Suzuki Jimny: The small and light SUV made for the Kenyan off-road enthusiasts

If I were to give a physical example of a car developed with “less is better” philosophy, I can only point to one direction – the 2021 Suzuki Jimny.  

Riding on Suzuki’s heritage of reliability, the Jimmy is not your ordinary urban utility vehicle.  This compact 4×4 is a gem for off-roaders. The Jimny comes with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and produces 101 horsepower. But do not underrate it yet.

While its small engine offers great fuel efficiency, the Jimny is a vehicle for everyone. 

It has everything you need to maneuver a tough terrain, including hilly adventure places.  This car has a five-speed manual transmission with an option of four speed automatic choice.

Suzuki recently announced the Jimny Lite but let us stick to what is currently available in the local market.

Suzuki Division Sales Manager Cyrus Maingi says the Jimny has four uncompromising features that define its off-road capabilities — a robust ladder frame, three ample body angles, 3-link rigid axle suspensions with coil springs and 4WD with a low-range transfer gear.

Features of the Jimny

Hill Hold Control

When driving the Jimny, you do not have to worry much when driving through hilly terrains. Its hill hold control feature allows the vehicle to move upward and onward when starting on steep slopes. “Even on bumpy slopes that vary on the right and left sides, this feature helps prevent rearward rolling so you can focus on controlling acceleration,” CMC says.

Hill Descent Control

This feature allows drivers to automatically apply apply the brakes and maintain a fixed speed at a touch of a button. This allows one to concentrate on steering without using the brake pedal or clutch. The feature makes the Jimny one of the safest cars to drive down steep terrains.

Brake Traction Control

This feature helps you drive on slippery ground with confidence. In case two wheels diagonal from each other lose grip while you’re travelling over slippery surfaces, the brake traction control feature is your saviour. This feature is designed to automatically brake the slipping wheels and redistribute torque to the other two wheels, allowing the Jimny to confidently tackle slippery surfaces.

The Jimny is also built with safety of the driver and pedestrian as top priority. Being an off-road vehicle, Suzuki has invested a lot in the safety of the vehicle. These safety features are exciting to off-road enthusiasts.

This car protects drivers from severe injury in the unfortunate case of a crash. But its safety goes beyond the driver and passengers; it also extends to pedestrians. In case of a collision with a pedestrian, “head and leg injuries are mitigated by a bonnet and surrounding parts that are designed to absorb impact,” explains Maingi.

Further, the car comes equipped with other injury mitigation features such as; impact-absorbing wipers; impact-absorbing cowl top; impact-absorbing bonnet hinges; impact-absorbing fenders; impact-absorbing bonnet; and impact-absorbing front bumper.

The Jimny’s body is specially manufactured to efficiently absorb the impact when involved in a crash.

To crown the Jimny features, the car is equipped with a powerful headlight cleaning system meant to give drivers better vision. On the inside, the car has a touch screen radio and navigation display unit that allow minimum distraction. At a cost of Sh3.2 million, you can get a Jimny from CMC showrooms (The Suzuki is now sold by CFAO) in Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale, Meru, Mombasa, Nakuru and Nanyuki