Re:Suzuki Toyota Collaboration

If it's an electric pick-up you're looking for and if you've already won the lottery, check out the Rivian.

As for the collaboration, I'm not convinced that a Suzuki/Toyota collab coming up with a hybrid set-up would be particularly worthwhile anyway. Instead, an all-electric battery design would be the better future-proof solution and I can't see any reason why the Jimny wouldn't be the perfect small vehicle for adapting to an all-EV verison. Equipped with a large enough battery to allow for reasonable range and selectable front and rear axle motors it would have truly fantastic 4WD low-down torque capability. The limiting factor with EVs is always the power to weight ratio, so there's an optimal size, but battery technology has come on by leaps and bounds and I think it could already be achieved. Applying a little imagination, in terms of physical layout, a new 'Jimny-E' (or maybe it'd just be called a 'Jimnee'!) could be the best Jimny ever yet made!

Of course, die-hard 'ICE' purists will absolutely hate the idea, but I'd be willing to bet if they could drive an electric Jimny today they would soon change their minds. Once you get your head around not having a noisy revving geared engine, with stuff puthering out of an exhaust pipe, the on-demand torque and ability of EVs make them an absolute hoot to drive! It's not really a matter of 'if' it'll happen, more just a case of 'when'. All I'll say is, if it was available right now, my deposit would be down on one.

I think so too JimJimny.
The future is all-electric and the hybrid is just a bump in the road we have to travel to get there. I never understood the point of dragging the batteries and electric motor if you also drag along a petrol engine and a fuel tank. Why put two half car systems in one car? It is best to have a complete one to function best and with less components to get broken and shorten the life of the product.

the SHVS system however sounds easy and small enough to function OK without too much hassle. Or a hybrid with a small petrol generator to help with the range extension for the electric drive.

Battery technology will have to get better before we can finally switch over to EV. And of course the power grids in most countries will have to be non-dinosaur powered. No point in driving an EV if you charge it with coal and gas fired power.

Update on the collaboration....
news.yahoo.com/toyota-suzuki-partner-hybrids-evs-125500379.html

We'll take them anyway we can get them...
Come on.... Make & bring them to the USA...



& Norway

then we can swap in a proper powerplant

Hmm, that says the RAV4 is the SUV going forward

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I think, on balance, any collaboration/sharing of risk has to be a good thing - particularly given the commercial pressures facing motor manufacturers over the next decade or so. The key thing is going to be (for lack of a better phrase) retaining the "Jimny-ness" of the Jimny.

As the Jimny is now, in my opinion, the one 'totemic' Suzuki car-product - reinforced by the international positive reaction to the Gen 4 Jimny, then even if Jimny sales still remain 'niche' it would be commercial suicide to dilute this exemplar of a core Brand value.

Of course, companies do stupid things - but if anyone's reading this let's hope they don't!