The Five-Door Suzuki Jimny Is Too Popular In Japan

We can no longer buy a Suzuki Jimny in Britain, which makes us rather sad. It’s a very different story for the characterful little off-roader in Japan, though, where you can buy the 1.5-litre three-door Jimny that we used to be able to, as well as a narrow-arched, 660cc version designed to comply with kei car rules.

That range was expanded in Japan a few days ago with the addition of the five-door Jimny that’s been available in places like India and Australia for a while now. Or rather, it was expanded briefly – just a few days after putting it on sale in its home country, Suzuki’s had to temporarily drop the five-door Jimny.

It’s for the right reasons, though – turns out that demand in the JDM market for the stretched Jimny, which goes by the name Jimny Nomade in Japan, has far exceeded what Suzuki expected, and the company can’t import them fast enough.

As a result, a statement on the manufacturer’s Japanese site reads: “The Jimny Nomade has been very well received by many customers, and we have received orders far exceeding our production capacity. Therefore, we will be suspending orders for the time being.”

While the Japanese market gets three-door Jimnys made in Japan, all the five-doors are made by Suzuki’s Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki. The company reportedly plans on importing it in relatively small numbers, and it seems it’s already filled the order books for some time.

It’s no huge surprise – while the Jimny is big on charm and off-road capability, it’s a little compromised on practicality, so a slightly bigger version feels like a surefire success. Moreover, the Nomade starts at ¥2.651 million in Japan, or around £13,900, so it’s hardly expensive in the grand scheme of modern cars.

Suzuki’s statement says it’ll reopen orders as and when it can. This is of no consequence to us in the UK, though. Sigh.