[brw0513]

Hi all.

First post here

I'm probably like a gazillion others that think the Jimny could be the perfect 4WD for me. I will be hiring one in the near future to visit Bribie Island for a few days as a "pre-purchase" assessment.

My ideal 4WD is relatively cheap to own and run, has a manual transmission and well suited to travelling on sandy tracks and beaches found on places like Bribie and Moreton and Fraser Islands. Most of its life will be spent on the bitumen in heavy traffic for the daily 20km commute so a small light vehicle is an advantage. It would never be the family car but it might be a good vehicle for my soon to be "learner driver" daughters.

So far, no negatives for the Jimny.

First question - is a later model Jimny with "push button" transfer case engagement any different in capability/ruggedness than the earlier "stick select" version?

One likely negative for the Jimny may be its lack of towing ability. I have a 4m tinny that is fitted with a few options and the package is around 650kg. I know the trailer will need to be fitted with brakes so a Jimny can legally tow it. I assume the 1.3l engine will quickly run out of legs on anything that looks like a hill.

This brings me to my second question - are the various 1.5l, 1.6l and 1.8l engine swaps really worth pursuing in trying to increase towing capability or is it just better to start with something else. Good advice appreciated.

Thanks.

[Gwagensteve]

Start with something else like a SWB NGV.

[Mattman]

Hey mate,

Ill jump in with my limited Jimny ownership knowledge.

I got mine for basically the same reasons nearly 12 months ago.

First major thing I did after a few months was shoe-horn a 1.5 in, best thing I did for a commuter car (and by far the easiest engine swap ive done in my life). Mine is 09 and has the push button, so far so good, others can have issues with wiring or vac lines, ive been pretty lucky, though tbh its a pretty simple system anyways so fixing a dodgey wire or line isn't the end of the world. Braked and with a decent tow bar I think we tap out at 1200kg? I guess it comes to the real crux of it, do you want a well geared (read, correctly geared) Jimny for towing and offroad, or a decent run about for the road and occasional offroad use. You can have both sure, but then it no longer becomes a cheap run about car ( lift, tyres, transfer gears, $$$$, sure would make an awesome all rounder but then all starts to add up...)

I love where mine is at the moment, the 1.5 makes for an awesome commuter car and gives a little more when offroad. Sure down the line ill add tyres and gearing locker etc but for now, as is, its perfect.

[Mattman]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Start with something else like a SWB NGV.

Or this

[greyghost]

dont bother with the Jimny they are incredibly SLOW as a commuter car, ride like shit and are more fragile than the most fragile glass you can imagine. and not something I'd want my kids learning to drive in.

go the GV you'll thank yourself later. better at everything.

[brw0513]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Start with something else like a SWB NGV.

What is an NGV?

[ZUZUKI]

I like your idea of renting one - use it not just for your visit to Bribie, but also to do your commute & see how it goes.
We have an early car (G engine, lever transfer) - it is lifted, tyred, locked, regeared, castor corrected, and terrible to drive.
G gearboxes, either manual or auto, are more robust than M stuff, but Gs are now all old & flogged.
1.3l in a Sierra is ok (not great, but ok) if geared correctly, 1.3l in a heavier Jimny is ordinary at best, IMO.
Gearing is harder to get right in a later car M engine car - can be overcome to an extent, by up-grading to bigger capacity. 1.5l seems to be the go, 1.8 conversions have more power than the rest of the driveline can usefully handle & reported running issues.

Like others above, for what you say you want to do with it, a NGV SWB will be a better (but slightly bigger) car all round.

Rgs, Michael

[Gwagensteve]

New Grand Vitara (jb)

[Lyonsy]

to be towing on sand the jimny will struggle or will be singing hard, a 2.4 swb ngv would be a better option.

having had a jimny for 6 months now i find it best as a commute car unless your constantly driving at 100 clicks and even then its not bad, far better then any mid 2000's or earlier 4x4 diesel wagon, i know as the misuses complains the td5 disco is a slug compared to her jimny.

[Gwagensteve]

I don’t believe you. A Jimny is better than a pre 2000 diesel wagon? mate of mine has a 1992 tdi discovery that might disagree with you. As would I. Jimnys are designed as urban vehicles with (perversely) off road ability. They’re not a touring car.

