Rejiloining the fold

You don't need a lift to run 215/75R15s they fit just fine, and Suzuki used them as the OE size on the limited edition Jimny Safari they offered in NewZealand.

Like you, I have a concern about the additional weight of the five door models over the three door given that the mechanicals are identical (right down to the gearing is the same), but given the performance that I currently have with the three door, I don't think the five door is going to suffer too much because of the additional weight - this is based on a crude comparison done simply by putting two more people in the back of the three door to simulate the extra weight.

I want to point out that I drive a three door manual and I'm considering a five door manual, the automatics are a completely different beast, and there's no way I would buy one. I bought the three door without a test drive, and had I driven a three door automatic before buying the three door manual, there is no way I would have bought it. In addition to the three door we have, I've also driven a three door automatic and a second three door manual, both "on loan" from the dealership and the automatic is sluggish beyond belief.

That said - the Indians who have the five door automatics say the problem is throttle response rather than a lack of power and the solution is a throttle controller - I don't see how, but I have no plans to find out.

@DrRobin - hopefully sometime between now and the end of the year, the local dealer here will get the five doors in, and again hopefully, there will be one in my driveway alongside the three door that we already have and I can do comparisons & take pictures - until then I have a spreadsheet of details pulled from the dealer brochures.

The throttle response in the auto is an issue, that's one thing I noticed on my rather long test drive before ordering one. But I currently drive a 2016 Tata Xenon diesel and its about the same as the turbo lag in it. If I drive both the same with gentler acceleration then it's not noticeable.
The addition of a throttle controller will apparently remove that problem, along with turning the OD off when you take off.
But after talking things over with the wife I've decided to hold off on major modifications until I use it enough to get a feel for what I need from it. But a dual battery is essential for me as life without a car fridge is unthinkable.

When I go away it's to mates farms, we have either a cabin or shearing quarters we use, so I don't need a lot of camping gear. (Beds, kitchen, air-conditioning ect)
So I'm looking at what my current vehicle can do, what I wish it could do better and I'm going to set the jimny up with that in mind. Honestly I don't need to replace it but my wife can't drive a manual so I needed an auto, for her and cruise control for me driving to the said farms.
I think after driving it for 6 months to a year will tell me I'd I need bigger tyres or just better tread, I definitely don't want to mess with the suspension or height, the Jimny is slightly better in ground clearance then my Tata and I've never gotten it stuck beyond the ability traction boards to get me out of trouble, and that was only when running LT tyres on it.
So I'm thinking a wait and see approach will be best for the Jimny, I dontvwantvto waste money fixing things that aren't broken.