The famous 5 – test report on the Suzuki Jimny 5-door | Life on the asphalt | Driving | Technology

The Suzuki Jimny has been one of the most charming icons of the off-road world for many moons now. Its reputation as a “small off-road vehicle that can do it” has earned it legions of fans, from farmers who use it as a work tool to those who want something with plenty of character that can keep up with the big guys in tough situations.

The current Jimny 3-door is a real crowd pleaser. Take a quick trip to the shops or to your local store and you're likely to see two or three of them on the road. I remember trying it out when it first came out and found it to be one of the most fun small SUVs on the market, and very capable too.

While its popularity and capabilities are undeniable, it certainly wasn't perfect, especially in terms of practicality. Now Suzuki has presented us with a new Jimny that offers more space on paper and has a few extra doors to boot. Say hello to the new Suzuki Jimny 5-door.

The 5-door is still a Jimny, with the same ladder chassis and solid front and rear axles and that boxy stance, but with extra length thanks to an extended wheelbase of 2590mm, an increase of 340mm over the 3-door. Because of this, Suzuki can add a couple of rear doors and proper folding seats in the back.

The seats are quite comfortable and supportive, and head and legroom aren't too bad either. However, it's important to note that the Jimny 5-door is more of a four-seater, so a family of five might want to consider something else.

Taller people may find getting in and out a little tight, but it's certainly an improvement over the 3-door. You also get a proper boot now, with a modest 212L of boot space. Not overly spacious, but still far more usable than the 3-door. Plus, the volume increases to 332L when the second row seats are folded away.

The 5-door is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 75kW and 130Nm of torque. That's not a lot, but weighing just over a tonne, or 1200kg, the 5-door is still lively and snappy, but more on that in a moment. You can have either a five-speed manual transmission like my test car had, or a four-speed automatic transmission, the latter being 15kg heavier than the manual. Suzuki claims 7.1l/100km (WTLP) and 165g/km CO2 (WTLP).

Inside, the Jimny is still all about durable materials and switchgear, with everything feeling fairly chunky and well put together. You sit fairly high behind the wheel and while rear visibility still isn't the best, you get a great panoramic view of what's ahead.

The range includes numerous features, including a new infotainment system with 9-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, rear view camera, LED lighting, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, lane departure warning and dual-camera braking assistance, with a forward-facing camera able to detect vehicles, pedestrians and lane markings and automatically warn the driver or brake accordingly to avoid a collision.

Don't get me wrong, the three-door Jimny was fun to drive, but I found it to be quite bouncy in the suburbs, and if you're in a strong crosswind on a motorway drive, you definitely feel it. The five-door model is a different story, the longer wheelbase makes you feel more secure while driving.

The 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine offers plenty of power and its torque kicks in from low revs, so I never really had to rev the Jimny, but was happy with short shifts under 2000rpm. The Jimny is a car where subtle application of throttle and steering is immensely rewarding, as is flicking through the gears with the five-speed manual transmission.

The five-door is far from a long-distance vehicle. At 100 km/h it revs at around 3,000 rpm and although it feels tight as a drum at speed and there are no rattles or squeaks, you get the impression that it is not really enjoying the ride.

What it definitely enjoys is when you get off the tarmac and onto rough terrain. I thought it would be appropriate to point the Jimny's nose towards the Waimakariri riverbed, a popular haunt for all off-road enthusiasts.

Suzuki's proven ALLGRIP PRO 4WD system gives you full control and the additional simple 4WD transfer case for 4High and 4Low as well as the previously mentioned 3-link rigid axles with coil spring suspension mean you can literally eat up anything that comes your way.

The Jimny's 210mm ground clearance certainly helps, as does the hill start assist and hill descent control. These are standard extra features on any modern off-road icon, but Suzuki's system is very simple and you don't need a degree in quantum physics to understand how it works.

It just swarms around like a young lamb, with all the guts and capability you'd expect from a vehicle of this size. I'm glad that that Jimny element is still there in abundance.

The Jimny 5-door costs $40,990 for the manual variant and $45,500 for the four-speed automatic. Whichever variant you choose, the 5-door is by far the most sensible choice in my opinion. It's a little more expensive than the 3-door, but after zipping around in various disciplines for a week, the 5-door is by far a more complete package.

Almost everyone who saw this stretched Jimny asked the same thing: “Is this the new 5-door?” Questions like these are another example of why I expect the Jimny 5-door to be a top seller for Suzuki in the coming years. It would also be my favorite of the range by far.

RATING: 7.5/10