Faults:

Rear soft top retaining clips continually breaking.

Badly fitted tow bar knocking against exhaust - has since been removed.

Plastic trim on sides of seats fell off, needing modification before refitting.

General Comments:

We have wanted a Jimny for several years, so we traded a 1.2 Corsa against one when it came into a local Vauxhall dealer in February 2004. This one came with many extras, alloy wheels, colour coded front bull bar, front foglights, aluminium sill covers, chrome light trims and a driver's arm rest. These extras really finish the car off.

The car drives well, but is very bouncy over anything other than mirror smooth road surfaces. The engine seems to struggle and is always sounding like it works hard. I must say that they drive immeasurable better than any Vitara I have driven (3/5 door, hard and soft top). The Vitara is truly AWFUL. You can feel the chassis and body twisting over road undulations, something the Jimny does not do. I would rather drive the Jimny any day.

Despite it sounding like it's working hard under there, the engine is fairly nippy, though it doesn't like going over 70mph.

The roof is fiddly to take down and put back up, though it's great to drive when it is down.

I haven't yet put it through any serious off-road work, though what it has done it's done very well.

Not great build quality, the old thing of shiny plastics, but it is fairly comfortable for front seat passengers. Not great access to the rear and the front seats don't have a 'memory function' so whenever anyone gets in or out of the rear, you have to spend 5 minutes re-adjusting them again.

Faults:

Exhaust, Cat converter, Rust, Oil seals on hubs, Interior trim is very poor, e.t.c e.t.c...

General Comments:

This car is very expensive on parts.

Cat cost about £500.

Interior is very very poor.

Seats fall apart by 35000 k.

Very poor on road performance.

But very good off road for its size.

My advice is to go for the Dihatsu Terios if you want a small 4x4.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car to date.

General Comments:

If you have never driven a 4x4 vehicle before then take care.

I went from a Clio 172 (pretty fast, good grip and handling) to a Suzuki Jimny (pretty slow, terrible grip when cornering in the wet and bouncy handling). I had to adapt my driving style pretty drastically, especially after putting it into a hedge on a tight bend in the rain.

The car is pretty easy to drive, but care must be taken in adverse conditions i.e. heavy rain and strong winds due to it being a high sided vehicle with a high centre of gravity.

The trim level I got was quite nice, being leather upholstery and steering wheel. I was impressed with the quality of the interior when compared to the price I paid (big discount!). I felt I got a lot for my money.

Off road the vehicle opens up and demonstrates admirably what it was built for, although there are a few rattles, this is to be expected when it is being thrown around on rough ground.

The engine performs well, considering its size and available BHP. It doesn't feel slow, and has a bit of punch in it which surprised me. The 0 to 60 time is supposed to be 16.8 seconds, but mine shaves about 3.5 seconds off that. It has to be revved quite hard though to get to speed quickly. Top speed is supposed to be 87, but 95 is achievable.

I liked the dealer, the warranty and the breakdown cover.

I don't like having to slow excessively in corners, but safety first!

Faults:

Clips that hold the soft top down.

Lack of grip on road.

General Comments:

Car is unsteady on the road and the grip is terrible in rain or snow.

A nightmare to get at the boot and time consuming to take off the soft top.

Soft top never clips in and stays in, continuously coming unclipped.