The much-anticipated arrival of the long-wheelbase Suzuki Jimny is coming. But not soon.
The five-door Jimny is a potential product conquest for Suzuki. It would solve the only real issue that some potential buyers have with Suzuki’s all-conquering compact 4×4: its lack of passenger space in the rear.
Suzuki has realised that with its Vitara now having become a crossover, the company lacks a true five-door adventure vehicle, for off-road enthusiasts.
The Jimny platform is proven and plans around its five-door variant are no secret. But don’t expect it to become available soon.
Suzuki has struggled to match its production of the current-generation Jimny with demand. Since the fourth-generation Jimny’s debut in 2018, waiting lists have been immense. Product planners had completely underestimate global demand for Jimny and this is what could stall the market debut of a five-door version.
With Suzuki struggling to meet Jimny deliveries, even with the vehicle’s sales geography being curtailed in Europe, there simply isn’t spare production capacity for a five-door.
To stretch the Jimny’s wheelbase by 300 mm, will generously increase its cabin architecture and spaciousness but also make it heavier. And that might necessitate a turbocharged engine option, which is currently unavailable in the Jimny range.
Align the latest Suzuki’s turbopetrol engines, with their mild-hybridization, and a longer wheelbase will require planning. And with the Jimny production hub running at nearly peak capacity, Suzuki’s industrial engineers will have to find a solution.
The issues around Jimny’s production and the additional engineering burden of its long-wheelbase variant, mean that we won’t see the five-door version soon. At least not, in this year.
But it is certainly something worth anticipating, in 2022.
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