The Suzuki Jimny, a popular lifestyle SUV in European market was last upgraded in 1998 to its current iteration – Suzuki Jimny Sierra. Recently, our spies went all ‘Ethan Hunt’ and managed to secure the images of the fourth generation, Suzuki Jimny Sierra. The images reveal the exterior as well as give us a peek inside the upcoming lifestyle SUV.
The design remains identical to all its predecessors and the prototype carries a similar boxy design – It is safe to say that Suzuki has NOT thought out of the box with this one. The wheels are designed to be at the extreme end of the car, offering a more than adequate approach and departure angle. The car now gets flared wheel arches with a little extra body cladding for a tougher look.
The exterior of the Jimny has been made to look old school, however the interiors have been revamped to be at par with modern hatchbacks. The screen of the infotainment system is placed high on the centre console and below sits a pair of square air vents which feature a different design than those on the sides. The car gets a two-pot instrument cluster placed right behind the newly designed steering wheel.
The new Jimny is expected to be based on the same old-school ladder frame chassis. However, we anticipate it to be stronger and rigid than the current model. The next-gen model is rumoured to be equipped with Suzuki’s ‘Allgrip Pro 4x4’ four wheel drive system mated to a low range gearbox to enhance its off-road capabilities. Power source is expected to be the 1.0-litre booster jet or the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated mill.
Here, in the local market, the Suzuki Jimny is popular as the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy (which is the second generation car). It is unlikely that the Gypsy successor, Jimny, will land on Indian shores as Suzuki seems to be following the motto, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. We expect the new Jimny to be showcased in the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show and the car is expected to go on sale in European markets by early 2018.
