Prospective Jimny owner looking for advice!

4WD-L and 4WD buttons stand both for LOCKED....

L designates LOW... not lock.!!

As said above. The Jimny has no centre diff. When turning the front and rear axles take a different arch ergo the don't travel the same distance. This will cause transmission wind up and can ultimately destroy the transfer box when used on Tarmac/ high grip surfaces. This doesn't happen on snow/ dirt etc as the tyre can slip on the off-road surface and avoid any wind up and ultimately, damage.
If my link works then It might explain it better than me:-
www.outbackcrossing.com.au/FourWheelDriv...ission_Wind-Up.shtml


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Exactly as Ninecherries says. So you can use 4wd if the road is covered in snow, slush or really wet without an issue. But if it's just damp, or dry with patchy ice or snow you shouldn't leave it in 4wd all the time. And when not in 4wd, it's a tall, short wheelbase rwd car with bad handling. Not a great recipe for safety! The Jimny fuel economy isn't great even in 2wd because it still has the transfer case sapping power. Many road cars come in AWD variants which would give you the extra grip in snow but still be safe and offer better fuel economy.

So with reference to my original comment on the Jimny not being a great on-road commuting vehicle, I'll summarise what other posters have mentioned:

1) Bad handling (top heavy / body roll, back end twitchy, unable to use 4x4 on-road except in exceptionally bad conditions, which even in north Scotland aren't that regular);

2) Underpowered (it's not so much the lack of top-end speed that bugs me, but more the lack of overtaking power, often find myself stuck behind even slower cars for ages in situations where I'd be long past them in another car);

3) Thirsty (very heavy on fuel for a 1.3 engine, and tiny fuel tank to boot).

Since my initial post elicited a few snotty comments, it needs to be made clear that the above observations aren't necessarily dissing the Jimny, it's an outstanding vehicle for certain applications. I have one currently, put on average 10-12k miles on it per year, and early next year intend on replacing it with 2015 or 16 model. But then I use it on-road only in order to get to remote work sites, and there are very few days I don't need the low-range gearbox. For the money you seem willing to spend, there are far better options as a commuter vehicle, especially 2nd hand.

I am actually thinking of the panda 4x4 (even if my street cred takes a battering) but they're actually quite expensive and I'm finding it hard to find used examples.

Thanks for all the info about the workings of the 4x4, really clears it up, I was finding it really hard to find any information on that.

Venter, I didn't mean to be totally snooty lol, your advice is very warranted, but I'd be using it probably even less than you, it literally would just be for use in the icy months and the (very) occasional weekend excursion up a hill somewhere (hence why I want cheap as possible).

It's all going to have to wait a couple months anyway, the focus is due her mot, tax, and insurance all next month plenty time to look into it more