My completely bias and somewhat unhelpful review of the gen4.

Agreed and my comment was only in jest, although it was the jelly mould shape that put me off buying a Gen3.

A new stock car is never going to be as good a fit to the owner as an older car that has been fettled to suit. I'm really looking forward to the aftermarket parts market growing for the Gen4. If someone releases more comfy seats where you can lock in the recline, I'll be throwing money at them

I am a newbie to Jimny’s and this forum. It’s great to get a view from anyone on the new model. I have one on order but not yet driven one so any feedback is interesting and informative. I guess it all depends on what you want to use the new one for and personal circumstances. For what it’s worth, I have a Skoda Kodiaq with a 2.0 petrol and that sounds like a diesel but it’s a smooth engine.

Suzuki have done what they do best and evolve the product rather than radically alter it. Take a look at the motorcycle division will show the same philosophy, alter the styling, make a few tweaks, slightly more performance and away we go for a few years. Many parts remain the same, as you say it keeps development costs down.
I like the retro shape of the GEN4, they are just following Fiat (500) and VW (Beetle ) in producing a modern retro version Samurai, all be it a little late to this party. So I would expect the GEN3 and GEN4 have strong similarities as they will share the same parts bin.

Coming from a "normal" car a year ago I can honestly say that the Jimny is a truly awful car. The seats are small and uncomfortable, the ride is bouncy, engine noise loud, steering vague, steams up, etc etc. I would not expect the latest Jimny to be much better, how can it be, why should it be? I love my GEN3 Jimny with all its flaws, I am sure I would love a GEN 4 just the same with all its flaws, its just character.

So your review is not that biased and as I expected the GEN4 still has many of the issues associated with the previous generations, but if you redesign all the issues out you stop making a Jimny and start making a clone of an Evoke, Duster, Fiat 4x4 etc, take your pick. Plenty of better on road ( off road) vehicles out there if you see what I mean.

My main issue with GEN 1 to 3 for me has always been the rust issue which is bad by "normal" car standards. They just dont appear to have addressed this between models and unfortunately cant see any evidence of improvements on GEN4, time will tell.

Nice to see the different views on the vehicle, it proves its a tough market to get correct for everyone.

Scimike wrote: My main issue with GEN 1 to 3 for me has always been the rust issue which is bad by "normal" car standards. They just dont appear to have addressed this between models and unfortunately cant see any evidence of improvements on GEN4, time will tell. e.

Hopefully it will be better..
" To help resist corrosion, improved zinc coating and undercoating techniques have also been introduced."

I do hope you are correct and this is not just sales speak. Within the next two years we will know, the first signs will be rust on chassis welds. If this happens as per the GEN3 then its a sign not much has changed.
I'll keep looking......

I'm pleased not a lot has changed. When they announced the gen 4 was on its way I was convinced we would lose the ladder chassis, live axles and low range but I'm delighted they have stayed and will possibly be with us for another 15-20 years.
I'm also not too worried about the vacuum hubs and kingpins being unchanged. Yes, they are known problem areas (although I have had very little trouble from mine) but in the big scheme of things they are actually very easy to fix, and the only common issues on an otherwise very reliable vehicle.
Regarding rust, on gen3s it typically doesn't become a critical issue until the vehicle is atleast 15 years old which I would consider acceptable for a budget car and from a new owners perspective that should be adequate.
The thing that irks me the most is the hype around the 'new' Jimny and all the reviews saying how much better it is than the predecessor, when it is becoming increasingly apparent that very little of any substance has been changed.

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I think you're right Lambert. It's also interesting to see some new owners repeating older concerns about the short gearing, and being wary of doing motorway speeds. Again, not things I've ever had issues with but things you might have expected suzuki to address with this new more powerful model.

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I don't think it's a case of being wary of motorway speeds, just that the majority of cars are pulling far fewer revs at 70mph, so things sound a bit thrashy. Had the same thing with my old 1.6 petrol Octavia - only a 5 speed box and 70mph was over 3000rpm, so a bit noisier than ideal, although it would happily sit at that speed all day.

I usually drive at 60-65mph on the motorway anyway, so only having a 4 speed AT on the Jimny is no biggie, plus I didn't buy it to be a motorway cruiser, I'd have got a Mundano if I needed to do that!

I've never found the engine noise intrusive and will happily sit at 80mph in the Jimny, but then I'm used to high revving cars. My Peugeot 106 will cruise along at 5000rpm/85mph until the cows come home.
My girlfirend's C1 has the opposite problem. It sits at really low revs at 70mph which seems refined, but the gearing is so long and drawn out it kills any performance and pleasure you might get from what is actually quite a characterful, if low powered, engine. You constantly have to downshift to maintain good speed.

I take my gen4 AT on the motorway and yes it will happily sit at 70+mph. It is quite noisy though at over 3000rpm. At 60mph it is pulling 2800rpm and at that speed the engine is much quieter, road noise is more dominant. So I drive a bit slower than I used to and enjoy it more.

I have only driven 400 miles so far so it may improve with time but I think the old 1.3vvt was smoother at high revs.

Compared to the gen3 I think it is more comfortable and more spacious in the front. Boot space is tiny but the fact the seats fold flat is a massive improvement. LED headlights are great.

Is it better than a modified gen3, probably not. Is it the best they could have made it, no. I still love it though.