Suzuki Australia says it’s already fielding a great deal of enquiries about the long-wheelbase five-door Jimny 4×4 – a vehicle that officially does not yet exist, but which is clearly around the corner.
As these spied images of a late-stage prototype vehicle published in July show, the more practical Jimny derivative is edging closer to a reveal, though we’re still connecting some dots.
Expected to commence production in the first half of 2023, the Jimny five-door will build on the success of the three-door – which broke its Australian delivery record last month and remains subject to long wait times despite launching more than three-and-a-half years ago.
Jimny Long 
Current Jimny
It’s clear Suzuki Australia is highly interested in getting the five-door here to tap into this unrelenting demand. The Jimny’s famously devoted fan base is showing great interest, as confirmed to us by Suzuki Australia general manager Michael Pachota last week.
“It is still a hypothetical vehicle. But with that said, the awareness around spy shots and so forth, [it] has intrigued so many potential buyers out there in the market, especially in Australia,” Mr Pachota said, adding some people had already tried placing an order, despite the car not actually being revealed or even officially confirmed.
“I can tell you, just based on the level of intrigue, and the amount of customer feedback that we have had through our social channels, and even general enquiries of people hitting us up asking when it’s coming, that it [would do] as well as, if not better, than the three-door, in my opinion.”
There are still more questions than answers around the longer Jimny, including what engine it will use (the three-door’s 75kW and 130Nm 1.5-litre petrol would not be much for a five-door car), how much bigger it will be though it looks to add around 300mm, and what its interior safety and tech features will be like.
Previous rumours have suggested the five-door Jimny would share the naturally-aspirated powertrain, but our spy photographer noted at the time the prototype was driving “without any engine noise”. This suggests the Suzuki Jimny five-door could have some form of electrified hybrid powertrain option.
Suzuki makes the three-door Jimny in both Japan and (as a CKD kit) in India, with Australian cars coming from the former. It is unclear what the sourcing plan for the longer version will be, but it could technically be either.
Suzuki Australia’s success with the three-door Jimny.
The current-generation Suzuki Jimny just had its best ever month of Australian customer deliveries in August, having been on sale here for the best part of four years.
It delivered 672 Jimnys to customers last month, taking the year-to-date total to 3630 units – up 70 per cent. It was Suzuki’s top-selling vehicle in August by some margin.
Despite the improved supply meaning more Jimnys are going into customer hands, Suzuki says demand is only growing with time – despite the fact it doesn’t even bother to advertise the one-of-a-kind baby 4×4.
That means those wait lists will remain a factor.
“The order-write is so huge that even if we continue with those kind of numbers, we still wouldn’t be able to clear our back orders well into this next year,” Mr Pachota told us this week.
Wait times have been out beyond 12 months, depending on grade and colour, with the company changing its back-end processeses in May last year to try to ease wait times.
In the meantime, they’re going for a pretty penny in the classifieds. The recommended retail price tops out at $31,490 before on-road costs of a few grand, yet there are currently 117 going for above $40,000 on Carsales.
MORE: Everything Suzuki Jimny
MORE: Suzuki makes moves to cut, clarify Jimny wait times
MORE: Suzuki Jimny supply improves, yet demand remains sky high
MORE: Why I bought a Suzuki Jimny
