Suzuki has released a local-only special edition Jimny, available on three-door and five-door vehicles with either the five speed manual gearbox or four speed auto.

The Jimny Horizon bundles more than $4,000 of off-road and styling accessories into the deal, including a roof platform, an attachable Osagawa tent shade, a heritage-style grille, and protective side mouldings.

Prices start at $34,990 (plus on-road costs) for the three-door manual and $42,990 for the five-door. The numbers don’t tend to change much for pre-loved examples – these things are absolute cult 4WDs. The three-door can be had in base JX or Sierra spec, with the five-door offered only in Sierra trim. The JX has gnarly steel wheels, the Sierra has 15-inch alloys.

This is not at all a smooth sleek crossover. But if you’re the sort of person who appreciates a flat-roofed vehicle because it’s easier to clear snow off and mount cargo racks to, or you favour cars with a roof gutter so you’re not dripped on as you load the tailgate, then you might like the Jimny. You might like it a lot.

If you actually like places where tarmac is rare, if you like ski-ing or snowboarding or hiking or kayaking, the Jimny is very suitable.

Top Gear magazine thinks so: “The Jimny’s ultra-honest unpretentiousness is the antidote to every beige crossover. Don’t expect sophistication, and you’ll adore it”

The rest of the package is familiar stock Jimny. Under the bonnet is Suzuki’s 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine producing 75kW of power and 130Nm of torque. The Jimny’s capable platform puts this power to the ground via Suzuki’s AllGrip Pro selectable four-wheel drive system with 2-hi, 4-hi and 4-lo.

The Jimny also comes with six airbags, rear parking sensors, cruise control, brake LSD traction control, hill hold, hill descent control, dual sensor brake support, and more. 

It has a wee tiny bit of ADAS driver support software, but is still the most refreshingly ‘pure’ 4WD driving experience anyone could hope for. There’s dual sensor brake support (helps under heavy/emergency braking), discreet lane departure warning, weaving alert and high beam assist so Jimny doesn’t upset oncoming motorists.

All-up, the absence of enormous levels of intrusive keep-safe tech means Jimny’s never going to have a five-star safety rating, but honestly, nobody buys a Jimny to be wrapped in cotton wool, do they? We’re there for the fun.

It does have Apple CarPlay and Android auto for those who simply must ruin the serenity yapping to their mates.

The previous, skinny Jimny lasted an astonishing 20 years on sale. In those two decades, three things boomed in popularity: SUVs, downsizing, and retro. So the new Jimny, complete with its 1.5-litre petrol engine and functionally honest design, has been a masterstroke.

There’s no turbo, no hybrid assistance, and no diesel, but when the engine is propelling just 1,135kg, how much ‘fruit’ do you need? There are aftermarket installers doing turbo kits, but that’s probably best saved for after the vehicle’s out of its warranty.

Jimny does arrive with hill hold control, hill descent control and what Suzuki describes as ‘LSD traction control’. Those systems plus low range and the vehicle’s exceptionally low weight mean offroad work is a breeze.

Our test Jimny is probably our favourite, a five-door manual. It’s in the standout Kinetic Yellow, which guarantees it will never be lost in a supermarket car park. The colour also attracts interested onlookers like a magnet. In the space of 24 hours, trips to Chemist Warehouse, Woollies, and Gull to top up fuel drew seven separate walk-ups asking “woah mate, it this yours? Been thinking of getting one…”

There was also a thumbs-up and ‘chur’ recognition from a women fuelling her same-colour three door Jimny. No other 4WD or SUV we’ve tested since Covid has drawn the same level of interest.

There are two things we’d add: a decent set of all-terrain tyres, and a light bar.

The tyres, because Jimny deserves footwear that enables it to make the most of its offroad ability. All-terrains are gnarly enough without being too noisy or expensive. The 195-width Bridgestone Duelers it arrives with are fine for urban use, but Jimny deserves more.

The light bar, for offroad fun after dark. There’s an air blind at the front of the roof platform that stands out as the logical place for mounting a decent array of LEDs.

Summed up

Jimny Horizon is – like all Jimny variants – unique in the world of 4WDs and SUVs. It has unbeatable charm straight off the showroom floor, a tough wee ladder-frame chassis, excellent wheel-at-each-corner agility, off-road capability that puts many bigger 4WDs to shame, and that clever, convenient pre-packaged camping utility right off the showroom floor