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The Suzuki Jimny AllGrip 3-Door is focused on doing one thing and it does it really well.
I first laid eyes on the Jimny in the metal at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. It was a breath of fresh air – styling that wasn’t just retro-inspired, but faithful to the spirit of the original Jimny in spirit and in form. The Jimny came across as something grounded, real, and for the enthusiasts. It was a risky move for Suzuki to go all-in on something so simple and unsophisticated, but they kind of nailed it.
7 years later and I finally found myself behind the wheel of my first Jimny. In 2026, the market is absolutely at its saturation point for Jimnys, but the official distributor, Naza Eastern Motors, offers something parallel importers can’t: a very generous manufacturer warranty and a pristine vehicle that’s durable and simple enough for you to hand over to the next generation. As of June 2026, the warranty on a new Suzuki Jimny is 5 years long and has no mileage cap. As durable as these cars are, there is no guarantee the grey market model you’re eyeing hasn’t been put through some hard off-roading courses in its time.
Plus, Naza Eastern Motors has a Jimny for every type of buyer; the 3-Door now comes in the AllGrip Pro, AllGrip Plus and Rhino Plus variants and there’s also the 5-Door variant for those looking for a more practical option.
Practically-speaking, many Jimny owners purchased their units long ago through parallel importers, but the 5-Door is something unique to the official distributor. I have actually seen a few Jimny 5-Door units running about, so there’s definitely a market for them. However, I feel like the essence of the Jimny’s in the 3-Door bodystyle. It’s an actual “Made-In-Japan” vehicle and the proportions work better with the shorter wheelbase too.
The first day behind the wheel of the Jimny was spent in a convoy to Suzuki dealerships in Ipoh and Juru. While most of the convoy consisted of Fronx Hybrids, we still managed to keep pace on the highway up to and slightly beyond the legal speed limit. That being said, the Jimny is absolutely not built for cross country drives at high speed. It can certainly hold its own, but you’re really fighting physics. The air is constantly slamming against the boxy body, forcing the 1.5L naturally-aspirate 4-cylinder to work its little heart out, but with just a 4-speed gearbox, there’s really no way to gain any semblance of efficiency beyond 80km/h.
I mean it sounds tiring because it is tiring. This is not what the Jimny was engineered for. That being said, it’s pretty impressive that the Jimny doesn’t completely fall apart or become hazardous to drive at highway speeds. You can still push it through corners and get good enough feedback to understand when it’s at its limit. So, yes it’s not a fast vehicle, but no, it’s not dangerous to drive.
Before returning from Juru, I snuck the Jimny out in the early hours of the morning to take a hike up Bukit Juru. It was an easy climb up, taking only about 15 minutes and the route required no off-road travel. That being said, it was a little out of the way and going there and back in something rugged and simple like the Jimny had its charms. Driving back with a clean shirt wrapped over the seat and the windows down in the cool haze-free morning felt like the sort of thing a Jimny owner would actually do. It has that go-anywhere, do-anything nature.
The more time I spent with the Jimny, the more I realised that it was built specifically to complement an outdoorsy lifestyle. As much as we’d like to think that the Klang Valley is a highway-centric place, Malaysia in general is full of backroads and unexplored, unpaved paths. The Jimny has that durability built into its DNA to take people places few have been to. It’s not uncommon for SUV owners to think having all-wheel drive automatically makes their vehicles great for off-roading. It’s a lot more nuanced than that. The Jimny is the way it is because it’s focused on delivering outstanding off-road prowess with the right components.
The foundation is the heavy-duty box-section ladder chassis. This body-on-frame design provides exceptional torsional rigidity without flexing the body itself. Building on that are the solid axles with coil springs. This suspension design allows maximum tyre contact and constant ground clearance under the differential no matter how crazy the terrain gets. The short wheelbase, narrow track, and short overhangs give it the perfect proportions for off-roading, plus it’s a lot lighter than typical SUVs, so it floats over soft and loose surfaces.
The 1.5L engine may be small, but it’s the way it gets power to the wheels that matters. There’s a simple mechanical transfer case that lets you cycle between 2H, 4H and 4L. 2H is for most driving scenarios. 4H helps you on slippery surfaces up to 100km/h. 4L is for crawling through the worst terrain. You won’t go very fast in 4L, as a heavy reduction gear multiples low-end torque massively. While the Jimny doesn’t come with mechanical differential locks, its electronic traction control can detect wheel spin and apply the brake on the spinning wheel to transfer torque to the wheel with grip.
Of course, there’s the argument that a 20 or 30 year old Japanese off-roader works just as well for a fraction of the price. Not long ago, these were relatively affordable, but the market seems to have caught on to the hype for older 3-door off-roaders. Even if you could snag one for cheap, the fantasy of having a retro off-roader as the ‘side project’ doesn’t work particularly well. As hardy as these old off-roaders are, they’re not particularly cheap to run, not easy or fun to drive, and well, they’re often a lot harsher than one may expect. The Suzuki Jimny’s got that hardiness and capability to it, but it’s also cheap to run, easy and fun to drive and full of modern amenities.
I was surprised at how nice the 9 inch infotainment was, and it runs Wireless Apple CarPlay too. There’s also a basic reverse camera and parking sensors, auto climate control. Well, what else do you need, really? There’s a whole range of aftermarket accessories for it, so you can customise your Jimny to your heart’s content.
While it’s not for everyone, after spending a few days with it I completely understand the charm of such a vehicle. I do think that the Jimny would benefit from having some ‘handmade’ or ‘handstitched’ interior elements to it, or at least something to show a level of craftsmanship to set it apart from mass market SUVs. That would really make the idea of passing it down to the next generation more convincing. Even a chronograph analogue timepiece from Edifice or a digital G-Shock clock in the centre would go a long way into really making the Jimny feel elevated.
As it stands, the Suzuki Jimny’s just an honest and simple off-roader that’s not here to impress anyone and that genuine character is the root of its charm.
Suzuki Jimny 1.5L Specifications
- Engine: 4-Cylinder K15B VVT DOHC
- Capacity: 1,462cc
- Power: 100 hp @ 6,000 rpm
- Torque: 130 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
- Transmission: 4-Speed Conventional Automatic (with ALLGRIP PRO part-time 4WD)
- Price: RM158,900 (Peninsular Malaysia, OTR without insurance)
