Suzuki iV-4 to be new Jimny’s big brother

SUZUKI will introduce a replacement to its tiny, ageing and characterful Jimny off-roader by the end of this year – but it is not the iV-4 concept that debuted at Frankfurt in September and resurfaced at Beijing this week.

The production iV-4 will slot between the Jimny and Grand Vitara and is hoped to debut in Europe later this year – probably at the Paris show – and arrive in Australian showrooms in the second quarter of 2015.

Suzuki Australia communications manager Andrew Ellis told GoAuto the Jimny replacement is coming later this year.

“Jimny replacement is coming later this year … iV-4 is bigger than Jimny,” he said. “Going on what I’ve seen … I would say it is between Jimny and Grand Vitara.”This means the baby 4x4, which falls foul of Victoria’s mandatory electronic stability control requirements, should soon return to showrooms in the southern state – but what form the Jimny replacement will take remains to be seen.

“That (iV-4) is the car we are looking at mid-way through next year, second quarter next year,” said Mr Ellis. “What we are hoping is to see the production version in Europe later this year.”Suzuki has not yet announced how the production iV-4 will be badged, but its position in the range between Jimny and Grand Vitara suggest it may be simply called Vitara.

As reported during the Frankfurt show, production of the iV-4 at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary is confirmed to commence next year. At Beijing a similar production schedule was announced for Suzuki’s Chinese joint-venture Chongqing Changan Suzuki Automobile.

The iV-4 is bolder and chunkier than the Dualis-duelling S-Cross that launched in Australia at the end of last year and has already had two price cuts as it failed to achieve sales expectations.

Littered with styling cues from the boxy, utilitarian Vitara sold in Australia between 1994 and 2000, the iV-4 brings the chunky compact off-road look firmly into the 21st Century, no doubt inspired by the hot-selling Range Rover Evoque.

Suzuki is yet to reveal technical or powertrain information on the iV-4, other than it will be light-weight, be among the lowest CO2 emitters in its class and feature Suzuki's next-generation Allgrip four-wheel-drive system.

Like the Renault Captur, a number of personalisation options will be offered such as exterior colour combinations, add-on parts and interior materials.