История Suzuki Jimny: от HopeStar ON360 до современности.

The history of Suzuki four wheel drive cars began in the latter half of the 1960s, when Suzuki bought a Steyr Puch Haflinger to study with the intent of building a kei class off road vehicle. A better opportunity presented itself in 1968, when Suzuki was able to buy bankrupt Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company, which had introduced a small off road vehicle called the HopeStar ON360. The tiny Hope company had been unable to enter series production, and only about 45 were manufactured. The Jimny8/LJ80 was an updated version of the LJ50 with an 800 cc, four stroke, in line four cylinder engine, followed by the Jimny 1000/SJ410 and Jimny 1300/SJ413. An updated version of the SJ413 became known as the Samurai and was the first Suzuki officially marketed in the US. The series from SJ410 to SJ413 was known as the Sierra in Australia, and remained the Jimny in some markets. The new Jimny was released in 1998, and now bears the same name in all markets. The 1998 release used the G13BB EFI engine, replaced by the M13AA EFI engine in 2001 and the M13AA variable valve timing engine in 2005, in conjunction with a minor interior redesign.

All four Jimny generations have separate frame and body ("ladder frame chassis"). The body has no structural carrying role. It serves only as a cabin to protect the occupants from the elements, provide comfort, and protect them in the case of a crash.

All four Jimny generations have dependent suspension (solid beam axles) both at the front and rear axles. This used to be a common suspension design for all terrain vehicles up to 1990s, but has become a rarity in vehicle design in the 21st century. Dependent suspension is particularly well suited for all terrain duty, both from the durability and performance perspectives. The first two Jimny generations used leaf sprung suspension at all four wheels, with the third and fourth generations using coil sprung suspension at all four wheels. Some late second generation models had coil sprung suspension, as well.

All four Jimny generations have recirculating ball steering mechanism, which is particularly well suited for all terrain duty, but relatively imprecise on road compared to modern rack and pinion steering construction.

All four Jimny generations have manually user selectable part time four wheel drive (4WD) transmission, where the default (on road) transmission mode is two wheel drive (rear wheel drive). Rear wheel drive can never be disengaged. The user, however, can (dis)engage the front wheel drive (FWD) manually at any time under certain operating conditions. When FWD is also engaged, this provides 4WD. Jimnys have no centre (interaxle) differential. This has a positive effect that at least two wheels, where each wheel is on a different axle, have to lose traction for the vehicle to lose traction when in 4WD transmission mode. However, the negative effect is that 4WD transmission mode must not be used on any surface not rather slippery, especially if having to steer. In other words, 4WD transmission mode should be used only on rather slippery surfaces, like snow, ice, mud, loose gravel, wet grass, and sand. Wet asphalt, wet concrete, and hard packed gravel are not considered slippery enough. All four Jimny generations have manually user selectable dual ratio (dual range) gearing mechanism. The two ratios or ranges are called "high range" (for regular on road driving and light to moderate all terrain driving) and "low range" (for moderate to hard all terrain driving and for all terrain towing). The overall transmission gearing ratio is exactly halved when the vehicle is in low range transmission mode. This has the effect of the vehicle moving about half as fast, but with double torque at the wheels in any transmission gear. For example, the fourth gear in low range behaves similar to the second gear in high range, and third gear in low range behaves similarly as "1.5th gear" in high range. The transmission gearing range is selectable only when the vehicle is in 4WD transmission mode. Therefore, low range cannot be used for on road towing. The (dis)engagement of 4WD transmission mode and the switch from one gearing range to another is performed by a dedicated transfer case mechanical unit, which is separate from the regular gear box unit. All four Jimny generations have a transfer case with an attached selection lever protruding in the cabin between the main gear box lever and the handbrake lever. The lever allows the user to select 2WD H, 4WD H or 4WD L transmission modes at will. The only exceptions are later production years of third generation Jimnys (more info in a dedicated chapter), which do not have a selection lever, but instead have servo actuated mechanism to perform the same actions when invoked by the push of certain buttons in the cabin.

