More than 1000 Aussie orders already received for first five-door version of pint-size Japanese 4x4 cult hero
Suzuki Australia has revealed it’s targeting a November release date for the hotly anticipated Suzuki Jimny 5-Door, more than 1000 local orders for which have already been lodged – despite the lack of pricing and equipment details.
According to managing director Michael Pachota, Australian interest in the first five-door Jimny is outstripping demand for the currently manual-only three-door in some regions.
“We have already exceeded 1000 orders in Australia for Jimny 5-Door, with specs and pricing not confirmed,” he told carsales. “Both the public and dealer interest has been huge.
“The press day loosely scheduled at this stage in mid-November 2023 will disclose final specs, pricing and start of deliveries for the Australian market.”
However, while full details including pricing for the long-awaited Jimny 5-Door will be announced by the end of this year, first customer deliveries won’t begin until early 2024.
Pachota added that while demand for the long-wheelbase five-door compact 4×4 was sky-high, the backlog of automatic three-door orders still stretched “well into 2024 for deliveries” and that if order books for these variants were reopened, the five-door would be bumped to second in terms of the most sought-after version.
“Accordingly, if we switched it [three-door auto orders] back on, I would suggest 3-Door will still outweigh 5-Door enquiry today, but with this said, 5-Door is still not currently listed as a vehicle available in our sales line-up,” he said.
While Suzuki Australia is yet to make any formal announcements about the Jimny 5-Door package beyond its rough ETA, local homologation data published last week shows that so far just one specification grade has been approved for sale here, albeit with the option of a manual or automatic transmission.
Odds are it’ll be the same core GLX grade as per the three-door range, which should mean the inclusion of digital climate control, LED headlights, a 7.0-inch infotainment touch-screen with voice control, reversing camera, 15-inch alloy wheels and two 12V outlets.
The data confirmed no mechanical changes have been made to the five-door compared to its smaller sibling beyond its 340mm longer wheelbase, which means the 75kW/130Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine will need to lug around an extra 82kg – something that will almost certainly impact the Jimny’s performance and fuel economy.
While the Suzuki Jimny (3-Door) range currently starts at $26,990 plus on-road costs for the stripped-out Lite variant, the core GLX is priced from $28,490 plus ORCs for the manual, so the five-door is unlikely to undercut $30,000.
Now in production in India, the 5-Door is likely to push Jimny sales to even bigger records in Australia, where the order book for the Jimny 3-Door auto is not expected to re-open until late next year.
As Suzuki Australia continues to fill 5-Door auto orders placed last year, the Jimny found a record 748 new homes last month Down Under, where sales are up 30 per cent so far this year, leapfrogging the Toyota Yaris Cross and Volkswagen T-Cross to become the nation’s fourth most popular light SUV behind the Mazda CX-3, Kia Stonic and Hyundai Venue.
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Keyword: Suzuki Jimny 5-Door confirmed for November release