The Suzuki Jimny is a cute and capable thing. The plucky, lightweight off-roader has won hearts around the globe, including mine. And yet, as I sit here today, I realize something has changed. I’m no longer in love with the Suzuki Jimny.
The current generation of Suzuki Jimny hit the market in 2018. It landed with a splash, driving the car community going wild for its combination of chunky good looks and a simple four-wheel-drive drivetrain. It was going to sell for a budget price, to boot—one that made this desirable vehicle very affordable! That almost never happens.
And this time, it didn’t. The Jimny was too cheap and too good—too good to be true, in the end. I don’t love the Suzuki Jimny anymore because functionally, it’s simply too hard to get one.
Speaking from an Australian perspective, it was supposed to debut in 2019 at an ultra-cheap $23,990 starting price. That was all well and good until supply and demand reared its head. The Jimny was hot property, and dealers had more customers than they had allocations. Thus, prices went up. You’d have been awfully lucky to get one anywhere near the recommended retail price back then.
It’s 2024 now. You might think that the hype would have died down, and Suzuki would have gotten on top of things. After all, they even found time to whip up a five-door model and add an Indian production line to help satiate demand.
You’d think that, but you’d be wrong! The order backlog still stretches out to the horizon. As reported by Drive.com.au, current wait times stretch out to ten months if you want to get yourself a three-door with the automatic. You’re still stuck waiting from four to six months for a manual, too. If you want one before winter hits, you’ll have to get yourself a five-door manual Jimny XL. Still a great ride, but it’s the only spec available on short notice.
“But Lewin! You could buy one used!” you shout. And look, that’s a great idea! I certainly wouldn’t sniff at picking one up on the secondhand market.
Never mind, though. Market realities are here to piss in your cornflakes again. Even used examples are selling well above their original retail price. Online the cheapest used models have anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 km on the dash. And you’ll still pay over $27,000 for the privilege!
Real talk. I want a Jimny, but I’m not a blithering idiot.
Face Reality
Demand has been consistently high since the Jimny dropped. Things were so bad last year that Suzuki had to stop accepting orders at one point as wait times hit a peak of 18 months. When a new allocation of 500 units was made available last September, it sold out in just five hours. And that’s despite the fact that the Jimny automatic was now starting at $33,490, almost $10,000 above the base launch price.
You’d think they were selling in the tens of thousands, but hilariously, that’s not the case. Suzuki Australia has never really managed to secure much supply. In 2022, Suzuki had its best year, delivering 5,697 Jimnys to Australian customers. It did similar numbers last year. March 2024 was the model’s hottest month on record, with 856 units shifted.
In today’s automotive industry, we’re too often struck with situations like these. A great car is announced at an achievable sticker price, and we all go bonkers. We get so excited, because we can see ourselves actually affording one of these for ourselves. Only, then we find out that everyone else is thinking the same thing. Dealers start frothing at the mouth with a reservation list longer than the CIA’s kill list, and it’s all over. Unless you can find another ten grand in the back of your sofa, you’re out of the running.
I know this is me whining a lot, when you Americans can’t get the Jimny at all for another two decades. But I know you know my pain. Remember when the Ford Maverick dropped? The same thing went down! Only, Ford eventually pulled their finger out and shipped almost 100,000 Mavericks last year. They’ve already shipped over 50,000 in 2024 and it’s only been three months! The price has gone up since the Maverick debuted, as well, but it’s still affordable for what you get.
Fundamentally, I lay the blame at Suzuki’s feet. Jimny production still hasn’t ramped up to meet demand in any real way, at least from where I’m standing. The promise of a cute, cheerful off-roader at an affordable price is a distant memory. The sticker price went up, the dealer price went up, and the waiting list is still an unclimbable mountain.
Hilariously, I never even got to drive the press car. Suzuki promised to hook me up three times over the years, and yet it never came through. The distinct impression I got was that the demand for its attention was simply too high.
Ultimately, I’ve called time on my love for the Jimny. Prices aren’t heading south any time soon, and they’ll remain expensive on the used market for years to come, too. I’m not beating myself up about it; even the YouTube megastars at Mighty Car Mods elected to buy an older model when they looked at the price of the current generation.
