Trucks similar to Jimny
Discussion
I'm after a new truck, this is to use as my daily covering about 20-25k miles a year, my price range is about 6-8k or up to 11k if I can get a decent finance deal on a truck I really like(yeah yeah, finance bad, cash is king etc etc).
Now as much as I love Landys, at this price range, I can't see one being reliable enough without me spending every other weekend underneath it after its had a few more miles put on it and a couple of laning trips.
The Suzuki Jimny however appeals to me, fairly simple design, much like a modern Series 1, with a pretty good record for reliability. What is the experience of folks on here though?
What other alternatives are there to consider?
Oh and I won't be doing anything too serious, just a bit of laning and some P&P days now and again, but mods will inevitably happen.
Now as much as I love Landys, at this price range, I can't see one being reliable enough without me spending every other weekend underneath it after its had a few more miles put on it and a couple of laning trips.
The Suzuki Jimny however appeals to me, fairly simple design, much like a modern Series 1, with a pretty good record for reliability. What is the experience of folks on here though?
What other alternatives are there to consider?
Oh and I won't be doing anything too serious, just a bit of laning and some P&P days now and again, but mods will inevitably happen.
I'd rule out the jimny straight away, 20k+ a year is a lot for a car that doesn't like commuting, then if you mod it it will be even worse.
They are OK on motorways but they're not really suited to it and are pretty thirsty for a 1300 once over 55mph.
I've done long journeys in mine plenty of times and its comfortable enough for me at 5'11" but i'd not want to do it all the time.
For your budget you could get a good swb land cruiser or shogun. My mate runs a swb cruiser and it returns him 30mpg all day long.
They are OK on motorways but they're not really suited to it and are pretty thirsty for a 1300 once over 55mph.
I've done long journeys in mine plenty of times and its comfortable enough for me at 5'11" but i'd not want to do it all the time.
For your budget you could get a good swb land cruiser or shogun. My mate runs a swb cruiser and it returns him 30mpg all day long.
mrdelmonti said:
I'm after a new truck, this is to use as my daily covering about 20-25k miles a year, my price range is about 6-8k or up to 11k if I can get a decent finance deal on a truck I really like(yeah yeah, finance bad, cash is king etc etc).
Now as much as I love Landys, at this price range, I can't see one being reliable enough without me spending every other weekend underneath it after its had a few more miles put on it and a couple of laning trips.
The Suzuki Jimny however appeals to me, fairly simple design, much like a modern Series 1, with a pretty good record for reliability. What is the experience of folks on here though?
What other alternatives are there to consider?
Oh and I won't be doing anything too serious, just a bit of laning and some P&P days now and again, but mods will inevitably happen.
I friggin love Jimny's!!!! Now as much as I love Landys, at this price range, I can't see one being reliable enough without me spending every other weekend underneath it after its had a few more miles put on it and a couple of laning trips.
The Suzuki Jimny however appeals to me, fairly simple design, much like a modern Series 1, with a pretty good record for reliability. What is the experience of folks on here though?
What other alternatives are there to consider?
Oh and I won't be doing anything too serious, just a bit of laning and some P&P days now and again, but mods will inevitably happen.
Such a misunderstood truck/4x4 IMO. There are nothing like soft roaders at all.
What they are is proper ladder chassis, live axle and long suspension travel 4x4's.
You simply won't beat them for a small nimble 4x4, and this allows them to run rings round even things like a Defender.
Downsides - they are small inside too. They can't haul much or tow, not overly speedy or powerful and the 1.3 petrol engine isn't as good on fuel as you'd think/hope for.
They also can lack a bit of ground clearance and the narrower track, while sometimes a blessing means you may struggle to follow some tram lines that have been established by wider vehicles.
So on some levels I don't think there is much to compete with it.
That said these two trucks are pretty superb too.
Wrangler TJ
If you look at the spec of these they are highly similar to a Defender, they also hold their money quite well too, but are more affordable than a Defender, so you'll get more for you're money.
£6-8k should easily get you a nice TJ.
Things of note:
-They have a 93.1" wheelbase, a Defender 90 has a 92.9" wheelbase
-They are pretty much the same width and length too
-They run coil suspension and live axles all round on a separate ladder chassis and body tub.
