Enjoy life outdoors without breaking the bank
Model Tested:
- 2009 Suzuki Jimny Sierra; 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, petrol; five-speed manual; SUV – $20,490*
Options Available:
- Metallic Paint $475; Alloy Wheels $800 (Fitted)
Off-road capabilities; honest value; simplistic design; strong brakes
No ESC available; some drivetrain noise; light steering; fuel economy
CarAdvice Rating: 
Words by Matt Brogan Pics by Brendan Nish
In one form or another the humble Suzuki Jimny Sierra has been with us for close to 45 years now, and true to its origins, remains a simple, no nonsense, light-weight 4WD offering honest value and tenacious off-road performance.
From the outside Jimny Sierra offers an inoffensive, amiable appearance that, as dated as it may appear, is nonetheless practical when you stop to consider just where the car feels most at home, and how far off the beaten track it’s prepared to push.
You see this isn’t a soft-roader in the true sense of the word, and what I mean by that is that the Jimny Sierra isn’t a front-wheel drive toy made to look as if it can go off-road. No, this little number actually can go off-road, and has the right suspension, low-range gearbox, plus suitable approach and departure angles to do so.
Sure, it isn’t the first 4WD on every one’s mind as they attempt to tackle the Kimberley, but that’s not what the Jimny Sierra is about.
What it is about is fun. A great little couple’s car for camping, surfing, fishing, or just some time in the bush. Enjoying a life outdoors without breaking the bank, but still having enough off-road capability to make sure you get back.
Inside the Jimny Sierra is simple but effective. The seating is comfortable, driving position spot-on and visibility superb. In fact the only real issue is the lack of elbow space between you and the door.
Even up back there’s enough space for two adults, though headroom may be tight for those over six-foot, while getting in and out is an easy affair aided by front seats that roll far enough forward to make it a one-step task.
Rear seat passengers also gain storage bins and drink bottle holders under the fixed rear-side windows.
There’s a fair list of standard equipment too, considering the price, with a single CD tuner, air-conditioning, remote central locking, roof racks, power windows and mirrors all included.
Storage is ample with map pockets in the doors, drink holders in the centre console, a decent glove box and small oddments tray all within easy reach. Up back behind the large side-hinged door, Jimny offers 113-litres of cargo space that can be expanded to a whopping 816-litres with the rear seats flipped down, perfect for a couple’s weekend away.
Powering Jimny Sierra is Suzuki’s 1.3-litre DOHC four-cylinder engine that develops a modest 63kW at 6,000rpm. It’s not exactly breath taking in terms of performance, and with 0-100km/h times slower than some cars run the quarter-mile (14.1 seconds), it isn’t exactly what you’d call quick. But again, to think of this car in that light is missing the point.
Jimny Sierra makes a gallant effort with what little it has, and in mating the little 110Nm of torque on offer to a well cogged five-speed manual gearbox (with push button 4WD and low-range settings), Suzuki have extracted an ample level of motivation for most situations, provided that is you don’t wish to overtake anyone.
What does let the Jimny Sierra down is its light steering and super-firm rear suspension that, coupled with a very short wheelbase, cause a complete lack of feel at highway speeds and a susceptibility to both camber and cross wind. Couple this to the obvious mechanical noise from the drivetrain and highway trips are, well… less than pleasant.
Safety comes compliments of dual front airbags, three-point inertia reel seatbelts and ABS brakes, that I might add are surprisingly strong. ESC and Traction Control are not available. Metallic paint and alloy wheels (fitted) are available for a modest cost.
While it’s a great little machine around town and off-road, getting to your favourite camping spot may well be a little tedious given the pairing of a small 40-litre fuel tank to a consumption figure we tested at 9.4L/100km. But if you’re prepared to stop a few times – and endure a slightly rugged ride – the Jimny Sierra may well be a good option to those chasing big fun from a small budget.