I’ll mourn the Jimny as an opportunity missed. A great car we all deserved, but didn’t get. I’ll light a candle and dream of buying a Wrangler one day instead.
Image credits: Suzuki, Carsales.com.au via screenshot
From the EU perspective it is the same story, but with extra stinker. They decided to use traditional na engine that is otherwise fine, but sucks in the emission/consumption tests. No hybrid cheats or anything. So it pushes the fleet emissions up a LOT. Solution: remove the back seats, so it becomes a van, no problem with the quota anymore! Except… in countries where you pay tax and/or (progressive) purchase tax based on emissions, you must still add up to 30% to the base price. And no back seats. Ok, it is cramped, but kids would fit fine. Therefore, as a van, it is not realistic as a second car for ME. We are not amused.
Sounds like people need to band together and demand a change to the rules. The Jimmy party is ready to take Europe by storm.
100 percent agree. That and let’s face it, it has had its time in the sun. Promising though that when a manufacturer actually makes a car with character even though on paper it’s not the zeitgeist in terms of features or tech that demand is huge. A few years ago my lottery win garage was a base Taycan and a manual 3dr Jimny – both purely on looks as rock crawling has no appeal to me. Now it’s Taycan and a manual Hyundai Elantra N (because of SavageGeese fanging the utter jesus out of it makes it look so fun).
The market for all Jimbys is insane. My sister moved to Darwin at the end of 2022 and the Jimny was the ONLY suitable vehicle for her needs, we ended up buying a 2014 for like $18k which means that it would have only lost like 5 grand off of RRP in 8 years and even 20 year old models with 300,000kms were selling for like $12k. There is such a demand for this product and no one else is making anything like it. Hopefully someone will see the market soon and make some competition for it. Modern Daihatsu Feroza maybe!
Yeah I think the folks trying to get crazy money for previous gen Jimnys are kidding themselves.
This and the Maverick and such are all examples of how starved the market is for desirable/affordable small cars (well I guess I should admit it’s small trucks/suvs everyone actually wants).
I’ve decided to stop liking Margot Robbie for the same reasons.
Blasphemy!
I’m not sure if this is a worldwide problem but the same thing happened in Mexico. It arrived with a starting price of around $22K and it could only be ordered online with a $500 deposit then wait 6 months to pick it up at your nearest dealer. The 1st thousand allocations were gone in a few hours, another allocation showed up 3 months later and so on for almost 2 years. Some dealers took advantage of that scheme by grabbing a few allocations and adding up to $10K on top of MSRP. But private parties took most of the orders (maybe more than one) and did the worst when some of them slapped a tacky G-Wagen body kit and decided their lightly used Jimny was now worth $50K. Others wouldn’t do anything and still charge $35K – $40K for a Jimny.
I’d say that lasted around 2 or 3 years.
It’s over now, private party sales are down, some of them still feel lucky but dealers now have allocations and you can readily order online without waiting for the new allocation to show up.
I have never seen “real talk” and “blithering idiot” in the same sentence. Thank you! It’s the future!
Glad to be of service!
Suzuki originally based production figures on the demand of the previous gen car… you know the one that had been on sale for 20 years, that was fine, but not a looker, not a retro throwback and nowhere near as cool as the new one. So they were surprised that it was a sales success in every single market. They have never been able to bring production up to where it should be.
Yeah. Seems like they didn’t realize what they had.
They originally based production figures on the demand of the previous gen car… you know the one that had been on sale for 20 years, that was fine, but not a looker, not a retro throwback and nowhere near as cool as the new one. So they were surprised that it was a sales success in every single market. They have never been able to bring production up to where it should be.
Does anyone recall how many Mustangs Ford built in its first year of production? Let’s put aside the 1964.5 model, which sold 121,000 of them in their *first six months of production*, and focus on the 65 model.
That’s right, over half a million of them. 559,000 of them in 1965.
Then they sold over 600,000 of them in 1966. And the vast majority were base models (~60%+ of the volume sold).
The demand was so great that, despite the fact that they could build cars at a pace of *70 an hour* out of the Dearborn plant, they moved Falcon production from Dearborn to Kansas City to free up production capacity, and they spun up Mustang production at their San Jose plant, too.