-Easily as capable off road as a Land Rover with arguably superior suspension design
In terms of engine you have 2 choices:
-2.5 petrol (very late models used a newer 2.4 petrol). These make similar power to a diesel 90. A little lacking in grunt maybe, but perfectly capable. Offer up only slightly worse mpg than a diesel 90 too
-4.0 straight 6. These are fab engines, truly lovely. I have one in my Cherokee and it'll return 23mpg on a 65mph cruise. Quite pokey too, allowing a Wrangler to sprint to 60mph in about 8 seconds.
-Available as automatic or 5 speed manual
-Air con available
-Comfy interior
-removable roof
-Not as good at towing or hauling as a Defender, but better than a Jimny
If you want to spend a little more, £10-12k then the next generation Wrangler is also in budget. These are known as the JK series Wranglers.
This "new" Wrangler is exactly that, it was a brand new design in 2005 rather than a refreshed old model.
What this means is you get the BEST of 4x4 tech and ability combined with a modern vehicle.
So it's comfy, well equipped, quite refined on the road, fast, good on fuel. (Uses a 2.8 CRD motor
) with 6 speed manual or 4 speed auto.But you also get superb long travel suspension, really tough Dana 44 axles, ladder chassis, good approach angles and a superb TCS system designed for off road use.
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To put this in perspective - I'm really a Landy man (have 1 1/2 Landy's at the moment) and have been around and driven loads of them. I think my close family has had in the region of 50-60 Land Rover's over the years.
So with this in mind - I've driven a couple of JK Wranglers And they totally and utterly wipe the floor with the Defender or S1/S2 Disco's In every measurable respect.
The only other compact/swb off roader I'd probably seriously consider would be a G-Wagen, but choice is often limited and most will be old and slow at this price, yet highly capable.
mcjimny said:
I'd rule out the jimny straight away, 20k+ a year is a lot for a car that doesn't like commuting, then if you mod it it will be even worse.
They are OK on motorways but they're not really suited to it and are pretty thirsty for a 1300 once over 55mph.
I've done long journeys in mine plenty of times and its comfortable enough for me at 5'11" but i'd not want to do it all the time.
For your budget you could get a good swb land cruiser or shogun. My mate runs a swb cruiser and it returns him 30mpg all day long.
Are they really that bad for that sort of mileage, the comfort thing doesn't bother me that much, and I'm not too fussed about blasting down the motorway either.They are OK on motorways but they're not really suited to it and are pretty thirsty for a 1300 once over 55mph.
I've done long journeys in mine plenty of times and its comfortable enough for me at 5'11" but i'd not want to do it all the time.
For your budget you could get a good swb land cruiser or shogun. My mate runs a swb cruiser and it returns him 30mpg all day long.
mrdelmonti said:
Are they really that bad for that sort of mileage, the comfort thing doesn't bother me that much, and I'm not too fussed about blasting down the motorway either.
Yep!! You could probably put up with it occassionally but there are far better options out there. The gearing is too low for mile munching so at 70 its doing about 4500rpm and its not until you sit with the wagons on a motorway at 55-65mph that you see just how quick everyone else is going. I've used both our cars on the same journeys (ST170 and Jimny) and the jimny would easily cost £10-15 more for the same journey, if you can keep it at 50 or below it can be "reasonable" on fuel. They are small but with the seats down you can get a fair bit in them and i find its actually more comfortable as a driver than a 90, for 2 reasonably built people its "cosy" but otherwise for the size of car fairly roomy. Don't get me wrong you'll rarely hear me say much against my jimny (despite its poor economy, chocolate bearings, expensive parts and steering wobble) but its just very good off road and always a laugh to run around in but a motorway cruiser it is not.
The wrangler was another that came to my mind when i first read the thread i'd love one but they seem to hold strong money as they are a bit of a niche car and not exactly available in droves like landies etc..It would really serve you well and certainly do the job off road, they flex really well. Look at what the yanks have been doing to them for years, they will run 8" lift on a daily.
To the OP, can you accommodate two cars, it would seem if you have 8K-ish to spend, get something boring for the big miles and a 4x4 for fun. The more you mod and move towards an excellent offroad machine, the more you sacrifice on-road manners. Then, when you can go for the Defender/TJ/Jimny/yourchoice for offroad without fear that it'll suck for the big miles. I'm lucky that I don't need a vehicle for work, so I can mod away to my hearts content (as long as the interior stays nice so the missus doesn't get mud on her!). 
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