Willem replied:

After owning 2 strokes and then 4 stroke Zooks and ending upo with a 1300 Sierra, back in the late 80's, Suzuki then drifted away from vehicles with REAL offroad capability.

I haven't driven the Jimney but it looks too small for my liking and there doesnt seem much room for, say, bigger wheels etc.

If you are dead keen on a Suzuki look for the latest model Sierra which I think ran out in the mid 90's. They are true little 4x4's.

garrycol replied:

The Jimny is basically the same as the last of the sierras with a different body - should be as good.

Scoey replied:

Great, thanks for the advice, I agree Willem - no room for decent mods but my gf likes the colours and the ample cup holders the Jimny offers. The Sierra's had a good rep and given the amount of work the Jimny's likely to get (read: hitting bump stops at the shopping centre) it should suffice! ;-)

Gary, I was of the same opinion - glad to hear I might be on the right track! ;-)

Cheers!

Scoey.

Member - David B (QLD) replied:

Hi Scoey,

I have an 04 Jimny jx manual, i got 500klms to 40lt tank.
The jimny is very capable offroad stock standard.
If you want to modify, there are plenty of parts straight off the shelf.
The jimny has better suspenion than the sierra.

Dave.

mattlobie replied:

I did a fair bit of research on Jimny's a few months ago as I was seriously considering buying one. I decided in the end that they were too small for my needs but here are the most interesting points.

Firstly, Jimny's are better on fuel than Sierras due to the fuel injection that the sierras don't have. They are as capable off road as sierras and as others have said, many mods are available. For the beach and light bush driving you mentioned, a jimny will take you anywhere a cruiser or patrol will. They're slightly more comfortable than sierras but still not great over long distances. They rev quite high at 100kph (around 4000 rpm I believe) but the engine is happy revving that high, and fuel consumption isn't affected much. On the topic of fuel consumption, it's obviously higher than a 1.3 litre 2wd car but still decent. The models released in the last couple of years have auto locking hubs. ARB carry a range of accessories for them including bull bars, tow bars, suspension kits and other stuff.

Thats all I can think of at the moment. I wouldn't have any hesitation buying one, as long as the size is adequate for your needs. I still want one, if I was single I think I'd get one.

matt