Now let’s see how Ford has managed to ramp up production of its latest desirable car for the masses:
2021 – 13,000
2022 – 74,000
2023 – 94,000
But hey, good news, guys! They decided to add a third shift in July ’23. That’ll fix it. They’re also building Bronco Sport’s at the same plant in Mexico.
I guess building cars is hard, but trimflation and markups are easy. I guess Bill Ford and Jim Farley really don’t measure up to Hank the Deuce.
Yeah, excellent point. All the more confusing when you think about how much bigger the population is today.
Well maybe making modern cars is harder than in 1965, with more components, each more complex, relying on a global supply chain?
Also the average car is kept longer now than in 1965. Sure plenty of classic cars have proven their longevity now, but back then it was commonly believed that at 70,000 miles your car was old and at 100,000 miles it was used up. And that’s before you take rust into account… so people bought new cars more often, and new cars were relatively affordable and plentiful so that was fine.
It’s debatable whether new cars actually have any more longevity, but they certainly are less affordable than they used to be and have better rust protection, so they are kept on the road longer. People don’t need to buy new cars at the same rate that they used to. There’s still a shortage of inexpensive new cars on the market of course, but even then I don’t think there’s as much demand for new cars in general as there used to be.
US light vehicle sales volumes haven’t changed that much, broadly speaking. In 1965 right around 10 million vehicles (cars + light trucks) were sold. In 2020 14.5 million were sold. ‘Peak Car’ annual sales are right in the 16-17 million units sold ballpark.
But that doesn’t really have anything to do with my argument: when Ford introduced the Mustang back in 1964-5 and demand proved red hot, they responded by changing production mix, and adding production locations for the fast-selling vehicle in order to meet the demand as much as possible.
I’m using that as an analog to the introduction of the Maverick in 2021-3: demand proved red hot. How did they respond? They barely moved the needle on production, didn’t shift production mix, and instead prioritized high-margin expensive trims and raised prices year over year.
Now let me peek into my crystal ball and predict what they’ll do next: they’ll examine the sales mix of trims from 2021-23, conclude “no one bought the lowest trims – I guess the market doesn’t want inexpensive cars” and cut the XL trim altogether. (Take note – they already changed the hybrid powertrain from standard to a $1500 extra-cost option for the 2024 model year.)
So, did the dealers not charge markups like in the US? If they did, then while Suzuki might have raised prices, the OTD cost wouldn’t be much different, would it, if demand still exceeds supply? If you’re paying $30k with $7k of that to the OEM via price increase or $7k to the dealer in markups, you’re still paying $30k. Personally, if I were going to pay more for a car, I would rather the money go to the manufacturer who had the guts to make something actually interesting than the dealer. Maybe the demand for cars that aren’t the same damn CUV as everything else will drive manufacturers to offer some variety, but probably not.
Dealer markups are not as big as thing in Aus as they are in the US, this is Suzuki jacking up the prices over time here. Most cars are built to order in Aus, so you go to a dealer and agree a price on whatever model, colour, specs and they tell you the car will be delivered to the country in xx months. If you don’t like the price you do the same at other dealers.
My last new car was from a dealer over 100km away from where I live, and I probably passed 10 other dealers of the same manufacturer to get there, but they got me the best price.
Honda and Mercedes Benz are even fixed price in Aus now, so no haggling and the dealer just gets a commission from the manufacturer on the sale.
That sounds like a better system. Here, most people don’t order anything, they just buy off the lot (also why we have no colors) and if something is popular, you get what the dealer orders and they charge whatever they think they can get out of you. Some manufacturers don’t even allow ordering here, like Toyota or Honda, it’s just a matter of lucking out with allocations.
I love the Jimny Sierra, If they were sold here in Canada I would be the first running to the dealership to put a deposit, since they are not, I found myself the second best thing, a used 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Jr. from Japan with 27,500km on the clock and I’m absolutely in love with that thing!
Until I can legally import one, the Pajero Jr will do.
Sometimes it’s healthy to move on. Suzuki Jimny doesn’t love you, so why should you love Suzuki Jimny?
The refusal of automakers to actually build things that people obviously want (often in hopes you’ll give up and buy something more expensive instead) has been a frustrating development over the last 5 years. This should be a bread and butter model for Suzuki, not some limited development special edition.
