Suzuki Jimny - long-term review

You’ll have seen the weather reports as Storm Ciara swept in. “Don’t make a journey unless absolutely necessary!” they cried. Train companies cancelled their entire Sunday schedule. Airports were grounding flights. But I had a four-hour trip from Sunderland to somewhere in the middle of Bedfordshire to make, and figured… well, I’ve driven through worse. A Japanese typhoon in a heroically boxy Nissan Elgrand, to be precise.

So I popped my bags in the Jimny and headed for the A1. And immediately regretted it. With slab sides, tall-ish ride height but a skinny kerb weight, it was demonstrating all the wind resistance of one of those white plastic patio chairs.

I’ve written before about how the Jimny occasionally encourages me into a slower, calmer pace of driving. In the 80mph crosswinds of Ciara, it was beyond a necessity as the poor little thing was buffeted around like an empty carrier bag. The shame of being overtaken by HGVs was tempered by the brief respite they gave me from the wind.

Many – including us – have used phrases like ‘apocalypse-proof’ when describing the wee Suzuki. It’ll crawl through water and over hills with significantly greater ability than you’d dare imagine for something that looks like it’s popped out of a Kinder Egg (while costing about as much as one). If that apocalypse involves a storm with a name, though – the kind that propels planes from London to New York in under five hours – then I’d recommend climbing inside the bath tub and waiting it out at home.

I made it unscathed, but with forearms throbbing like I’d just emerged from a triple stint in a 24-hour kart race. Conversely, though, I felt strangely proud of the Jimny when I clambered out at journey’s end. It was out of its depth, but it battled on regardless. I might just listen to Schafernaker and Co and stay inside watching Netflix when Storm Dennis comes around, though…

Mileage: 9957 Our mpg: 37.7