The 2019 Suzuki Jimny Makes Us Wish the Brand Was Back

There are a lot of SUVs out there these days. Unfortunately, many of them have been softened for street use. If you want a super-boxy, off-road beast, you’re only real options are the Jeep Wrangler or the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, which is hardly ever used off-road due to its high price. That’s why we love the Jimny that Suzuki sells outside the U.S. It’s a little off-road SUV that will climb over almost any terrain. The vehicle is like some kind of box-shaped mountain goat, and it won’t cost you your life savings.

The interior is pretty basic and functional, which is exactly what we'd want in an off-roader like this.

Suzuki hasn’t sold vehicles in the U.S. since 2012, but seeing the new 2019 Jimny makes us wish they would start shipping these things across the Pacific. In an age when every crossover and SUV looks the same, and few of them can handle much more than a wet dirt road or a heavy snowstorm, the Jimny is a box of fresh air. It’s like a mini Mercedes G-Class or a toy Land Rover Defender. This is the off-roader all the rock-crawling fanatics have been praying for.

The Jimny's fully-boxed ladder frame and solid axles make it ready for basically any off-road terrain.

Here are the 2019 Suzuki Jimny’s details:

• The Jimny’s off-road prowess comes from a fully-boxed ladder frame, two solid axles, and a part-time, two-speed 4x4 system.
• The three-link rigid axle suspension has been designed to give the vehicle plenty of wheel travel for off-road use.
• The model will have two engine options in Japan. The first is a 660 cubic centimeter inline three-cylinder. The second is a 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder. Both engines will pair to a four-speed automatic transmission or a basic five-speed manual. Markets outside of Japan may see a 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine as well as a 1.0-liter turbo three-cylinder engine.
• The interior has been updated with a fairly large screen at the top of the center stack. Beneath that are large buttons and knobs for climate controls and other vehicle functions. The instrument cluster features two large analog gauges and a small information screen between them.
• The exterior of the vehicle is similar to the past model but with harder edges and true round headlights. It looks more like a little Mercedes-Benz G-Class than ever before.
• The model comes in six different color schemes, including three two-tone options (shown below). 

The Suzuki Jimny hasn’t been updated since 1998, so the 2019 model is a significant move forward for the little SUV. The fact that the current model lasted so long is a clear sign of just how good its design was. The upcoming 2019 model makes the Jimny modern, and it also puts this little 4x4 at the top of our list of forbidden automotive fruit.