Gordon Murray daily’s a Jimny

This caught my eye.  collectingcars.com/podcasts/ Collecting Cars podcasts - Episode 21 Chris Harris interviewing Gordon Murray. 

Gordon Murray designed the Mclaren F1 [only other comparable car designer Adrian Newey - the man behind Red Bull’s F1 success]

Skip to 1;28:54 Gordon Murray on his Jimny: “it’s fun, I didn’t buy it because it’s got the best ride, I bought it because it’s small, it’s light, it’s under 1100 kilos, so it’s not going to slide sideways off the road like a Range Rover on the ice, and it’s fun’.

Reminded me of [Range Rover v Fiat Panda on ice] the RR may have been on the wrong tyres.



 

Whilst I'm a die hard Jimny fan I would disagree with his comment on the range rover sliding off the road unlike a Jimny. I would rather be in a Range Rover thats permanant 4wd & heavy in icey conditions than a Jimny thats 2wd, lightweight and rear wheel drive which dances aroud all over the places given the chance. Of course any car will slide on Ice but I've had multiple Jimnys slip up in icey or wet conditons whereas I can't recall my Range Rover giving the slighest hint of stepping out of line. I'm more cautious cornering in my Jimnys than my RR which i know will stay planted around a corner even at higher speeds. I will still take a jimny any day of the week though

Never had any issues with our 2020 Jimny in the bad weather.
So long as you drive it like a 4x4 and not a GTi it's fine. On the one occasion when l took a corner too fast in the rain, l thought l was in the kitty litter but the traction/stability control kicked in and saved me from a difficult conversation with the missus
(it's her car)

The only time I have been nervous about staying on the road has been with the Bridgestone dueler on. With all season or all terrain tyres on not a worry. Both my defender and disco were the exact opposite, sideways ready or not regardless of tyres.

Although it's almost certainly down to tyre choice rather than drivetrain capability, here's another amusing video of a large SUV being embarrassed by a Jimny.

 


l've got a Defender 110 and in snow the Jimny is definitely better, it's lighter and easier to make progress.

lt may also be because of the traction control and diff locks which my Defender doesn't have.

lf the Jimny was 25% larger l would sell the Land Rover and buy one for myself.

As it is, the Jimny is just too small, by the time l've got my tool boxes in the back there's no room for anything else.

We both love "Kevin" the Jimny though, he's a great alternative to a run of the mill hatchback. We swapped a VW Up GTi for ours.

The Up GTi is a superb little car, but my wife never used the performance and l got bollocked every time we went out in it for driving "too fast"


 

Re BMWs, I had a X1, then X3, then 320 (2WD) as company cars all on stock tyres, which are low resistance tyres suited to the motorway in summer, they should come with a warning, don't use off-road, don't use in the wet/snow/mud.

Both X1 and X3 were manuals and useless on the snow, in fact the 320 (an auto) was almost as good (or not quite as bad depending on which way you look at it), it just grind it's way up the hills.

The missus' Qashqai was way better than either of the 4WD BMWs, so yes it is all down to tyres.

Since putting in my 1.6 and with the old and hard BFG MT slippers on it, I have been driving my Jimny like an idiot. Sideways in most roundabouts, and if i know the asfalt is old and worn and slippery when wet, i will of course try to make my jimny go a bit sideways. Ok so I admit my somewhat entertaining driving habits have had an impact on the car having to change rear diff, driveshaft and the gearbox when they have failed.
The now old and hard BFG MT will be soon replaced.
Note that they have never seen the snow, and they never will.

In the winter on ice and snow I use proper nordic winter tires. Got to adjust the speed to the grip or lack of it from day to day but still I allways feel there is no problems with the Jimny on ice, it is nice and predictable and does not offer me any surprices. I get everywhere I want to go, and as you may know this is not the flat part of Norway. With lesser tires I would slide down these hills like you see in the US on yo-tube..
The 4x4 is often on during road use in the winter. Allways on when driving on snow and ice below 30-40mph.

It's becoming my general practice to run the hubs locked in when there's actual snow on the ground or indeed in the forecast, instant 4x4 no worries about getting out of the car.

It's ​​​​​a fact the Jimny has a certain something that makes it fun to drive. 
Tyres and driving style are the major factors in all things sideways. I find my Jimny and 88 SWB Land Rover very similar. Both exhibit a  nervous feel on rough tarmac, but for both it's suspension design limitations and wheelbase rather than lack of grip. Both are fantastic in snow, but my Jimny required snow rated tyres to remove the tendancy to "side Slip", again highlighting the tyre choice.
In both, on snow, I try to get most places in 2WD (and succeed), 4WD is reserved for odd "stuck" situation.


 

Confirms what I've always thought my SZ5 auto is the best small city/country car around. In the city, park anywhere, all round visibility, sit above the crowd and just FUN. MY Gen 3 was good but Gen 4 is better.

Yep, I've probably said it before, but the Jimny is fun because of its limitations. It's effectively a Citroen 2CV and 88" Series Landy merged together.

While there have been times I've thought it would be nice to have a bit more space, or a bit more power, or extra doors, all of those things would stop it being a Jimny. It'd be bigger, heavier, more expensive, more complex, less economical.