Newbie - is the Jimny for me??

Hello Jimny owners -

I've come to ask some newbie/nieve questions - I know that Jimny owners love and appreciate these little jems more than some owners forums I've been to so I'm sure you can point me in the right direction.

I've been thinking of getting a Jimny for a long while now. The usual motor-journalist gripes don't interest me (i.e. it's got a small boot, etc) but it's more about my every day use.

I currently run a 2000 Ford Ka so I'm no stranger to road noise and lack of refinement but I'm a bit concerned over the Jimny 0-60. The Ka staggers in at around 15 seconds which is fine but it can feel/sound really asthmatic to be honest so any thoughts about the Jimny on-the-road performance would be good.

Secondly the Ka is great fun in the warm and dry but now it is cold and wet my daily commute of 10 miles along country roads is a nightmare! It handles extremely badly when wet and when frosty it is fairly dangerous, and that's with new winter tyres on (already dived off the road once this year though to give the Ka some credit it's off-road ability was outstanding!! ). I've read the threads regarding tyre choice for better wet weather handling but as the Jimny will be my year-round daily driver on tarmac I'd love some advice on suitability/practicality for a 10 mile commute, occassional longer journey and annual off-road pigrimage to my mum and dad's place up a Welsh mountain!

All thoughts/opinions gratefully received,

DT

Driving a Jimny is a totally different experience to driving a car. The light weight, short wheelbase and tall body make for a very bouncy drive, and one that is very susceptible to cross winds. If you think a Ford Ka is slow just wait 'til you try a Jimny! Also remember that the Jimny has no centre diff so you should only use the 4WD off road or in properly slippery conditions (and I wouldn't count wet roads in that category). I'm surprised that a Ka on winter tyres is such a handful in the wet - it shouldn't be unless either the geometry is miles out or you bought cheap ditch-finder special tyres. Having said all that I find mine is perfectly acceptable for a ten mile each way commute, and there are others on here who commute further.

The best advice I can give you is to go and try one for a decent test drive over roads you know.

They really are a cracking little motor! I went from a 250 bhp honda prelude to a jimny and to be honest the lack of speed/power is quite refreshing! You just have to think ahead, which is quite easy in a jimny as its just high enough to be able to see over most cars in front of you.
Yeah the boot space is quite limited, but there is the advantage of the split rear seats that fold forward and pretty much flat. Got an average size armchair in the back of mine today with no problems.

Their not the quickest of 4x4's, but around town they are nippy enough. The fairly light clutch and miniscule weight really lend themselves to this. When it comes to motorways and big roads I just tend to cruise along at a steady 50-55mph, at this speed the fuel seems to last forever, got around 500 miles out of my last tank.
I regularly do 40-50 mile stints in mine most weekends, and its comfy enough and personally I cant say there is any more road noise than most cars. My old prelude had a lot more road noise!

As mentioned before, look into giving one a test run somewhere.

TBH, sounds more like you need a swb Rav4.

Permanent 4wd for stability on road, good performance, Toyota reliability.

You might like to consider a swb shogun pinin or suzuki grand vitara (latest version with permanent 4wd)

A terios is another possibility.

A jimny is fine for those of us who like skittery short wheelbase vehicles, but they take a lot of care driving on wet and slippery roads.

EDIT: I forgot the Fiat panda 4x4. Reviews differ on these, they seem to have a lot of problems.
If you fancy really agricultural, a good heater, permanent 4wd and excellent off road ability, you can still get a new Lada Niva

Jimmy J wrote

got around 500 miles out of my last tank

think the wife must have filled it up and forgot to mention it
I'm lucky to get 220 miles

the wife had a w reg 3dr RAV (sold it last year) and with winter tyres, she never once needed 4wd in the bad winter's a couple of years ago - cracking comfy, fast, good cornering solid reliable cars - her's was the older style which was the same as the Jimny with selectable 4wd.

think they stopped making the 3dr RAV in 2005, but if you're just looking at road use with 4wd capability - then the RAVs your best choice, much more refined, comfy and sporty ...... still luv my Jimny though

Halford wrote: Jimmy J wrote

got around 500 miles out of my last tank

think the wife must have filled it up and forgot to mention it
I'm lucky to get 220 miles

Same here! 500 miles to a tank would be a dream! That would be more than 55MPG!

But, as for the OP's question: As others have said, you just tend to plan ahead a bit more with the Jimny. You don't feel inclined to go fast. It seems to handle well on all surfaces (although, can be a bit tail happy on roundabouts if it's a bit greasy and is bouncy).

We regularly commute 17 miles each way. The journey seems to be more enjoyable because you're not rying to get there as fast as possible.

I wouldn't want to do too many long miles or motorway miles in it though due to the poor MPG and the constant high revs.

Just my opinions (others may differ). Hope it helps.

Halford wrote:
the wife had a w reg 3dr RAV (sold it last year) and with winter tyres, she never once needed 4wd in the bad winter's a couple of years ago - cracking comfy, fast, good cornering solid reliable cars - her's was the older style which was the same as the Jimny with selectable 4wd.

The Mk1 RAV4 has permanent 4wd, which is why it is a good cornering car. The manual version has an electro-pneumatic centre difflock, worked by a push switch on the dash. You only need this if you get stuck with one wheel spinning. The auto has a hydraulic difflock worked by the transmission controller.

The MK2 (from 2000) has a viscous coupler as well as a centre differential to provide a limited slip function.

If the OP wants performance and roadholding, with a bigger vehicle, there are many alternatives.

facade wrote

The Mk1 RAV4 has permanent 4wd

wondered why it was so good

Please don't just go and buy a Jimny just because of what you have read about them on this forum, as said above go out and have a good tests drive first and not just two-minute down a flat road outside the car dealers find a rough track and give it good test drive.
You will find the Jimny uses a lot more fuel than the ford Ka so you will need fill it up a lot more times.
Don't get my wrong, on this forum we all love our Jimnys so if you do get one you will be very welcome.
500 MILE OUT OF ONE TANK MUST BE A WORLD RECORD.

Be prepared for rust. I must admit I was feeling a bit down yesterday looking at the holes starting to appear in the rear floor pan. Why did I buy this! But I do love it really!

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Genuine 500 (well, closer too 450) miles from one fill to the brim (too the filler). Thats with road tyre's and my 50 mph cruising speed and using nothing more than the engines torque. Zero'd the trip the day I picked it up having just filled it, refilled it about 5 days later and had covered just over 450 miles. No joke!

Pretty much all standard cars will do 400-450 miles on one tank if driven carefully, even my old prelude. I can get near 600 on a good day in my works transit. All I do all week is drive up and down the country, cover up too 800-900 miles per day! You start too get quite good at saving fuel!

As said above, the Jimny is a very utilitarian vehicle compared to some other small 4x4's. If you want a truly capable small 4x4 then the jimny is pretty unbeatable for the money, but the performance comes at a cost. If you want something with the road performance of a car, then there are a lot of other better vehicles to choose from.