[royce]

So it might be new car for Royce time

Its getting hard to find suitable cars in age, km's and price as well as not being ugly and with all the freaking traffic I sit in, an auto would be nice

GV wagon - dont want a V6, 2lt 4cyl auto might be a fair slug
Shorty GV - bit ugly
Vitaras - hard to find one sub 150k, though they do exist, but good second hand parts will be non existent for them (SV 4-620 models)
A turbo Forester also looks like real good value, fast, comfy, not a cheap car to begin with so nicer fitted out

So it leaves Jimnys, lets ignore anything in the base model without power steer and also the G13bb ones.

Ive been driving one the last few days and while the seat sucks and the suspension is stiffer than normal, it still rides ok but still feels like a comfy Sierra, you can tell you are in a short narrow live front 4wd, whats this like on long drives? IE 3-400km in a hit, it was quite fatiguing in my sierra with better seats and the comfiest suspension of any leaf sierra ive been in.

get a few people in one and or some gear, do they fall over on the highway? I class my vit as the absolute worst I want to live with here and its lineball in some big hills, does the M13 vvt struggle too (Assume 215/75 fitted at biggest)

Do autos kill them for performance? the hydraulic clutch is a lot nicer in the jimny than the cable job in the vit but I am kinda sick of changing gears all the time.

How many unmolested ones really wobble?

So people, sell em to me, I have no interest in gears or lockers or 8" lifts or any of that bullshit, I am over modded cars, I want to turn key and go

[zooky08]

I can only comment for a few things. Firstly my car sucked on hills with 215s it was always a 3rd or 4th gear. Had to drop it down gears to get in the torque rpm range for it to pull me up the hill. IMO Jimny are under geared stock, unless some thing is changed in mine. Mine drives better and gets better fuel economy with 30's then it did with 215's.
Idk about auto but they might be better for the hills. have you drove a auto Jimny yet?
Also idk what Jimnys are hydraulic clutch but mine sure is cable.

When I first bout my Jimny it had no wobble at all. Until I started puting mods onto it. You can get rid of the wobble easy. I had the 60-80km wobble and the 100km shimming. Just replaced some parts in the front.

I hear more stock Jimny crashing or rolling then Jimnys with lift and bigger tyres. Mine is really stable.
When I had 215s and big lift I still thought it was very stable. I just think it's the driver doing some thing stupid to roll one.

[royce]

are they cable? they must of finally sorted it out then cause it works pretty good?

[zooky08]

Yep they are cable clutch unless the newer Jimny came out with hydraulic. Mine is defiantly cable.

[joeblow]

royce wrote:

Do autos kill them for performance?

No....the performance kills the auto.


If you don't want to mod it buy a Vit.

[alien]

mmm i think GV3... if you find a vitara uncomfy already then you can only move up... IMO a jimny is rougher than a vitara to be in. The GV3 is very much a turn the key and go kinda vehicle.

MrRocky came out with us on some mud/bush tracks last year in his SWB GV3 too, went everywhere we went (although with a little more scraping underneath) but i'll bet after the nearly 10hrs driving we did all up he was FAR less fatigued than we were.

Riding in a few stock jimnys i was also surprised at their underpoweredness... their performance on the highway is exactly that of a stock sierra... i'd hazard a guess their power to weight ratios are very similar.

[zukenutter]

On the highway a VVT Jimny has good legs. VVT model is happy on hills, even with the air running.
If you're wanting comfy long hauls you may be better to look at something else. Although I love driving mine for long hauls.

Around town a Jimny is a lot of fun, easier to park than a Sierra, and has an awesome turning circle.

The wobble can be sorted easily by someone like you.

If you've got the budget the VVT is worth having but I feel the non VVT Ms are generally built better.



Jimny definitely has more go than a Sierra.

[zooky08]

alien wrote:

Riding in a few stock jimnys i was also surprised at their underpoweredness... their performance on the highway is exactly that of a stock sierra... i'd hazard a guess their power to weight ratios are very similar.

