Suzuki Jimny

The Suzuki Jimny (Japanese: スズキ・ジムニー, Suzuki Jimunī) is a series of four-wheel drive off-road mini SUVs, manufactured and marketed by Japanese automaker Suzuki since 1970.

Originally belonging to the kei class, Japan's light automobile tax/legal class, the company continues to market a kei-compliant version for the Japanese and global markets as the Jimny, as well as versions that exceed kei-class limitations. Suzuki has marketed 2.85 million Jimnys in 194 countries through September 2018.

The history of Suzuki four-wheel drive cars began in the latter half of the 1960s, when Suzuki bought a Steyr-Puch Haflinger to study with the intent of building a kei-class off-road vehicle. A better opportunity presented itself in 1968, when Suzuki was able to buy bankrupt Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company, which had introduced a small off-road vehicle called the HopeStar ON360. The tiny Hope company had been unable to enter series production, and only about 45 were manufactured.

The first Suzuki-branded four-wheel drive, the LJ10 (Light Jeep 10), wasn't introduced until 1970. The LJ10 had a Kei-class sized 359-cc, air cooled, two-stroke, in-line twin-cylinder engine. The liquid-cooled LJ20 was introduced in 1972 with the cooling updated due to newly enacted emission legislation, and it gained 3 hp. In 1975, Suzuki complemented the LJ20 with the LJ50, which had a larger, 539-cc, in-line three-cylinder engine – but still two-stroke – and it came with bigger differentials. This was originally targeted at the Australian market, but more exports soon followed.

The Jimny 8 / LJ80 – updated from the LJ50, with an 800 cc, four-stroke, four-cylinder in-line engine, the final version of the original LJ series – was followed by the second generation Jimny 1000 / SJ410 (1.0 litre), and Jimny 1300 / SJ413 1.3 litre. An updated version of the SJ413 became known as the Samurai and was the first Suzuki officially marketed in the US. The series from SJ410 to SJ413 was known as the Sierra in Australia, and remained the Jimny in some markets.

The third generation Jimny was released in 1998, and since then has acquired the same name in all markets. The 1998 release used the G13BB Suzuki G engine with electronic fuel injection (EFI), which was replaced by the M13AA EFI Suzuki M engine in 2001 and the M13AA engine with variable valve timing in 2005, in conjunction with a minor interior redesign.

In late 2018, Suzuki launched an all new fourth generation Jimny, which was received with great enthusiasm by Jimny fans all over the world. For export, the engine displacement rose to 1.5 litre; and for the first time in history, the power output could exceed 100 PS (74 kW). Just like the second generation, the fourth Jimny is again available with a stretched wheelbase (34 cm / 13.4 in) – only this time, it has five doors.

All four Jimny generations have a separate body and frame, a ("ladder frame chassis"). The body is legally not a structural carrying part of the vehicle. Originally, It served only as a cabin to protect the occupants from the elements (but on early models not even that), provide comfort – and yet, on later models, it is strong enough to protect occupants in case of a crash. It is legal to own and drive on public roads and highways in the majority of countries in the world.