Ratings:
CarAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Drive:
How does it Look:
How does it Go: 
Specifications:
- Engine: 1,328cc DOHC four-cylinder (16 valve)
- Power: 63kW @ 6,000rpm
- Torque: 110Nm @ 4,100rpm
- Induction: Multi-point
- Transmission: Five-speed manual
- Driven Wheels: Part-time 4×4 (with automatic hubs)
- Brakes: Disc/Drum with ABS
- Top Speed: 140km/h (Claimed)
- 0-100km/h: 14.1 seconds
- CO2 Emissions: 174g/km
- Fuel Consumption: 7.3L/100km (ADR)
- Fuel Consumption: 9.4L/100km (As Tested)
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 40L
- Fuel Type: 91RON Unleaded Petrol
- ANCAP Rating: N/A
- Airbags: Dual Front
- Safety: N/A
- Spare Wheel: Full-size matching Alloy
- Suspension: Torsion Beam (F) / Torsion Beam (R)
- Cargo Capacity: 113/816L
- Tow Capacity: 1,300kg (Braked)
- Turning Circle: 9.8m
- Warranty: Three-Year / 100,000km
- Weight: 1,060kg (Tare)
- Wheels: Alloy 15 x 5.5-inch
I agree with this review. These vehicles are a proper off-road 4WD shrunken down to a small size. The great advantage is that they are so light that they simply roll over the top of mud/sand that heavier vehicles get bogged in.
We hired one on Fraser island and it was near unstoppable off road. Nothing really phased it and it crossed soft sand, rivers and terrain which some heaver 4wd’s couldnt do (indian head). At times it was quite bouncy though.
Its nice that after all that off roading, you can put it back into 2WD hit the bitumen and have a nice small city sized car which has great visibility, incredibly easy to drive, is easy to park and no bigger than a Mazda2
I agree this little offroad is a great proper offroader!!
And it’s little dimensions are what contributes to it’s excellent offroad agility!
But them being light and just rolling over mud/sand is not quite true…
This is because they come with fairly skinny tires, even though they are fairly light, they still manage a fiarly average force/area figure in terms of tire/ground contact.
that explains the fuel consumption
this would be a great car if you were a farmer used the 4wd ability everyday but it sounds like you are carting around a lot of 1980s technology 90% of the time for that 10% of the time when you are actually offroad
dont know the physics of it but when we hit the soft stuff, we didnt have to lower tire pressure and it just kept going through it all.
I noticed that the big 4wds all had to lower tire pressure or they got bogged.
Either way, I have a lot of respect for this little mighty-mite. It would be a great 2nd car/weekender if I could afford one.
This vehicles has always been great off road. I read a test many years ago where they took all the main 4×4′s around Australia ,there were sonething like 15-29 vehicles involved.
The sierra came second only to the landcruiser for off road ability. Due to its shorter whellbase it was able to go over obstacles many couldn’t. Its light weight meant it wouldn’t bog when other did. It was more economical also. The only area the big vehicles beat it was river crossing in a current.
So yeah, it is a truly capable 4×4.
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Tony, Part-time 4wd means it’s only in 2wd(RWD) when in city cycle (on paved roads with high traction). Part-Time only 4wds such as the jimny don’t have centre differential and therefore engaging the 4wd on road would damage the driveline. On Part-time 4wds you are sopousto only engage the 4wd when off-road…
It is a RWD when “2WD” is selected. The Jimny is not an “active” 4WD that engages the other wheels like the SX4, for example. The Jimny is a “2WD” or a “4WD”, when “4WD” is selected, and it can actually be selected with the vehicle in motion (up to 100km/h), without affecting anything. You just have to stop to engage the “4WD-L” for low range.
Say…. that engine….. you think it wouldn’t mind a turbocharger being plugged on?
Nice in theory but then you’d get even less mileage and buying cost would go up.
Begs the question why a small capacity turbo diesel isn’t in the mix.
Big increase in torque, in gear acceleration and mileage for a small penalty in engine weight.
Swift has been equipped with a Fiat 1.3 TD in other markets providing 51KW/170NM. With the Jimny you would expect over 600KM per tank and an increase of 35% torque.
I think the european market has a diesel jimny/sierra
the diesel is out of a Pegeot… Turbo Diesel… Australia just doesnt get it as it would be “too functional”…
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Suzuki realises that it is too small for some people. Thats why they have a 3 door Grand Vitara. it answers most peoples complaints about the Jimny/Sierra
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This vehicles has always been great off road. I read a test many years ago where they took all the main 4×4’s around Australia ,there were sonething like 15-29 vehicles involved.
The sierra came second only to the landcruiser for off road ability. Due to its shorter whellbase it was able to go over obstacles many couldn’t. Its light weight meant it wouldn’t bog when other did. It was more economical also. The only area the big vehicles beat it was river crossing in a current.