I disagree. Yea there underpowered but my Jimny perform quit well on the highway. IMO Jimny sucks on country hilly and town roads.
It's a pain in the ass changing gears all the time in town because there's no torque down low on a Jimny hence why it feels so gutless. I'm running 30's with stock gearing and it doesn't take me long to get up to speeds on the highway.
The engine runs way more smoother then a Sierra for sure.

[atari4x4]

stonedpirate said jimnys are gay, i'd be looking at a boosted forester

[SierraDan]

Boosted forrester.

[smiffkid]

With ur talent an engine conversion would be cheap and easy. Mine went extremely well with the m15 and small tires. Never had to drop a gear even with Aircon. After market seats are also pretty easy to swap in even on a budget. Get a jimny for sure.

[jonno_racing]

royce, sounds like you want the same things from a car as I did.
if I had a bigger budget at the time id have a vvt.
over all the ride of the Jim is shit, but imo that's a swb 4x4 thing.
I have done a fair few km in mine now (even a few laps of a race track) and love it, it has the feeling of a refined sierra.
it has gone everywhere I have pointed it in the bush (even places I though it wouldn't)
sucks on hills but I can live with that. I'd also love mine as a auto.

[Dr_Snapid]

Mine's an auto, non VVT. I have 215/75 ATs and to be honest power is not an issue for me. Even with a steel front bar and roof racks. Of course i'd have more power if I could... and I'd take better economy too... perhaps more legroom... occasionally I see a GV and get envy... until the road becomes JIMNY and then I

BUT

I drive from Grafton to Inverell and back (~250kms each way) in one day. Work about 5 hours in inverell in between. I do this every few weeks, and in between I do a 100km run to casino quite often as well with a long work day. The roads arent great, potholed, and ranging from undulating hills to a dead set mountain with 40kmh bends and a slippery surface (plus its rainforest so the surface can be slippery). I use full throttle sometimes (ok, on most hills), and i drop under 100km/h a fair bit on the hills but I do not get overtaken very much at all except that I let people pass when there is a lane if there is someone there. The jimny shows remarkable confidence on the wet mountain even with the swaybar gone. I do pull her into H4 if its actually raining. And then I just drive. It feels good.

I must admit I do find the drive tiring. I'm 6'1 and the jimny is a snug fit. But I still do it - And my other car is a very powerful V6 in comparison, but I leave it for my wife and kids. I have done the drive in the big car a few times and from memory the fatigue wasnt hugely better. I couldnt blame the car.

I have never driven a manual jimny or one with VVT so cannot compare. I have heard many conflicting reports about the difference the VVT makes on the highway, but I cant recall anyone really talking about the VVT auto, mainly the manual and VVT will have a different effect on the manual to the auto.

I'm sure this waffling on will be no help whatsoever

[Dr_Snapid]

For the record - my business partner has a Golf GTi. It is MORE TIRING to do the trip in than the Jimny. I'm sorer when I get home! He definitely goes faster than me, and uses less fuel too, but man, I'M SORER THAN AFTER DOING THE TRIP IN MY LADDER CHASSIS, LIVE AXLE, SWB 4x4? What the?

[Joe]

GV3 and shorty GV's ain't ugly

[alien]

Dr_Snapid wrote:

For the record - my business partner has a Golf GTi. It is MORE TIRING to do the trip in than the Jimny.

really? i drove my dad's 07 GTI Golf to pemberton, around the southwest and back home and felt zero fatigue... it was silent, comfy and handled like it was on rails the few times i chucked it around the bends. Were you driving the GTI or riding shotgun?

[Fatzook]

alien wrote:

Dr_Snapid wrote:

For the record - my business partner has a Golf GTi. It is MORE TIRING to do the trip in than the Jimny.

really? i drove my dad's 07 GTI Golf to pemberton, around the southwest and back home and felt zero fatigue... it was silent, comfy and handled like it was on rails the few times i chucked it around the bends. Were you driving the GTI or riding shotgun?

