LONG-TERM UPDATE 1 | Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX five-door joins our fleet

It's always an exciting day when you get to report on the arrival of a new long-term test car. While the last such vehicle to grace my carport was a Ford Mustang GT California Special with an angry 330kW 5.0l V8 and a penchant for obliterating expensive Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, its replacement resides on the other end of the motoring spectrum.

Folks, please welcome my new “Bluish Pearl Black” Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX MT five-door. 

Though a Jimny will never hold a candle to a Mustang in performance, it can certainly match it in terms of cool factor. Particularly this fourth-generation model that debuted in 2018. With its boxy, compact proportions and retro-futuristic design cues referencing past off-roading greats such as the Land Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and Jeep Wrangler, it's not hard to understand why this pint-sized 4x4 has been such a runaway sales success for the Japanese carmaker. 

I have said it before but it is tough to think of many other production vehicles that enjoy quite as much universal appeal; this teeny Suzuki proving popular with everyone from petrolheads and hipsters to adventurers, housewives and pensioners. There was, however, a major fly in the Jimny ointment and that was space or rather the lack thereof. 

While most could work around the space limitations of the little off-roader's diminutive three-door body shell, there was a whole demographic who couldn't. People with children or those who needed to schlep larger items from point A to B were never going to make a Jimny work for them as a daily driver, which is why after listening to their collective moans Suzuki in 2023 released the five-door version you're looking at now. 

You would expect tacking on two extra doors and extending the Jimny's wheelbase by 340mm would rain on its desirability parade but I think it fair to say the design team responsible did a commendable job.

While the five-door isn't quite as proportionally on point or pin-sharp as its three-door sibling, it's certainly not as gawky a transformation as seen in the first generation Toyota RAV4; the five-door profile of which looked like it had been sketched from a slightly distorted reflection in a funhouse mirror. 

Whether you agree with this or not, there's no denying the Jimny five-door offers genuine load- and people-lugging benefits with a boot that is now usable: 211l vs a paltry 85l. The same goes for the rear seats. Even with the driver's seat set for my 1.88m frame, the space in the aft chamber remains capacious enough to house an average-sized adult.

The trade off is a 105kg increase in kerb weight, a less keen turning circle (11.4m vs 9.8m) and a lengthier footprint (3,820mm vs 3,480mm), which should make the five-door a little trickier to park outside your favourite roadside coffee shop.

Being a GLX variant though, my test unit is equipped with a useful reversing camera and rear park sensors. It also has a rather nice nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay, front/rear electric windows, cruise control, a leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, one USB port and two 12V power sockets (front and rear). 

Under the bonnet resides Suzuki's ubiquitous 1.5l four-cylinder petrol engine pushing out 75kW at 6,000rpm and 130Nm at 4,000rpm. Unlike the last Jimny I had on test which was automatic, this is transferred to either the rear or all wheels via a five-speed manual 'box.

Priced at R457,900 the Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX MT five-door is an intriguing proposition. Especially for people for whom the three-door was a no go. Suffice to say I look forward to living with and exploring its strengths and weaknesses over the next few months. We've got some fun things planned so it should be an eventful ride. Stay tuned. 

2024 Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX MT five-door | Update 1

ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 1,526km

CURRENT ODOMETER: 1,590km

AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 7.2l/100km 

PRICE AS TESTED: R457,900

PRAISES: Added practicality hasn't blighted the off-roader's trademark good looks.

GRIPES: Keeping the ?Bluish Pearl Black” paintwork clean is going to be a struggle.