An announcement made three years ago, Suzuki officially unveiled the much-awaited five-door Jimny at the Delhi Auto Expo in India.
Spotted for sale in May with the order book now open, the longer wheelbase Jimny, which was leaked online late last year during testing, retains the ladder frame chassis without any input from Daihatsu before, but with a significant change for its size.
At 3 985 mm in overall length, the five-door Jimny is 360 mm longer than the standard three-door, with a wheelbase increased by 340 mm to 2 590 mm and a height of 50 mm to 1 670 mm. It does not change even though the width is claimed at 1 645 mm.
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While retaining the ground clearance of 210 mm from the three doors, the long wheelbase of the Jimny breakover and the departure angle have, however, changed, from 28-degrees and 49-degrees respectively, to 24-degrees and 50-degrees with an approach sticking from 37. – degrees to 36 – degree.
Apart from the new length, the only other visual change is the black grille with chrome inserts for the five air intake ports, while the interior has been revised to accommodate the seven-inch or nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system with the Baleno.
The rest of the interior continues unchanged, although higher-end models have been confirmed as recipients of a fully upgraded Arkamys sound system with what the brand calls surround sense audio.
Up front, reports of the Jimny possibly receiving the acclaimed 1.0-liter turbocharged Boosterjet engine have yet to materialize as it will continue to be powered by a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter gasoline engine, although now the newer K15C unit with the help of a standard mild hybrid.
However, the output is unchanged from the old K15B unit at 75kW / 130Nm with the same transmission choice, which is a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Like the three-door Jimny, the low range is also standard along with limited slip differential, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control.
In India, a choice of six colors has been chosen; Granite Grey, Bluish Black, Nexa Blue, Sizzling Red and Pearl Arctic White, as well as Kinetic Yellow which is equipped with a contrasting black roof as standard.
As we know, the order books in India have been opened and while the price has not been disclosed, a significant premium on the three-door is expected.
Although not confirmed for South Africa at the moment, an announcement has been made that confirms the five-door Jimny is expected after Hamamatsu Brand Marketing Manager for South Africa, Brendon Carpenter, spoke to The Warga on the side-lines of the launch of Swift updated two years ago, “we know that Jimny is a very favorable model in South Africa so if (long wheelbase) is available, we will definitely be looking into it”.
Additional information and images from cartorq.com and team-bhp.com.