LJ80, SJ410, and early SJ413 vehicles sold in Germany were fitted from the factory with a manually operated, mechanical rear axle differential locker. A cable connected the locker to a small, dedicated lever in the cabin near the hand brake lever. By operating the lever, the driver could manually fully (un)lock the rear axle differential. The reason for inclusion of the differential locker was legislative in nature. LJ80s, SJ410s, and early SJ413s have a parking brake that brakes the gears in the transfer case instead of braking the individual rear wheels directly and simultaneously (as with most passenger vehicles). That design has several advantages, as well as an important disadvantage because of the open rear differential, the hand brake has no effect when the transfer case is in two wheel drive (rear wheel drive) mode and when one of the rear wheels is raised in the air. Therefore, relying on the parking brake itself would be dangerous in some unusual situations (when parking on a severely undulated ground). German law required that this risk must not exist. Instead of redesigning the parking brake system for that market, Suzuki appeased the legal requirement by the inclusion of a rear differential locker. The idea was that German drivers, when parking, should lock both the hand brake lever and this additional differential lock lever. Despite being formally intended as a parking brake assistance only, this rear axle differential locker is a fully fledged device. Therefore, it is perfectly usable and durable in all terrain driving situations over undulated or very slippery ground. Later SJ413s (and all Samurais) have a standard parking brake that works on both rear wheels directly. This design appeased the German legal requirement, so no differential locker has been factory fitted to SJ413s nor to any Samurai since. A retrofit of a genuine rear differential locker to LJ80s, SJ410s and SJ413s which lack it, is possible by using the parts from a dismantled LJ80, SJ410, or early SJ413 which had that locker. Lockers from LJ80 are usable on another LJ80 only, while lockers should be interchangeable between SJ410 and SJ413 and vice versa. A retrofit from SJ41x onto a Samurai is not easily possible, because Samurai has wider track and axle than SJ41x.

The vehicle was originally developed by the Hope Motor Company of Japan in 1967 and available as the HopeStar ON360 from April 1968. It used a Mitsubishi air cooled, two stroke ME24 engine, which produced at 5,500 rpm, and of torque at 3,500 rpm. Brakes were Daihatsu units, the rear axle was sourced from the Mitsubishi Colt 1000, and the wheels were sourced from the Mitsubishi Jeep. It was a very basic two seater vehicle with no doors, but a sturdy 4WD system allowed it to go off road. Top speed was , 30 km/h (18.6 mph) in four wheel drive mode. The tiny Hope company sold very few ON360s, only 15 in the domestic market and another 30 exported to Southeast Asia, Hope proceeded to sell the design to Suzuki in 1968, after Mitsubishi declined to take over production.

The LJ50 engine was first introduced in September 1975 for export only, with For the home market, it first appeared in June 1976 as the Jimny 55 and reflected the changing kei car rules and stricter emissions standards. The three cylinder engine remained a two stroke; while power was reduced to , more low end torque was on offer. The vehicle could now hit 60 mph (97 km/h), and the spare tire was relocated outside the rear door, allowing for a fourth seat. The SJ10 Jimny originally used the "LJ50" name in most export markets; this was changed to LJ55 with the introduction of the LJ80 to align the names. In Australia, the LJ50S and LJ50V (van) were available as a soft top with soft doors and rear mounted spare wheel or hardtop with full metal doors and external spare wheel through distributor M. W. Suzuki (Melbourne) with and of torque. In May 1976, the low production LJ51P long wheelbase pickup became available for some export markets. The home market Jimny 550 received a facelift in 1977, introducing rear wheel arch metal flares and a bigger bonnet or hood with cooling slots above the radiator, while the export LJ50s were instead replaced by the LJ80 (same external modifications, but with the new four stroke, four cylinder, 797 cc engine fitted).

The final iteration of the original Jimny design was the 1977 Jimny 8, called LJ80 in certain export markets. It was originally intended to be marketed as the Eljot ("Elliott") in Germany, but copyright issues with Disney's Pete's Dragon movie made this impossible. While the SJ10 remained in production for the domestic kei category, the new SJ20 boasted a four stroke SOHC four cylinder F8A engine capable of around The additional power and torque of this engine allowed the differential and gearing to be raised for better cruising and offroad performance, and the track was widened by The LJ80V was also assembled in Indonesia, by P. T. Indo Mobil Utama in Jakarta. The interior was also improved, with new seats and steering wheel. Metal doors became available for the first time in 1979, and a pickup truck model (LJ81) was available by April of that year, as well. The pickup, called "Stockman" in Australia, had a wheelbase (up by ) and was long, compared to the LJ80. The Jimny 8/LJ80 was retired in late 1981 with the introduction of the second generation Jimny.

The Mazda AZ Offroad, introduced in October 1998, is a rebadged Jimny. The AZ in the name refers to Autozam, Mazda's ill fated small car marque. It is fitted with the turbocharged 658 cc DOHC Suzuki K6A engine, which produces Manually operated four wheel drive is standard with autolocking front hubs and low range, whilst an automatic transmission is optional.