All that being said, as a former owner of an SX4, I badly miss Suzuki and at this point would be glad to just see Jimnies (ies for plural here?) but I understand the frustration.
I would just like to add that this headline made me gasp and clutch my pearls.
There may be valid reasons why they haven’t been able to ramp production. It’s possible additional investment in extra lines won’t pay off on such a low margin car, but it is based on the previous model and is likely to have at least a fifteen year lifespan.
I still think Ford underpriced the Maverick and deliberately throttled production until they got the pricing/product mix profitable.
Oh I’m sure there are business reasons. But man I hate it.
I just want to live in a world surrounded by cars like the Jimny so these sorts of decisions make me sad.
“I just want to live in a world surrounded by cars like the Jimny”
China sends a friend request…
But I want it to look like the Jimny and not the Toxic Avenger version of the Jimny.
Oh don’t worry, China is quite good at duplicating.
You’re on the money. My point exactly.
It can’t be a bread-and-butter model. It’s not a car for everyone.
I agree – If they ramped up production they may have found out they exhausted the supply of people who wanted them and sold all that people wanted at msrp – they probably wouldn’t sell that many again in 2026.
“Friendship Ended with Suzuki Jimny…”
Now who’s your best friend?
Yeah, I’m not quite enamored with the premise of the article. It feels analogous (if not identical, admittedly) to “I don’t like the Bugatti Veyron, because I can’t get my hands on one.” (Maybe there’s actual reasons to dislike that car. I wouldn’t know. I just picked a super/hypercar example).
Not that this frustration is wrong or unwarranted–but I think “I want to review the cheap offroader that should exist but doesn’t” might better convey the message. Or “Suzuki is souring my love of the Jimny and here’s why.” (Don’t look at me, I don’t do internet headlines for a living) Just the concept that it’s not the car itself souring you on the car.
I felt the same, but I reframed it in my mind: “one of the core elements about the car that i loved is no longer true.” Part of the appeal is that it is a cheap, fun, accessible little off roader. It still isn’t cheap or accessible.
First Mercedes’ post and now yours. It’s making me depressed LOL
Could be worse. In the US, we don’t even get the option of paying too much or waiting too long. We just get to watch the rest of the world enjoy their tiny offroad toy and pray for 25 years to tick by just a little faster.
I mean we had them… The same issues apply though (on the used market) samurais command very high prices for even terrible examples. I’m a suzuki 4×4 guy, but I stick to the sami’s bigger bro, the sidetrackerkick.
whoops sidetrackerkicktara*
Whoops whoops sidetrackerkicktarasunrunnerescudoproceedlevante*
They didn’t leave the market because the market left them (like sedans). They left the market because the damage done to the reputation and sales numbers by the Consumer Reports bullshit review was sufficient to MAKE them leave the market. Suzuki sued and won, but it was still insufficient. A retraction or admission of BS is never given the same attention as the original headline, so it did not repair the damage caused.
But yes, Samurai’s cost thousands, compared to the Sidekick costing 20% of that.
To this day I don’t trust consumer reports because of this, and the side-saddle tank controversy. BUT…. the only vehicle i’ve ever been upside down in is a samurai heh.
The consistent high costs of a decent samuirai make me sad. I would much rather have one of those than a UTV for trail riding in the mountains. I really don’t like UTVs. But I have a workhorse Polaris Ranger that was much cheaper than a decent Samurai where I am.
Sidekick is a good alternative! Although they aren’t quite as capable (IFS limits easy liftin’) and compact as the sami’s they are still exceptionally robust and a far far better “car”. I rock a second gen (2001) Tracker as my winter daily, and it always surprises me how close Suzuki got to replicating the car like feel that its contemporaries were accomplishing with their unibody offerings at the time, while not sacrificing too much offroad prowess. I actually much prefer the trackers over the first gen CRV’s and Rav-4’s for regular usage. They tend to be a bit quieter, and they don’t have that weird front wheel drive feeling.
Sadly, the people spoke and DEMANDED their 4×4’s feel exactly like their cars. The third generation Vitara attempted to compromise by still including pretty impressive 4×4 features, but with a unibody design, but it was too late. I miss Suzuki.
