It has IVA approval and both versions can carry a payload of 500kg.

The engine is the standard Suzuki 1.3-litre 16v petrol unit but as part of the circa £20,000 purchase price the powertrain is completely rebuilt and upgraded to be as reliable as possible.

Thoughts folks?