2021 Suzuki Jimny Lite Australian details revealed

Buyers of this car are waiting up to 12 months for their vehicle to be delivered. Relief is on the way, but there are big questions over the value.

There aren’t many hotter cars at the moment than the Suzuki Jimny.

Buyers wanting one of the pint-sized off-roaders have been facing wait times of up to a year, while profiteers are trying to offload used versions with thousands of kilometres on the clock for up to $50,000. The recommended retail price of the Jimny starts from $28,490.

There is a long wait list for the Suzuki Jimny. Pic by Thomas Wielecki

Some customers who ordered new vehicles were also stung with a $1500 price rise while they waited for their car to be delivered.

To satisfy demand, Suzuki has announced a new stripper model, the Jimny Lite, will arrive in August.

Cheaper than the standard Jimny – but more expensive than the original launched in 2019, the Lite does without luxuries that are standard on most cars this price.

It rides on 15-inch steel wheels, has hard plastic side mirror covers, halogen headlights and ditches fog lights.

The Suzuki Jimny Lite has steel wheels and halogen lights.

Suzuki has also removed the touchscreen infotainment system, which could mirror smartphones, in favour of an old school in-dash radio and CD player and manual airconditioning controls, giving the interior a very 1990s vibe. There is Bluetooth for music streaming and phone calls, but satellite navigation has been deleted.

The infotainment tech has been replaced with an in dash radio and CD player.

Prices start at $26,990 (before on-road costs).

The standard – and now more expensive – Jimny launched in 2019 at just $23,990 (plus on-roads) when equipped with a manual transmission, but has since risen dramatically to $28,490 plus on-roads.

The high demand has seen some price gouging, though. Private owners are selling modified used versions online for $50,000, while a 2020 plate dealer demo with 2345km on the clock is going for $46,990.

Private owners are taking advantage of the high demand selling used versions for big profits. Pics by Thomas Wielecki

The cheapest current model Jimny available on Carsales is a 2019 model with 12,000km on the clock for $32,000.

Customers wanting to research the price of a Jimny will be hard pressed to unless they visit a dealership as it is the only vehicle you can’t build and price on the company’s website.

Michael Pachota, head of Suzuki Australia, says the company is excited to increase its offering of Jimnys and will manage the wait list in a fair manner.

The Jimny will be delivered to customers in a first come first served basis.

“We’re giving people what they want – more Jimnys! With demand continuously increasing for this model we are so pleased to be able to add another variant in the line-up and continue to grow our Jimny community with this incremental supply opportunity,” says Mr Pachota.

“We will also maintain the fair allocation process based on customer orders with a queue system as we have done with the current Jimny in 2021, making sure the next order in the queue gets the next car to hit Australian soil, every time” said Pachota.

Aussies love the Jimny for its rugged off-road ability. Pics by Thomas Wielecki

Aussies have flocked to the Jimny for its rugged off-road ability. In an off-road comparison test against the legendary four-wheels drives – the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series and Jeep Wrangler – it matched them step for step. The Jimny was also an instant hit for its previously low entry price.

The Jimny can match it with the best four-wheel drives in off-road conditions. Pics by Thomas Wielecki

The car performed poorly in crash tests, though, scoring only three stars in a 2018 Euro NCAP crash test. It was penalised for body protection for the driver. The Jimny also has none of the driver aids expected of a car its price.