2018 Philippine International Motor Show

As I mentioned in another thread, I went with my wife, daughter and nephew to the Philippine Motor Show yesterday morning so that I could see the new Jimny in person. I also wanted to ask the questions that have been covered on this forum.



We went in with the crowd at opening and the first thing I did was look for the Suzuki sign. When I found it I walked a straight line (through other exhibits) to see the Jimny.

What I was greeted by is a total of 6 new Jimnys covered by tarps.



I'm guessing that this is fairly standard for car shows but this was my first. Asking one of the floor people what time they would be unveiled, I was told at 3:00 (it was now only 10:00). We killed some time looking around and taking other pictures.

The Toyota TJ Cruiser Concept


Range Rovers, Isuzus and several other manufacturers SUVs


When we saw all that we could see, we decided to kill more time.


Our plan was to get back about 2:00.

When we returned, I thought I would use the time to corner one of the Suzuki floor staff and ask my questions. Sadly, after attempting that with 3 of the Suzuki people, I realized that I knew more about the new Jimny than they did. While I can't answer the questions from the forum (except the door closing) I can give some personal impressions.

I will skip the video introduction that my daughter recorded. Suzuki tried to turn the event into a rock concert and it was a little more than these old ears could take. I may load it to YouTube and link to it here in case someone has interest in seeing the tarps come off.





I won't bore people with too many photos as they look about the same as what we see in all of the other online photos.

Although I can't give answers to the questions members asked AlexK, I will provide my (entirely personal and subjective) impressions:


(Guess which color I liked best)

1) I liked the looks of the new Jimny. That was never my main focus or a deal breaker for me but I thought it was well designed on the outside. In real life, it actually looks significantly better.

2) Unlike the first point, I didn't care much for the interior. The main item for me there was the dash. Sitting in the driver's seat caused quite a turnaround. Most of the dash, especially the controls are bulky......but not in a bad way. My opinion really has changed. Everything is designed and arranged in a purposeful straightforward way. It isn't what you would call elegant. The word that comes to my mind is precise. That opinion may change after driving this car for a while but it is the impression I was left with.

3) In the driver's seat, the new model feels roomier than the current model. I'm not a big person - I'm 5' - 10" (178 cm) but it is a comment I heard several people make as they got out of the car. Possibly it was only in my mind but the seats also felt more comfortable.

4) I didn't sit in the back seat but there appeared to be a little more leg room. If that is true, it came at the expense of what several people here have commented on. It is clear that there is less cargo room behind the seats now. It was never good so I doubt that the minor change would matter to most.

5) Overall vision is about the same as the current model.

6) (the only 2 answers I have to questions on Alex's thread) The doors seem a little lighter weight on the new version. I'm not sure if that makes much of a difference concerning road noise and I haven't followed the reviews much. May or may not be worse. That isn't to say they felt flimsy. When they closed, they were solid. The hubs are the same vacuum operated as the current Jimny.

As an addendum to the rear seat comments I made, I should add that there appears to be less (people's posterior) room side-to-side.


Others have already noticed that the interior trim provides a nice flat surface when the seats are folded but it also appears that the trim will contact the passengers legs. The backseat room issue may partly be an illusion as the rear interior width also appears to be a little wider.

Those were my main impressions but if anyone has a question, you can ask. Hopefully I paid enough attention.

The last thing I will add is the pricing: the current Jimny with AT sells for Php965,000 (about $18,000 USD). The equivalent model in the new Jimny will be selling for Php1,100,000 (about $20,700 USD). That is about a 14% increase. While there are differences (trim levels) in different markets, that is still an apples to apples comparison and will likely be a good estimation tool.

Bob

Thanks for the write up.

Is the new model available already in the Philippines?

Lambert and Bill....thank you.

In a moment I will check to see if I am able to add the pictures. I think Martin has fixed the problem. I will add a few comments as well since reviewing the photos has jogged additional memories.

Bill: I added a link to a Philippine news article on AlexK's thread (Got any questions about the new Jimny). The original availability date being indicated by Suzuki was around May 2019. That article has been updated indicating that there are rumors the release will be immediately after the show. That is only 3 days away. We will see.

thanks for the pic,,, and the write up too,,,

Thank you for sharing pictures.

Hi zukebob!

Thanks for sharing. Did Suzuki indicate which engine they will be putting in the new Jimny for the Philippine market?

We get the Jimny Sierra with the K15B here too.

It is common for people to bring the JDM surplus here so we should have some of the Jimnys with the smaller engines floating around later. That obviously won't happen for several years though.

Very useful write up. It looks even more like an SJ than I expected.