No, they are not the most refined vehicles. Think milk runs into town. I have a love for a late 1960’s short wheelbase Landrover I owned/restored as a youth. The Jimny seems to be closest related in concept to that of the modern jeep type vehicles. They rest have cast off the simplicity and gotten really heavy and fancy.
When I wanted air on my Landy, I opened a vent and air blew in through a grate.
Garage round the corner from me (in Tainan) has an LJ80 (which I guess would have preceeded the SJ’s Sulavaca refers to above)
Cute, 800cc’s, like a miniature Austin Champ.
Hill farmers bought them in the late 70’s / early 80’s in Scotland but with an all-steel body they didn’t seem to last very long there.
My girl and I recently had a baby and the weekend motorcycle trips are becoming a thing of the past for awhile. We are looking for a vehicle of the four wheeled variety under 200,000 for daily driving and weekend trips into the mountains. We have found a few Jimnys that fit our budget and seem to be in good shape. Ive seen very mixed reviews about them online but mostly positive (and even loving) sentiments from owners.
Anyone have any experience with them, especially the automatic transmisson models(havent come across a manual one yet unfortunately)? The feedback I get from dealers is that that they are good rigs but parts are costly and they have poor resale.
But I feel like if we get a Nissan March or the like and take it into the aborignial hinterlands we will destroy the poor thing.
And Jimnys seem nothing if not sturdy…I suppose we can put up with the poor highway performance if everything else about them is good.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Hyundai Matrix and Getz are similar cars in that range you could consider.
I know where you can get an Infinity QX4 for less than 200k, full equipped and all well maintained. Let me know if you are interested. Jimmy is cheap on taxes but…
[quote=“PaddyB”]My girl and I recently had a baby and the weekend motorcycle trips are becoming a thing of the past for awhile. We are looking for a vehicle of the four wheeled variety under 200,000 for daily driving and weekend trips into the mountains. We have found a few Jimnys that fit our budget and seem to be in good shape. Ive seen very mixed reviews about them online but mostly positive (and even loving) sentiments from owners.
Anyone have any experience with them, especially the automatic transmisson models(havent come across a manual one yet unfortunately)? The feedback I get from dealers is that that they are good rigs but parts are costly and they have poor resale.
But I feel like if we get a Nissan March or the like and take it into the aborignial hinterlands we will destroy the poor thing.
And Jimnys seem nothing if not sturdy…I suppose we can put up with the poor highway performance if everything else about them is good.
Thanks in advance for any feedback![/quote]
I think I may have received an email from you already PaddyB so I apologize if I am repeating myself here.
If you are carrying a child, then you will likely need a child seat and possibly a pushchair/stroller. In such a case the Jimny will almost certainly be too tiny in the rear to both seat a child and you comfortably as well as offer space for loading pushchair and any other additional luggage you wish to carry.
You will also have to make do with the side hinged rear door which makes loading particularly difficult if parked bumper to bumper at the side of the road.
The Jimny may be good offroad as standard but with offroad tyres, although will not be as convenient to drive as many smaller hatchbacks when on a normal road surface. I would personally recommend a number of other alternatives within your price range should you not need a car for offroading specifically. Any number of smaller cars will have no problem with climbing mountain ascents, given that they are on asphalt/tarmac. They may also offer more convenient rear loading space and rear seating space. A lower roofline in an alternative may also offer more convenient parking at times. The Jimny being rarer than most other models will not have as many spares readily available as many alternatives either and will often show signs of wear and tear earlier being a 4WD, especially if it has been used as an offroader or has been used incorrectly in the past.
It is my honest opinion that one would rarely make such a choice in vehicle given the average demands and requirements of a family assuming it is to be a single vehicle family.
Sorry if I can’t update regularly. I am in England with no static net connection at this time.
i will be returning to Taiwan on the 5th of January.
Cheers.
I almost bought one 7 years ago. Instead I got a Tierra RS because it can fit more stuff inside and goes faster.
Nowadays, though, I wish I had bought a Solio way back then. Heaps more space inside (folding seats) and easy to park. Also cheap on tax.
Thanks for the replies everyone, Not going with a Jimny after all. Too small and the highway handling is just too rough for family road trips.
Sulavaca - thanks for the pm, I just replied back.
Escudo (apparently aka Vitara, Sidekick, Mazda Proceed Levante and Geo Tracker.) discussed) on the Daily Telegraph “Honest John” motoring site
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=389
I quote:-
"Prone to cracked cylinder heads due to silting and clogging of oil and waterways, so look for low header tank coolant level and emulsified oil under the oil filler cap.
Avoid ludicrous fat-wheeled, running-boarded ‘customisation’ because it’s like wearing a chest wig and pedestrians will laugh at you helplessly.
"
Those’ll be British pedestrians, though. Probably not enough of those to worry about rahnd ere.
"Make sure the four-wheel-drive works.
Clean oil, changed every 3,000 miles, is essential to avoid blocking oil feed.
Brake callipers can stick (need servicing, not replacing).
Avoid if drivetrain unduly noisy.
Drive carefully, especially round corners. "
Site also discusses US court case on the Escudo’s (and apparently also the Jimny’s) statistical tendency to roll over on corners and make you play dead. (Suzuki settled out of court)