Stopped at the traffic lights somewhere near downtown Machida in Tokyo prefecture, there’s a pause for consideration. There’s really no getting away from it: from a dynamic point of view, the Suzuki Jimny is… rubbish. The steering has a yawning dead spot from centre to about a quarter turn, presumably to prevent people hoofing them into a corner and immediately flipping onto the roof, the ride is choppy, the ‘handling’ mildly alarming and the brakes mediocre. It probably doesn’t help that this is a four-speed auto taped to the back of a 658cc three-pot petrol, and the beam axles have the ride comfort and spinal sympathy of a paving slab. And I love it. I really, genuinely
