The all-new 2019 Suzuki Jimny has been confirmed for the Australian market with a Q1 2019 launch announced today.
THE ALL-NEW Suzuki Jimny has been confirmed for sale in Australia with a Q1 2019 launch. Suzuki still isn’t giving too much away but it has said the new tiny-tot fourby will run a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine for the Australian market as well as Suzuki’s AllGrip Pro 4WD system.
This is only the third-generation Jimny with the last change over happening 20-years ago.
Suzuki Australia General Manager – Automobile, Michael Pachota said the return of the legendary 4WD into the Australian market will be sure to impress.
“The Jimny is synonymous with the Suzuki brand and to have an all-new model on its way is something worth talking about. The Australian landscape will be a true test for the iconic 4WD and I have no doubt it will rise to the challenge.”
“I am very excited and highly anticipating the return of this legendary off-road compact SUV, in its all-new guise, to complement our already strong line-up of Suzuki vehicles in Australia.”
Updated: According to Suzuki, “The Jimny incorporates the four essentials for serious off-roading — a ladder frame (with three additional cross-members compared to the old car for improved torsional rigidity), the three angles, 3-link rigid axle suspension with coil spring and part-time 4WD with low range transfer gear.”
The Jimny features a part-time 4WD system with low range transfer gear, which can be easily switched from 2H (2WD-high gear), 4H (4WD-high gear) and 4L (4WD-low gear) modes by a shift lever directly connected to the transfer gear. Featuring brake traction control the Jimny will automatically brake the slipping wheels to redistribute torque to the wheel with traction.
The new Jimny’s approach angle measures 37 degrees, ramp breakover angle is 28 degrees and departure angle is 49 degrees which gives the Jimny some of the best numbers this side of modified four-wheel drives. Ground clearance, according to Suzuki, is a minimum of 210mm.
While the focus of the Jimny is its off-road performance, Suzuki said it wanted to improve the thing’s on-road comfort. “On-road ability was not compromised, with the higher torsional rigidity of the ladder frame providing a more comfortable and solid ride on the road, and newly equipped steering damper on the front suspension minimising steering wheel vibration and kickback.”
The new 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine replaces the old car’s 1.3L engine and makes 75kW at 6000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4000rpm. This is mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed auto with low-range gearing of 2.002 and 2.644, respectively. The engine is Euro6 compliant and depending on the transmission drinks between 7.7-8.4L/100km. Despite the increased displacement, the new engine is physically smaller and lighter than the old car’s engine. Suzuki said it had redesigned the manual transmission to reduce vibration and provide a more direct shift, while the four-speed automatic is now a straight type rather than the gate-type on the old car.
Boot space in the new Jimny starts at 85 litres with the rear seats in use and expands to 377-litres (53 litres more than the old car) when the rear seats are folded. The rear seats fold down flat with the backs covered in plastic to make cleaning them easier when carrying dirty gear. Five utility screw holes are available on each side under the quarter windows along with four luggage hook screw holes around the floor area for “flexible usage of the luggage space”.
Based on European specifications, the Suzuki Jimny will be available with (speed related) autonomous emergency braking but whether that’s a feature of the car when it comes to Australia remains to be seen. Also available, but not confirmed for Australian cars, is lane departure warning and weaving alert function (to help the driver keep alert), and high beam assist which is able to automatically switch on and off the high and low beams. The new Jimny will also offer traffic sign recognition – the first Suzuki model to adopt this system.
