I rented a 2019 Suzuki Jimny and my wife and I circumnavigated Iceland in 2019. Over nine days we drove around the entire country and camped along the way.
I'm here to proclaim the Jimny is everything it's hyped up to be. It's just so darn good! I would buy one tomorrow if I could and that is the honest-to-God truth. Here's some more info about it:
I've written a few articles with my tinfoil hat on about Mitsubishi/Suzuki or Suzuki/Toyota alliance.
Here are my cliff notes:
- Mitsubishi and Suzuki already have a partnership. Mitsubishi buys its kei trucks from Suzuki. There is a relationship. Knowing the direction Mitsubishi is going, a Jimny makes no sense at least on a global stage (and likely a North American stage). Mitsubishi is going toward electrification—the Jimny is getting kicked out of Europe for not meeting smog emissions. Add to this the idea that American's aren't buying small cars much at all anymore, and I think this is extremely unlikely—even in SUV-crazy North America.
- Toyota recently bought a chunk of Suzuki. Toyota has mentioned in years past they would like to have a smaller, true 4WD vehicle under the 4Runner. If they could federalize the Jimny (crash tests, smog), they could sell it as the Toyota Blizzard. Blizzard was the name for the rebadged Daihatsu they sold as a small capable 4WD back in the day. This seems more plausible for sure.
However, while a one in a million chance is still technically a chance [CUE DUMB & DUMMER REFERENCE], it's still highly unlikely a microcompact 4WD is going to hit U.S. shores anytime soon. I keep my tinfoil hat on just in case, however.
The Rage
The Space Tractor
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