The Suzuki Jimny three-door automatic already has a wait time of 18 months. Now an orderly queue is forming for the five-door variant before price is known and ahead of any test drives.
Suzuki Australia says dealers are already holding more than 500 orders for the Jimny five-door one month after it was unveiled – before prices have been announced and anyone has taken a test drive.
According to overseas reports, the Suzuki Jimny five-door is due to go into production in India in the second half of this year (three-door variants will continue to be sourced from Japan).
Pending any delays, the first batch of Suzuki Jimny five-door models could be in local showrooms by the end of this year or early next.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the Suzuki Jimny five-door,” the boss of Suzuki Australia, Michael Pachota, told Drive.
“Since it was unveiled a month ago, our dealers are already holding orders for more than 500 (Suzuki Jimny five-door models).
“We are now working closely with head office to secure as many as we can for local customers.”
Price and specifications for the Suzuki Jimny five-door are yet to be announced – though it is expected to cost $5000 to $10,000 more than the three-door.
However, dealers have been advised to expect the Suzuki Jimny five-door to mirror the current three-door GLX grade (with alloy wheels, a rear-view camera, and a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).
“The five-door version of the Suzuki Jimny will basically be a stretched version of the three-door GLX,” said a Suzuki dealer canvassed by Drive. “We are not expecting any technical or feature changes.”
Despite the extra space, the Suzuki Jimny five-door remains a four-seater – as is the case with the three-door variant.
As previously reported, the Suzuki Jimny five-door will be powered by the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (75kW/130Nm) as the three-door, though hybrid or electric versions may eventually follow by the end of the decade.
While Suzuki is yet to provide indicative pricing, dealers have advised customers to expect a $5000 to $10,000 price premium over the three-door model.
In its current guise, the Suzuki Jimny GLX three-door is listed at $31,990 plus on-road costs for the five-speed manual and $33,490 plus on-road costs for the four-speed auto.
Based on these prices the Suzuki Jimny five-door could cost close to or in excess of $40,000 by the time it’s on the road.
Customers who have already placed orders with dealers are entitled to receive a refund of their deposit if they don’t go ahead with the purchase “pending price and test drive” (as per the conditions in the pre-sale contract).
In the meantime, Suzuki Australia says it is no closer to reopening orders for the Suzuki Jimny three-door automatic after taking it off sale indefinitely from last month.
Automatic variants of the Suzuki Jimny have even been removed from the ‘build-and-price’ section of the Suzuki Australia website.
Drive understands Suzuki Japan may be prioritising automatic transmissions for the initial launch phase of the Suzuki Jimny five-door.
Once production of the five-door ramps up – and the first batch of customer cars are delivered – orders for the Suzuki Jimny three-door automatic are expected to resume.
“We monitor the situation daily and we are in constant communication with Japan,” said Mr Pachota.
“We want to reopen orders in Australia (for the Suzuki Jimmy three-door automatic) as soon as it is practical to do so, but we don’t have anything to announce at the moment.
“Right now we need to prioritise customers who are already in the queue and clear those backorders first.
“We are also seeing a lot of people switch their orders to the manual.
“When the Jimny first came out in this new generation (in 2019), more than 50 per cent all sales in Australia were for manual variants. But as the Jimny has grown in popularity, the automatic has more recently accounted for up to 80 per cent of customer demand.
“What we are seeing now are people who know how to drive a manual, switching to a manual. But the auto will be back available to order as soon as we can.
“Suzuki Japan is very supportive of the Australian market and understands the importance of the option of automatic transmission.”
The post 2023 Suzuki Jimny five-door: More than 500 orders and counting appeared first on Drive.
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