Suzuki confirms Jimny Lite for August launch

SUZUKI Australia is taking measures to mitigate the “overwhelming demand” for its pint-sized Jimny off-roader, including the confirmation of a new entry-level variant.

Called Jimny Lite, the new offering will be a manual-only affair when it arrives here in August riding on 15-inch steel wheels and offering customers an even more back-to-basics approach to motoring and off-roading.

While the local pricing and specifications details are yet to be revealed in full, the Jimny Lite will more than live up to its name, Suzuki revealing so far that the new variant is set to forgo many of the creature comforts the market has become accustomed to.

The steel wheels will be the first giveaway of the Lite’s identity, with other cues being the plastic wing mirror covers, halogen projector headlights and a lack of foglights.

Inside the cabin, the standard Jimny’s 7.0-inch infotainment system has been ditched in favour of a traditional in-dash radio/CD player, although Bluetooth connectivity will still be included for music streaming and hands-free voice calls.

The climate control system has been thrown out too, replaced by a manually adjusted heater and air-conditioner. 

No changes have been made under the skin or under the bonnet, meaning the Lite will share the regular version’s 75kW/130Nm outputs courtesy of the familiar 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

Although only available with a manual transmission, the Lite will still include a low-range transfer case as well as hill descent control.

Suzuki Automotive general manager Michael Pachota said the Lite’s confirmation was the brand “giving people what they want”.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Suzuki has sold 993 Jimnys to the end of May this year, accounting for a modest 4.2 per cent of the light SUV segment with more than 2000 units currently on back-order.

The brand says it will be launching a dedicated landing page on its website as of July 1 with more information on the Lite before prices are revealed on August 1 – the same day it goes on sale.

Given the regular version’s current $28,490 plus on-roads starting price, a price tag in the region of $24,000-$26,000 is expected.