So yeah, it is a truly capable 4×4.
Needs to be modernised but without losing its 4×4 ability
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It wouldn’t be if people didn’t want it. It’s clearly doing something right. It also has a cult following with the surfing community. Light weight and 4×4 is a winner on sand.
Throw a turbo diesel in it (pref somewhere around the 200Nm mark) and I’d seriously consider it.
Regards
Whitbomb07
It needs the M15 engine frome the Swift at the very least…
I’ll think you’ll find the economy isnt as good as a FWD of simialr capacity because of the aerodynamics and the friction and inertia associated with turning all the extra driveline equipment. Even if its only RWD when the transfer case is in 2WD mode, the front axles, diff and drive shaft are still passively turned by the front wheels, unless it has free-wheeling hubs? These cars have a niche market and anyone who buys one does so for their unstoppable off-road capabilities, not trendy looks or fuel economy comparable to a mazda2
Took this car through a hardcore jungle trail in South East Asia and it was on song the entire trip. Sail through muddy stretches and crossed rivers with the greatest of ease. It led a convoy of landcruisers, RangeRover, Prados, Jeep Cherokee, Pajero and Lada Niva throughout the journey stopping occasionally only to allow the Jeep Cherokee to catch up. The Jeep had to be retired half way and left behind while the Lada surprisingly performed quite well.
We realised that deep in a tropical jungle, bhp and torque is useless if there is no agility. This car has the right balance of size, simplicity of set up and power-to-weight ratio – features that made it such a jungle warrior.
I own a jimny for about 1 year now. For my driving style and i drive mostly surburban road with some off road, my fuel consumption is around 6.7-7.5L/100km. The tested consumption stated above of 9.4L/100km seems unusually high. They must be pushing it fully loaded and really revving it.
I’m a Jimny owner for 2 years now. It’s an amazing little car!
1. Off-roader – with this car we passed any mud “road” in front of us.
2. Travel budy – we get about 8l/100km and if you take out rear seats, you get a huge luggage space behind you which is great when traveling. I wouldn’t recommend it for autobahns with 130+ km/h though. It’s most comfortable <100km/h.
3. Fun car – believe it or not, you can have much fun _drifting_ the Jimny (in RWD mode) on snowy roads. You just need to watch out for that "back swing" as Jimny has a big body roll. As for the power, when you rev up a Jimny, you feel a bit like on a motorcycle (from good side) :)
4. City car – another place where Jimny shines. Its economy is good, but, most importantly: you sit high, thus it's easy to see what's happening in front. Also, as it's a light car for a 4×4 (1150 kg) and short, in the city it's great to maneuver. But the biggest plus comes when you need to park it: no overhangs nor in the front nor in the back means you'll not hit any high borders, and it's always easy to find a place for a short and narrow car.
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I have had 6 Suzies over the years. Currently 1999 Jimny with over 400,000 ks does a mail run 5 days a week about 1500ks each week mainly on rough dirt roads.
Problems: All shock and swaybar mounts broken, reinforced and OK. Stock shocks last about 6mths, replaced with TJM matched springs and shocks about 2 years ago still OK.
Front end: king pins break regulary replace all 4 and bearings it is important to replace steering knuckle rubber seal and adjust on a regular basis as this acts as a steering damper.
Engine, gearbox, diffs oll OK, secret frequent oil and all filter changes.
Drivers seat replaced about 2years ago. Window glass tracks need to be reinforced as the spot welds break. All plastic body panels secured with junk fasteners. replaced with bolts and tec screws. Overall a great little car, ideal for the job it has to do.
My truth on this car is that its a little underpowered. Throw in 80kw, a 6th gear and a set of rear speakers and you got yourself an awesome daily driver that can take you well and truly off the beaten track when needed. Bought a 2009 Sierra Jimny, with the revised M13A engine, and its been a pleasure to own and drive. $40 premium gets me 400 to 420 kays and that’s giving it a good serve as often as this bullshit Sydney traffic will allow me to. Seriously stoked with this capable little beast, optioned up with a set of roof racks, luggage box and tow bar and a family of 4 can travel up and down the coast comfortably and safely. Imaging how far the XP coupe or the XY GT would have come if Ford had stuck to such wining formulas. Easy to park and nice to look at – Watching this space for the next update.