Same here. Old Jimny, Sierra, or Feroza, they’re all massively expensive for rusted, worn shitboxes
Yeah I’d love a Samurai, they’re awesome little machines……. Just not $13k awesome for the rustiest machine this side of the Mississippi body lifted with 4×4 wood blocks and wearing bald swampers, with a shredded top.
I guess the only options are a 2022 Bronco with an MSRP of $31k (and has now shot up to $39k) or the Wrangler at $32k. Kind of annoying Hyundai or Honda haven’t tried to swoop in with a 4WD SUV at the $27k mark.
In the UK we got them for a few years, then they couldn’t keep up with emissions, so they’re now only available as a ‘commercial vehicle’, with two seats. I assume you can also buy rear seats and fit them yourself, but it’s a bit of a faff.
The best thing they could do is team up with Toyota and make a rebadge version. Toyota has the assembly lines, American Market and dealership network, and could genuinely make a little offroader that would become an instant classic. Maybe they could add a slightly larger engine too!
Daihatsu already fills that role, although Japanese manufacturers cross-pollinate like no one else. Suzuki Swace, anyone?
Swace is a bit of an outlier along with the Across (what a dumb name) in that they only exist in Europe due to the increasing hybridization requirements that each OEM has to fulfill.
ooo a 4-door 😀
Just play with one in Gran Turismo 7 like I do.
Thats interesting that neither you nor Adrian have been able to get a press loan on one of these. Interesting that even years after its release you still can’t get one.
I will continue to argue that the optimal solution for the U.S. and the Jimny is Jeep. Stellantis is seeing Jeep sales falling off, Wranglers getting to expensive for their own good. There are available production lines for Jeep that aren’t in use, and Stellantis could license the vehicle, use their own powertrains that are already certified, and modify the body to meet US requirements if necessary. Mild front end alterations to make it distinctively Jeep.
Limited investment from Stellantis for a brand new vehicle. Limited effort from Suzuki, but new revenue stream. Doesn’t impact Suzuki’s ability to supply other markets internationally, since it won’t be made on their production lines or use their powertrains.
I have to think part of the issue is the Jimny isn’t engineered to meet US crash regulations which unlike the motor Stellantis might not be able to so swiftly and cheaply fix.
Jimny, the little 4×4 Jeep should be building. But hey, at least we’ve got the Compass! Sigh. This low production, price gouging, wait list BS had made car buying even more intolerable. Who’d have thought that was possible?
Have to say I don’t get this article.
Waitlist times have fallen from 18 months and are now 4-6 months and this is a problem? It sounds like the end is in sight. Shit, I waited 2 months for my truck to be built after I ordered it and that was with zero waitlist at all. 4-6 months doesn’t seem too crazy to me if you like the car, but what do I know. I’ve only spent 2.5 years on Z06 waitlists.
The Jimny was supposed to start at $24k AUD new, but are now selling around $32k new, a 33% price increase, IF you can even get one. I just checked out Suzuki’s Australian website and they won’t even provide an estimated price on it. The Jimny is not a Z06, but how would you feel about a 33% price increase during your wait?
*Ford Maverick has entered the chat
Remember, that increase is over 6+ years, not over 1-2 years at most spent on a waitlist.
I get that it sucks that inflation has been with us a while, but $32K AUD is barely $20K USD, so the Jimny still seems eminently affordable to me.
I waited almost 3 months for a damn Focus hatch with a manual I had to special order! Just a couple years ago, there were dealer-quoted year-long waiting lists for Corolla hatches and Civics, never mind a Maverick people were begging for and remember to factor in the markups on all those. It’s partly how I ended up with the GR86 as, oddly enough, I ordered it and it came in barely 6 weeks later and it was cheaper than any of the boring alternates.
Waitlists are still long, yes, and prices are no longer anywhere near cheap. I’m not going to go beg a dealer to pay over sticker price for a car I might see at the end of the year.
Preach on, preacher!
I’ve been bugging Suzuki for over a year for a press loan. It’s not like they don’t want to lend me cars as they lent me Swift Sport last year. It defies belief they haven’t been able to ramp production. Suzuki are not a small company. On the plus side it’ll probably be in production for nearly twenty years like the last one.
That’s the only thing giving me hope.