Off topic fellas

I've lived with a Jimny for a 2 week stint. Was a VVt with 50ish K on the clock. I found the seats to be terrible. TERRIBLE! Sierra seats are nicer.

I also didn't like the way it responded to bumps/ corrugations through corners. The rear end would skip accross the road. My vitara does this a little on severe road surfaces through corners, but I never feel like I need to correct it. The Jimny gave me the creeps when it happened.

Jimny has less room than the vit.... by lots! And although its a far nicer place to be than a sierra, it offers little more in the way of space.

Due to the narrower stance of the Jimny, you will notice roof racks and cargo alot more in the Jimny than the Vitara.

Can't believe I am saying this, but look harder at the suby. They are great cars. Very comfy, heaps of power and space, and they will get you and your climbing gear close enough to the base of most mountains

[neofitou]

I would also suggest a newer GV or the Forrester for you.
Jimnys are just a newer sierra, a little more comfy etc, which is good for many (including me).

[Dr_Snapid]

I'm talking shotgun in the GTi.

If I wasnt after awesome off road ability, i'd be very tempted by a subaru for the rest of my uses. But the 2 cars are poles apart

[31zook]

Because all the cool kids have them

I like mine allot, needs the jack shaft balanced but after that I'll happily drive to Sydney and further.

Planning a trip to tas at the end of the year

[jonno_racing]

31zook wrote:

Planning a trip to tas at the end of the year

newy to tas... easy.

I wonder if the soft top jimny seats are Diffrent to hard top? mine now has top of the line soft top seats and there not that bad! the originals were pretty average.

[Fatzook]

I wouldn't have thought so Phil.

[tanshi]

grab a GV3, they still do the 2.4 4 cyl version dont they?

[jonno_racing]

Fatzook wrote:

I wouldn't have thought so Phil.

hmmm the mrs seems to think there better..
the jim seats are OK.. average but livable for me, i went from a monza race seat to the stock jim seat and i find it easyer to drive.

[zukenutter]

VVT seats are not as good as earlier models

[BertZook]

I dnt mind the seats of my 02 jimny bad at all..... there not a leather couch but they re fine..... in fact once I did a 4 hour trip on a ford falcon (I was riding shotgun) and after the tri my back was killing me... nice bucket seats but after a while the seat started to "suck me in" and I end up bend up to take the shape of the seat, finishing with back pain after the 4 hours

[squibby]

I guess you already have a very good idea what they are like off road,

But on road, Yeah they do fall over on the highway once loaded up - struggle on the hills. The range on the fuel tank is a bit crap. The pre-2005 models have dated interiors. The stereo is a horror. The gearbox feels like a tractor. Strangely though, I can do very long drives in mine now, although I have sorted the stereo, and it also is a kinda fun to drive because it's so bad.

SO basically I think you are on the right path if you go with an automatic 2005 (VVT) model onwards, because you get the nicest interior and avoid the cruddy manual gearbox.

i'll agree with anyone who reckons the older pre -2005 jimny had more comfortable seats, although they have the unfortunate of looking like something grandma knitted.

If I could go back and choose again I'd get the nicest 2door old shape Vitara I could find.

[zukenutter]

squibby wrote:

i'll agree with anyone who reckons the older pre -2005 jimny had more comfortable seats, although they have the unfortunate of looking like something grandma knitted.

Too true

[alien]

dont forget the issues with the jimny auto boxes, and their replacement cost!!

[Gwagensteve]

royce wrote:

A turbo Forester also looks like real good value, fast, comfy, not a cheap car to begin with so nicer fitted out
.... I am over modded cars, I want to turn key and go

And there's your answer.

/thread.

You won't regret buying a road car for road use. Personally, foresters don't handle well enough for me, but if you still need an amount of dirt road capability then it's the go.

Steve