[Lyonsy]

a td5 auto no tune but boost wound up to just under overboost protection unless you are giving it to it is def a lot slower then our jimny, even giving it to it it would struggle to be same pace.
tdi's ive driven that are stock are even worse.

but they are better at holding speed once wound up, ie when towing a falcon up the pentland hills the td5 will hold its speed really well but accleration wise the jimny wins hands down

[brw0513]

Thanks for replies, they are appreciated. Quite a range of responses.

I'm not looking to tow my boat on sand, only bitumen. Sand work would just me me and a friend and some camping/fishing gear.

A new Grand Vitara will be well out of my price range unfortunately. I am hoping to spend less than $10,000.

I had previously considered a 2008 vinatge-ish diesel Grand Vitara but ruled it out thinking it would not be all that capable on the inland tracks of Fraser Island. I spent a week on Fraser a few years ago and can't recall seeing one Grand Vitara. I saw quite a few Jimnys though.

Are Grand Vitaras a good thing on Fraser Island?

[vet 180]

Reading your needs I can’t think of a better car for you than the Jimny. 650kgs is stuff all and a Jimny shouldn’t have any issue at all towing. On sand they are awesome I often lead multi car convoys of wranglers, Fj’s etc through the uae desert and they all comment how good the Jimny is in the dunes. Around town it’s a great little buzz box, easy to park and reasonably zippy. Expect around 8-10L per 100kms which is pretty good for a petrol 4x4. When not too modded they are very reliable also.

There is a lot of Jimny hate on this forum and it’s mostly by people that have never owned one.

I would rent one like you are planning and come to your own decision. If you do get one remember 10-12 psi in sand and disconnect the front sway bar when going off-road.

Also the worst ever car I have driven in the dunes is a Td5 Land Rover defender. Very heavy and underpowered. A stock Jimny runs rings around it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MrRocky]

I think the gv would tow far better and as far as sand capability goes they wipe the floor with the jims

[greenzook89]

I'll weigh in, I own a current shape NGV, and have previously owned Jimnys. In my mind a Jimny is the "inbetween" car between a Sierra and the Vitara. Yes you can chuck a bigger M series in them, still doesn't mean they should be towed with loads around the higher rating.

My NGV has towed quite a bit of stuff, heaviest would be a Sierra on a car float, (try doing that with a Jimny, legally)

I also own a /twin locked sierra, I feel the Jimny would never have the capability of the Sierra offroad, and the Jimny would never have the comfort/power of the NGV onroad, so to me they are a weird "stuck in the middle" choice.

Had a quick look on gumtree and there are a couple of shorty NGV's in your budget.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/zillmer ... 1179628931

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/yeerong ... 1165312512

[pete_79]

brw0513 wrote:

I had previously considered a 2008 vinatge-ish diesel Grand Vitara but ruled it out thinking it would not be all that capable on the inland tracks of Fraser Island. I spent a week on Fraser a few years ago and can't recall seeing one Grand Vitara. I saw quite a few Jimnys though.

Are Grand Vitaras a good thing on Fraser Island?

Straight answer; They’re OK....

I followed one around inland Fraser tracks and there was a lot of front belly guard marks left in the softer sections with deeper ruts and higher ridges in the middle.
But it never got stuck.

[ozzycouch]

Something a bit left field and boring that may suit is an earlier Subaru forester like we have.
Good enough for Fraser (Been twice, ^same as what Pete mentioned), no worries on beach, at a pinch you can take it off road a bit.
Good for towing with a 2.5l engine
Easy to drive as a daily cause it' a car with 4wd...

[Angus Martin]

As on the facebook group 'Suzuki Jimny Owners of Australia' I'm sure a lot of guys on there do exactly what you're wanting and can give you some advice based on their experiences.

[Lyonsy]

oh btw how tall are you as i am 5'9-10 ish and in a jimny iam all right not the comfestest thing but not un comfortable, but put a set of steel cap boots on and the extra 1in or so makes it much more uncomfortable .

for towing i have not tried it with the jimny but id limit it to 30min trips max it will do it but if its hilly or windy you will be flogging it hard, a good head wind and resonable hills will see our jimny dropping to 3rd to maintain the speed limit, a ngv would be better for this but imo only the 2.4 the 1.6 may struggle even worse with not much more power but more weight

[MrRocky]

The 2.4 is a pretty zippy motor, id say almost on par with v6 at least in the 2dr version. Certainly zippier than the m series jims even with larger m15 motor swap