The release of the 2022 Suzuki Jimny Light Commercial Vehicle marks the return of our favorite little off-roader to the U.K., after the Jimny was pulled for compliance reasons in the country. Despite leaving the passenger car market, the fourth-gen Jimny is still popular in the U.K., and Carwow has a new review of the Jimny LCV that shows us why.
When the Jimny transitioned from passenger car to the commercial segment it lost a lot of equipment while its relative cost went up. The Jimny LCV starts at £16,796 or just under $22,800, before VAT. Commercial buyers don’t have to pay the value-added tax, but those who don’t intend to put the Jimny to work will have to pay VAT, bringing the price to £19,999 or about $27,100.
In light of that, Carwow asks if it’s still worth it; the answer is maybe.
The answer mostly depends on whether prospective buyers are willing to live with the downsides of the Jimny, which haven’t really changed from when David Tracy reviewed it.
For starters, it’s still not very comfortable on the highway. And it’s a pretty sluggish machine, taking 12.62 seconds to reach 0-60 miles per hour. Its quarter mile time is a leisurely 18.81 seconds. I hope the engine is happy revving high, because Mat Watson says that the Jimny is at 3-4,000RPM when going about 70MPH.
The Jimny LCV is still rocking the same 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which makes almost 100 horsepower and about 96 lb-ft of torque. It’s only available with a five-speed manual transmission, but it looks to have satisfying notchy shifts and short throws.
Watson does say that the Jimny is great around town because of its small size, tall(ish) ride and short turn radius. The Jimny weighs just over 3,100 pounds. Its weight might make it a little skittish on the highway, but in return it gets almost 37 miles per gallon combined!
And its low weight, selectable four wheel drive and low-range transfer case make it a very competent off-roader. The Jimny is great on the trail, and the commercial version doesn’t change that. I won’t say that the LCV is a bargain with its steel wheels and lack of touchscreen because even though I prefer that, buyers aren’t saving any money compared to the better equipped (discontinued) passenger versions.
In the end the value also depends on availability, because it’s probably not going to be easy to get ahold of even the commercial grade Jimny. They’re already sold out in some parts of the U.K.
