The first Jimny I drove was....

We were on holiday in St Lucia in the Caribbean in 2009 and hired a car for a few days, it was a Jimny.  I never forgot it and was one of the reasons why I wanted one in 2019, especially the way it pulled up the steep hill out of Marigot Bay.

Robin
 
 

The first Jimny I drove was also my first 4WD, and my first Suzuki, a canvas top LJ50, some time around 1980/81.

The one I currently own, never been in one before this.
Always fancied one and when the family flew the nest I jumped at the opportunity.
Hasn't disappointed, it's joined my personal car hall of fame of vehicles I have owned that have a certain "je ne sais quoi". 

I needed a car I could fit two young daughters into.  Dismissed the Jimny because of the rear legroom.  Looked at an Audi A1, which isn't even a 2+2 once you adjust the driver's seat.  Went straight back and test drove the Jimny, then bought the demonstrator.  The dealer seemed bemused, as it had been in stock for a while and no-one else had asked to drive it.  Times have changed.

1. 1995 or 96. Test driving a Blue / White '89 Samurai that a hairdresser was selling. Still regret not byuing that one.. Had too large tires that was rubbing like crazy up front. Later in '97 I bought an yellow '85 SJ413 and the rest is history

My first experience was driving various SJs on farms and sheep stations in West Australia. Then I saw a few Jimnys along the Gibb River road. I stuck my head under one and saw it was built like an SJ but with coil springs rather than the bumpy leaf springs and I wanted one!
 

I had a 1993 Samurai 413 back in 1999 i think, then bought a brand new Jimny convertible in October 2004 for £7500 as the dealer couldnt shift it.... went straight to mates garage where a lift kit and wheels/tyres had been sat for a few days waiting. That Jimny got seriously modified over the years, i did sell it and regret it  - had a couple of other jimnys - and then bought back the original, happy days ! with a total of 34,000 miles the jimny was loking tired as it was all off road.. rust starting to settle in so i sold it a few years back and its no longer on the road. 
New Jimny arrived this august, love it.    

The 1st Jimny I drove was the 2000 model that I bought using Autotrader, it was 11 years old and cost me £1200. Which seems like a bargain now.

The first Jimny I ever drove was sometime in the late 80s.  A friend's father had a dealership, and let me try one out for a weekend.

Honestly, I didn't like it!  It was oddly light and insubstantial, I felt, and had a strange combination of close-coupled seats and high seating position; as my friend said, it felt like driving a phone booth.

Then and for many years I was a sportscar person, so it was not likely that the Jimny would suit me.  But having given up speed -- one looks rather ridiculous climbing out of a swoopy "supercar" or tiny vintage roadster, after a certain age -- I got interested in 4x4 vehicles for mainly practical reasons.  My first one, a 2018 Discovery diesel, was quite comfortable and well kitted out but much too large for backroad berry-picking.  So I went looking for something smaller.

I'm glad I did.  The Jimny is a throwback, but (mostly) in a good way: it is purposeful, basic, and gets itself into and out of situations that would challenge even a proper heavy-duty 4x4.  Plus it's a cute little minx and dead easy to care for. 

And being a phonebooth isn't so bad now that we all drive around with our phones anyway...