Don’t be fooled by the Suzuki Jimny‘s adorable looks – this pint-sized off-roader hides a dirty secret. Its 1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated belches out 170g/km of CO2 in automatic form (154 for the manual), which is diabolical for a small, 101bhp engine these days.
To put those numbers in context, the 369bhp BMW M340i is – according to its official figures, at least – cleaner. This is a problem given how late to the electrification party Suzuki is – with the Jimny around, it has no hope of achieving the new EU-mandated 95g/km fleet average. And so, a couple of months ago, the Jimny was removed from sale in Europe. But it’s already making a return, albeit with a few crucial differences.
The rear seats have gone, as the sole Jimny available in Europe is now is classed as a light commercial vehicle – the EU fleet average target for which is a more lenient 147g/km. The ditching of that dinky rear bench (which is only of use for small children, realistically) means there’s a flat floor, making loading easier. It also provides an additional 33 litres of space compared to a passenger Jimny with the seats folded flat, giving a total of 863 litres of capacity back there.
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Otherwise, it’s all as per the one Suzuki was forced to discontinue. It’ll be just as good as negotiating the rough stuff, with the same ladder frame, three-link rigid axle suspension and part-time four-wheel drive system. The safety gear – including autonomous emergency braking – is carried over too, with the addition of the eCall emergency messaging function.
The best part is it’ll be possible to claim the VAT back on a Jimny commercial in the UK, so if the starting price is similar to the £15,499 charged for the normal version, this lil’ load-lugger will have serious bargain potential.
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