It’s getting on in years and is one of the cheapest new 4x4s that money can buy. But, as Paul Guinness discovers, the latest-spec Jimny still has plenty going for it

By any standards, the diminutive Suzuki Jimny is a bit of an old soldier, having originally been launched way back in 1998 before going on sale in the UK early the following year. And that makes it the second oldest 4×4 currently on sale in Britain, beaten only by Land Rover’s evergreen Defender.

Looking at the 2010-spec Jimny now, it’s obvious that the model has been altered remarkably little over the years. Okay, a new 1.3-litre 16-valve petrol engine – complete with variable valve timing – was introduced a while back, along with a freshened-up dashboard and minor trim updates. But, in essence, the latest Jimny is very much the same vehicle that first saw the light of day a full twelve years ago.

So does that automatically make the Jimny hopelessly outclassed and not worthy of consideration nowadays? No. Far from it, in fact – as we’ve just discovered after a week at the wheel of the latest (and most expensive) SZ4 version.

THE ‘POSH’ JIMNY

This doesn’t mean the Jimny has been moved needlessly upmarket, of course. You can still buy the entry-level 1.3 JLX for a very reasonable £10,715 – or considerably less once your nearest dealer has agreed to the kind of generous discount we’ve come to expect in Suzuki showrooms. And when you consider that at that price you’re getting a ‘proper’ 4×4 (complete with body-on-frame construction, part-time Drive Select four-wheel drive, a dual-range transfer box, free-wheeling front hubs and coil-sprung suspension), less than £11k is surely a small price to pay?

Read more here…

Tyres The Most Important Thing When 4WDing. There are all sorts of track conditions that you will encounter, so you need a tyre that is capable of handling all conditions. If you plan on using your 4x4 to actually do proper 4WDriving, my advice is to purchase a quality set of mud terrain tyres. You will have to put up with a bit extra road noise on bitumen, but the knowledge that you have the best tyre for the worst circumstance is most reassuring. We consistently get 80,000Kms from our mud tyres, but we have them balanced and rotated every 8,000Kms, so with fantastic wear like this, it doesn't make sense to limit our 4WD capability by fitting all-terrain.