2024 Suzuki Jimny 5-Door GLX AT – Definitely worth the long wait
The Jimny needs no long introduction. Suzuki’s pint-sized 4×4 has been basking in glory for a long time now, and with the entry of the Jimny 5-door in the market, it’s only been able to reach a wider audience who are looking for the same capability of a small off-roader but with more space for people and cargo. So without further ado, let’s get to it, shall we?
2 extra doors make a great argument for the value of the Jimny 5-door
Full disclosure here, ladies and gentlemen: everyone who knows me knows that I was not one with the many fans of the Jimny. That said, what I promise with this Jimny 5-Door Review are opinions from someone who is looking at, driving (literally, a Jimny) it for the first time, and with only little knowledge based on what I’ve only seen, heard, and read.
On the looks of the Jimny 5-Door, I must say that it is a beautiful small 4×4 “truck”. One of the things that never seemed to grow on me was the 3-Door’s looks, its proportions. The 5-door, however, looks very much like a peewee JEEP with no less of the gruff. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks the same as its smaller brother, and the Jimny 5-Door still has its 5-slot grill, round LED headlights, halogen foglights, and overall boxy look. It’s the addition of the 2 back doors that did me in. When it was launched, I remember saying “this is a Jimny I’d consider, but I’ll have to drive it first”. We’ll get to that later.
We mentioned the Jimny 5-Door’s boxy design, and yes, Suzuki did not stray from it or make an all-new shell for the added doors. The side looks as rugged as it always has, with its bulging fender flares and tall stature given the upright pillars. This particular two-tone color scheme does well to highlight the lower portions of the Jimny 5-door. For those who’ve been reading my reviews, I’ve always believed that blacked-out lower lines and pieces make for a stronger look, and this Jimny has it.
The rear leaves you with nothing to write home about as it’s the same tailgate and the same spare tire holder that you’ll find. I really like the embossed branding of “Jimny” on the tire cover, though. It really does harken to the tire covers of old like the Pajero. If anything, such an accessory is something I would expect of any 4×4 that carries its spare on its back and not underneath.
The inside of the Jimny 5-Door is also pretty much a transplant from its 3-Door variant. It features a boxed gauge cluster with individual dials – again very reminiscent of the Pajero – with a digital MID in the middle that shows essential information like fuel consumption, mileage, and engaged gear, among others. I personally like how the markings and needle are orange and red-orange, respectively. They make for great visibility against the light gray background of the dials. The steering wheel of this GLX variant is wrapped in leather and has audio, cruise control toggles, and communication switches built in.
Moving to the center of the gauge and down the center stack, the Jimny 5-Door gets a 9-inch infotainment touchscreen that comes with Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. It also gives you access to other vehicle settings. Granted, the camera and the accompanying resolution of the screen can be better, but they aren’t bad by any standard, just a little bit grainy. The AC control dials sit under the AC vents, and further down are the front window switches, TCS, and Hill Descent Control toggles, along with a 12V and USB socket.
The shifter is, as the rest of the dashboard (and the interior, in fact) does not get any simpler and utilitarian. It’s a straightforward stick, and just aft sit the handbrake lever as well as the 4WD selector lever. Utilitarian being said, everything is made of plastic inside the Jimny 5-Door. Again, simply a transplant from its 3-Door brethren. What did tickle my fancy is the bi-level storage on the front passenger side of the dashboard; a pocket on top, and the glove box below.
As for the seats, the plastic materials are complimented well by the fabric upholstery. This is a truck that, while good for transporting 5 people now, is also an off-roader. Leather will not hold well should water or mud get into the cabin, so this is the most sensible choice for the Suzuki Jimny 5-Door. Both front and rear seats lack lateral bolstering, and their backrests are a little bit too upright. As a driver, I found it difficult to find my proper driving position because the Jimny 5-Door does not come with a seat height adjuster either. However, you can always make do with the slightest of adjustments (and acceptance).
And by the way, I say “transporting 5 people” very, very loosely. It worked for us in the 3-Door variant back then, you see. While head- and legroom are abundant even in the back, shoulder room does leave a lot to be desired. Two adults will fit with no problems, but seating someone in the middle of the 2nd row will prove to be a challenge. A child, yes. A normal-sized adult, we may have to bunch together like sardines. Just a word of caution here, yes?
I did mention lateral bolstering and padding, and should Suzuki come out with an update for the Jimny 5-Door, maybe redesigned seat pads would be a good idea for everyone, especially those who expect to take this wee truck on uneven trails.
For cargo space, I can say that the Jimny 5-Door’s much more than decent. Both vertical and horizontal spaces are much better than the 3-Door. Should you need more, the rear seats do fold 50:50 and that makes for even more space for bigger cargo and wares. In the name of convenience, you’ll also find a power socket in the trunk area of the Jimny 5-Door, so that doubles the powering capacity alongside that of the front 12V lighter socket.
It must be said that since the Jimny 5-Door’s spare tire is mounted on the very wide-opening and side-swinging tailgate, that means all the floor and space of the trunk was designed to be maximized for cargo, and that’s a good thing.
The Jimny 5-Door is powered by the familiar K15B motor of Suzuki. It makes about 102 HP and 130 Nm of pull and is mated to, in the GLX’s case, a 4-speed automatic transmission. Many people question this engine and transmission choice, myself included. I’m happy to report, though, that as with other Suzuki models, it simply and magically works. No, no literal magic is involved, obviously, but as far as being able to start from a complete stop, to accelerate through the gears on open stretches, to pull itself up a steep slope, all while being pretty frugal with fuel consumption, the Jimny 5-Door impresses by a great degree.
As you all know by now, I trudge through Commonwealth and Katipunan traffic daily, and I was surprised by the 9.2 kilometers per liter readout on good days and 8.7 kilometers per liter on the worst. We can only imagine how it would fare on the highway given its 4-speed automatic slushbox, but if we were to guess, it could probably go up to the high 13-14 kilometer per liter range. Maybe Suzuki would lend us the Jimny 5-Door again to test that theory, yes?
Now comes the issue of price. The Suzuki Jimny 5-Door GLX has a PHP 1,698,000, but this two-tone option is actually more expensive at PHP 1,708,000. A PHP 10,000 difference is pretty “normal” for two-tone paint schemes and is actually cheaper than some (others have customers add up to PHP 15,000) but if we were to stick to the base price of the GLX, it’s just too darned high.
At that price, you can get yourself a pickup high up on the variant scale, or an entry-level SUV. But see, that’s the thing. The Jimny, and more so for the Jimny 5-Door, has a cult following, a group of loyal faithful who despite its size revel in its capability and lineage and heritage that no amount of money would sway them from getting one.
Coming from a Jimny greenhorn such as myself, that’s literally me talking in that previous paragraph. From coming from the unimpressed lot, the Jimny 5-Door made its case and state known to me like a punch in the gut, and in a good way. I now understand how and why people flock to it and fawn over it, because it does deserve all the hype that it gets.
While I wouldn’t sing praises for the 3-Door as high as I do for this one (I now have a newfound respect for it, mind you), the Suzuki Jimny 5-Door definitely has my adoration, and should my or anyone’s wallets permit, it should be way up there in your offroading toy and daily driveable 4×4 shortlist.
More photos of the 2024 Suzuki Jimny 5-Door GLX AT
