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I can only refer to the situation in Germany, which is sort of crazy.

There were 25 000 orders placed by the first quartal of 2019. Germany has an allocation of 5 000 cars. Of which very little had been delivered yet. Waiting time had grown to infinite. Last of the 5 000 customers that had placed their orders will be served in early 2020. Customers, that came afterwards WILL NOT GET THEIR JIMNY because there are only 5 000 units coming to Germany.

This is getting way out of hand, as customers go after USED demo-cars form dealerships sold for as much as 25% over market price on the internet. SUZUKI Germany has sent a memo to their dealerships, that the ordering process for Jimny is to be abolished. NO MORE ORDERS.


There are still 20 000 people who had placed an order and will never see their car.

Why?
WLPT: The new CO2 exhaust measures dictate, that the whole portfolio of one manufacturer may not exceed given levels: small cars, economy cars, premium cars etc. Suzuki builds economy cars and as such may not exceed a given amount of CO2 production. Jimny is not aerodynamic, has no start-stop system or hybrid module, no direct injection or turbos. Also no tall gearing or other tricks to artifically fake a lower fuel consumption score/CO2 score during the WLPT testing procedure.


And so, every Jimny sold here means, that SUZUKI needs to sell at least 10 much cleaner small cars to stay below the crazy limits set by the eco-norm. And so 5 000 Jimnies for Germany it is... People here reimport these form countries with lower demand like crazy. They reimport from countries, which haven't even introduced the car yet. And force a sell-out there.

The reason for such strong demand in Germany is, that there are no small offroads available and there is a lot of forester/hunter jobs and enthusiasts in Germany driving 4example: old Jimny, Samurai, 90s Vitaras, short Pajeros and even Lada Nivas looking for a better work tool. Jimny has a great legacy of 20 years in Germany, with no known weaknesses aside from RUST PROTECTION and POWER, which both get solved with the new JB74W Jimny.

A little sidenote: German market experiences delays longer than neighbouring countries ALTHOUGH Jimny got introduced first in Germany. The reason is, that ONLY GERMAN CARS get special UNDERCARRIAGE RUST PROTECTION. Germany is known to use very strong chemical mixture to melt snow on roads. For the last 2 years, there had been usage of chemical solution, capable of melting snow and ice in temperatures as low as -17°C, where normal salt never would have helped.
These chemicals naturally also react with metals and enforce oxidation process. So this is the reason that Jimny in Germany travels from the docks to a workshop, where it gets partially disassembled and covered with wax.

My car smelled of burnt wax for at least 3 000 km. Problably wax was also applied to parts of the exhaust system.

I have put together the MANUAL TRANSMISSION data in this small simulation:

You can look up top speed per gear and usable peak torque in various gears in the XLS sheet that I made.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sx66qaef8u...%20EN.xls?dl=0

LOW GEARS 1LOW and 2LOW are below 1HI.


Between 1HI and 2HI, there are 3LOW and 4LOW.

5th LOW is shorter than 3 HI.

The official TOP SPEED is lower than 5HI And 4HI theoretical top speed - so the car won't reach fuel cut-off limiter in any gear higher than 3rd HI (Aerodynamics?).

In comparison to our family´s short wheelbase JK Rubicon 2.8 CRD Manual 6g, the low transfer gear is quite high with 2.002 ratio on the Jimny.

Rubicon´s LOW is almost twice as low as on the Jimny. With Jimny, you can not really think of rock crawling, the pace is too fast and you use clutch way too much. Jimny does things fast and profits from the lightness though, so successful climbing over rocks can still be acheived, it just needs some decisive driving input and determination. The relatively hight low gear ratio also prevents owners form using bigger tires on the Jimny without going through painful process of changing axle ratios.

A few photos and some experience have gathered over the first 5 000 km and 4 months of ownership. Let me show you and elaborate:

The fuel consumption had settled down at a very nice 7,1 liters/100 km (14,1 km/l, 33 US mpg, 40 Imperial mpg).

The real world top speed and 0-100km/h are considerably better than tech-specs stated.

4x4 system works great, ability to shift in and out of 4wd is practical.

The stability system and anti-slip system can not be kept off at speeds above 35 km/h. I need to find a way to piggy-back this precaution, WINTER IS COMING and I want to enjoy the car in some sideways action.

Engine response is really brisk. There are no engines like this made nowadays. It literally feels like a good old manual cable throttle - no delays, no ironing of peak signals and compression of sudden throttle inputs.

There were also a few downsides to the new Jimny - at least in my point of view:

There is a loud knock/jolt coming from the steering wheel and pedal box when I drive off after heavier braking. A hardy-coupling (guibo) on the steering shaft is apparently causing sudden knock as the front axle settles after hard compression - braking. Current advice from the shop is, to bring it in and have it oiled. But as they told me, there are no dangers of any damage to the car if left as is. I should wait for a new service bulletin to arrive and it will most certainly present a solution via replacement for a redesigned steering shaft.