The fourth generation Jimny and Jimny Sierra were launched in Japan on 5 July 2018, with styling reminiscent of the earlier LJ and SJ generations. Production commenced in Japan on 29 May 2018 at Suzuki's Kosai plant.

The body on chassis design uses a ladder frame, 3 link rigid axle suspension with coil spring, and part time four wheel drive with low range transfer gear, marketed as ALLGRIP PRO. Transmission options are a 5 speed manual transmission and a 4 speed automatic. The exterior has upright A pillars, a flat clamshell bonnet/hood, driver and passenger window lines that dip at the front to extend visibility, a simple black grille with round headlamps, roof edge drip rails, and prominent wheel arch extensions. The interior rear luggage space can be expanded by folding twin rear seats, creating a 377 litre luggage space with a flat floor, five utility screw holes and four luggage anchors. The design results in an approach angle of 37 degrees, ramp breakover angle of 28 degrees and departure angle of 49 degrees.

The base Japanese market Jimny is powered by an R06A 658 cc, three cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine, while the wide version (Jimny Sierra) has a newly developed K15B 1.5 litre four cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine ( at 6,000 rpm, at 4,400 rpm).

For its home market, the kei car version sold simply as the Jimny and the standard wheelbase version sold as the Jimny Sierra. The Jimny comes in XG, XL and XC grades, whereas, the Jimny Sierra comes in JL and JC grades. All variants have the option between a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic.

The Jimny made its European debut starting in Germany in October 2018. In 2020, the Jimny was discontinued from European markets due to its high CO² emissions and stringent EU emission regulations. It was introduced in 2021 as a commercial vehicle that is subjected to less stringent EU emissions regulations, with the rear seats removed and a partition separates the boot space from the front seats.

The Jimny was launched in South Africa on 2 November 2018, with two grades: GA and GLX, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. In March 2022, a new mid range GL grade was added. In November 2023, the Jimny 5 door debuted in South Africa with two grades: GL and GLX.

The Jimny was launched in Australia on 24 January 2019, in a sole GLX grade, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. In June 2021, the entry level Lite grade was added. The Lite grade has steel wheels, headlights uses halogen units instead of LED, and the touchscreen head unit has been replaced with a basic audio head DIN unit. In December 2023, the Jimny 5 door debuted in Australia as the Jimny XL.

The Jimny was launched in New Zealand on 14 March 2019 as the Jimny Sierra, in a sole variant, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. In January 2024, the Jimny 5 door debuted in New Zealand.

The Jimny was launched in the Philippines on 8 March 2019, with two grades: GL (with manual) and GLX (with automatic). In January 2024, the Jimny 5 door debuted in the Philippines, with two grades: GL (with manual) and GLX (with automatic).

The Jimny was launched in Singapore on 27 April 2019, as a sole variant paired only to a 4 speed automatic.

The Jimny was launched in Thailand on 27 March 2019 at the 40th Bangkok International Motor Show, in a sole unnamed grade, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic.

The Jimny was launched in Indonesia on 18 July 2019 at the 27th Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, after being previewed at the 26th Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show. For Indonesia, the Jimny comes in a sole unnamed grade, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. In February 2024, the Jimny 5 door debuted in Indonesia at the 31st Indonesia International Motor Show.

The Jimny was launched in Mexico on 12 November 2020, in a sole GLX grade, it is available with either a 5 speed manual or a 4 speed automatic. The 2021 model year Jimny was sold out in 3 days after the first 1,000 reserved units.

Assembly of the Jimny started in India since January 2021 as an export model. The 3 door Indian made Jimny has been exported to African markets and countries in the Middle East. In January 2023, the 5 door Jimny was introduced for the domestic market. The model was launched in India on 7 June 2023 with two grades: Zeta and Alpha, and is exclusively available at the Nexa dealership chain reserved for high end Maruti Suzuki models. In October 2023, the 5 door Jimny began exporting to the Middle East, Latin America, South Africa, and Southeast Asia.

The 3 door Jimny was launched in the GCC markets in February 2021, it is available in two grades, GL (with manual) and GLX (with automatic). On 1 November 2023 the 5 door Jimny was launched in the GCC markets.

The Jimny was launched in Malaysia on 30 September 2021, in a sole variant, paired only to a 4 speed automatic.

An electric version of the Jimny is confirmed and scheduled to release around 2030.