The driver side front blinker had had water in it, although I never drove through or forded any water. The dealer recomended replacement of the seal or, if necessary, the blinker cover.

The 5th gear likes to stay engaged :o
If I try to shift out of 5th, the lever often gets caught on the notch between 4th and 5th practically staying in 5th gear. I then need to re-clutch and put it back all the way into 5th, then retry taking it out of gear. I have tried many techniques. Nothing helped and naturally murphy´s law for demonstration of misbehaving mechanisms to a service technician had once again worked and the car drove normally, 5th gear in and out with one finger...

BUT all in all, the car is a treat. Offroad, there is nothing that could match it. It had left our JK Rubicon stranded in snow, even on its stock all-season tire vs proper offroad tires on the Jeep. Onroad performance is ok and it simply is a car that makes one appreciate the whole experience of driving. Everything works so mechanical, you hear a gentle pitching whine from the rear axle, the clutch is super light and throttle response reminds me of carburettor cars.

The only weakness might be, - like St.Pierre-White stated -, that the Jimny won't climb as well as long wheelbase cars, because of the pivoting centre of gravity. And the LOW gearbox has still quite a high ratio. 2.002 does not allow for bigger wheels without looking into axle ratios.

Wow. A really nice review. Did not know that the law was so strict. This means, if I ever move to Germany, I cannot bring my 12mpg GX from the US? Not that I would want to. I will need a private oil well for the fuel :D

You can import foreign vehicles. Germany has no strict laws regarding import, such as the 25 years rule in the US. The only difficulty is, that you need to hire a company that rewires your car. Mostly it is to change the lights as in Germany, signal lights may not be red and must not use the same pattern as brakes. But as mentioned, there are companies that specially focus on that kind of work and help along the way towards Tech Inspecion. Tech in Germany is called TÜV and is very thorough. So it is good to get everything in good working shape before shipping the vehicle, since towing a car on a flatbed in Germany trying to get various systems fixed for cheap might be a headache.


The WLPT fleet CO2 limits apply to BRAND NEW CARS BEING CURRENTLY SOLD. If a company sells 10 ecologically targeted vehicles per one sportscar or offroad, they might get away with it. Do you understand the concept? The car makers have to project a strategy of selling just the right ammount of each model to still fall into the cheaper CO2 bracket. If they sell way too many of those with bigger engine or worse gearbox/aerodynamics, they will pay extra fines to the government and will fall into the more expensive WLPT CO2 bracket for the following year or quartal.

Beautiful pictures and clear explanations of the local laws:thumbs up

I guess, Suzuki needs Toyota in Europe more than they need here in India, so why have they not yet launched a Toyota Jimny yet?

Back home, despite earning so much from India & controlling more than half of the total market share, Suzuki has literally done step-motherly treatment to Indian customers, wish we had some way to teach these guys a lesson. We don't even have a Petrolhead Minister who can ask Suzuki on what's happening? If Toyota can sell 100+ units of LC at 1,5 CR, can't Suzuki sell 500 of Jimny at 20 Lac :deadhorse

We have something similar here in India too. It is known as CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) norms. Suzuki can still get away with this in India because most cars they sell here are nothing more than tin cans on wheels.

The CAFE norms might have played a major role in Toyota's Glanza sticker job.;)

On popular demand and looong.. waiting periods now Suzuki Jimny to be made in India and Indonesia apart from its current Kosai plant in Japan.




The Indian made Jimny will be exported to S Africa and Middle East region, and is not known yet explicitly if will available for the Indian market. But indications are positive as the engine is locally produced in both the countries.

Jimny will be sold in Indonesia initially through the CBU route, but will move to the CKD assembly soon.


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At risk of getting a strike I say, this is literally like rubbing salt in our wounds. India is gonna make these cars but we Indians won't be able to drive them.

Suzuki Jimny does a 1000 km run in desert ( Jimny Dessert Experience )- A five-day trip through the most authentic Morocco.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=-0HjZRYj5lk

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Suzuki Jimny Gan debuts in Italy, other markets will receive them as well.


















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Thanks a lot.
One question: Is it possible to manually switch off front passenger airbag? Since the car is two door, one may need it while carrying kids or sick in the front seat

Suzuki Jimny delivers the First JIMNY for Thailand!

Total Jimny's allotted for Thailand was 90 units. All sold in 6 days. Especially the limited edition All New Suzuki Jimny, only 30 cars, were quickly owned by the owner within 3 hours .

Prices for the First 90 fans in Thailand- 1,650,000 baht (AT), price 1,550,000 baht (MT)






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Suzuki Jimny in Dubai, but with a difference!








This one aftermarket company from Dubai decided to see what the final product would look like if they were blended into one - Suzuki Jimny turned into a Smaller Mercedes -AMG G63!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfdpdyzAaLs

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The Jimny Tough Concept - displayed at GIIAS 2019

yum yum.

The super successful Jimny completes One year of its launch ( 5th July)