2024 Suzuki Jimny XL Launch Review

Since the regular Suzuki Jimny was launched in 2018, there has been an obvious want for a small off-roader – the evidence is obvious as Jimnys are everywhere. But the want for a larger and more spacious variant to take the kids or friends with you when venturing off into the unknown continues, as larger vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler or Ford Everest show. Luckily for Jimny fans and off-road lovers, Suzuki has followed through with a more practical and spacious Jimny model: here comes the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL with its four-seat capacity and rear doors.

Suzuki hopes that this Jimny XL will entice even more buyers into this capable off-roader and with 2,000 names already taken for orders, we think the company is onto something. With some extra equipment and more interior space combined with the usual Jimny qualities like value and great off-road capability, we think that the XL is in with a good chance of going viral among buyers.

Priced from $34,990 plus on-road costs for the manual and $36,490 for the automatic, the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is priced $3,000 higher than the three-door regular Jimny. Its standard equipment mostly matches the three-door – the auto high beam of the three-door doesn’t feature, but the automatic features adaptive cruise control and the XL adds a larger 9.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, digital radio and rear parking sensors.

Standard equipment on the Jimny XL includes:

• 15-inch alloy wheels with a full-size alloy spare wheel
• Automatic dusk-sensing LED headlights with halogen daytime running lights
• Front fog lights
• Hill descent control
• Remote keyless entry
• Single-zone automatic climate control
• Electric windows and mirrors
• Electric-folding mirrors
• Rear privacy glass
• Leather steering wheel with audio and cruise controls
• Cruise control
• 9.0-inch touchscreen (new for XL)
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto (new for XL)
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Four-speaker sound system
• Front USB and 2x 12V sockets

Safety equipment includes:

• Six airbags
• Auto emergency braking (AEB)
• Lane departure warning (above 60km/h)
• Weaving alert
• Adaptive cruise control (auto only)
• Reversing camera
• Rear parking sensors (new for XL)

2024 Suzuki Jimny XL colour options:

• Arctic White Pearl
• Chiffon Ivory Metallic with a black roof (new for 2024 – $1,295)
• Bluish Black Pearl ($685)
• Granite Grey Metallic ($685)
• Sizzling Red Metallic with a black roof (new for 2024 – $1,295)
• Jungle Green ($685)

It is worth noting that overseas, the Jimny XL offers features like keyless entry with push button start and heated seats, but these features are unfortunately missing from the Australian line up.

The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine used in the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL carries over from the regular Jimny and produces just 75kW of power at 6,000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. With a kerb weight of 1,185kg for the manual and 1,200kg for the automatic makes the Jimny feel quick enough around town, though hardly peppy. It does have to be said, however, that once you actually want to get up to a higher speed the Jimny is slow – unfortunately, there is no other way of saying it.

You need to plan merging onto a motorway or pulling out of a T-intersection and you feel this lack of performance, especially in the automatic. It’s an old engine that makes the Jimny range feel underpowered, and we think not including the lovely turbochaged Boosterjet – either the 82kW 1.0L unit or 103kW 1.4L unit – engines from the Swift in the Jimny XL is a mistake.

Like the three-door Jimny, the Jimny XL can be had with either a standard five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic. Our choice of the two is definitely the manual as you have more control – especially when off-roading. The clutch is light, easy to gauge and the gears feel longer than the auto’s. The automatic on offer is a four-speed torque converter unit that is easy enough to live with, though we noticed it does whine a bit at speed and feel like it’s from an older time.

As far as off road equipment goes, the Jimny XL is equipped with four-wheel drive, a low-range transfer case, a ladder frame chassis, solid axles and a short 2,590mm wheelbase. There are no locking differentials, though with its light tare weight, we didn’t see the need for them – it can wade waters of up to 600mm, for example. The composure and sheer capability of the Jimny off-roading is a sight to behold. It is endearing and has a go anywhere do anything attitude.

The claimed average fuel consumption of the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL with the manual transmission is 6.4L/100km and 6.0L/100km. Strangely enough, despite the XL’s extra length, this is identical to the fuel consumption seen on the regular three-door Jimny. CO2 emissions for the Jimny XL are rated at 148g/km. On our launch drive with a mixture of road driving and off-roading, we saw an average of 8.2L/100km behind the wheel of an automatic Jimny XL, though we’re greatly looking forward to testing one in our regular testing regime.

One aspect of the standard three-door Jimny that we found needing improvement is the ride as it can be choppy and unsettled. Thankfully, this has been improved with the Jimny XL thanks to its longer wheelbase and upgraded suspension and it is more liveable on a daily basis. On trips to the shops or on an open road, we found that the suspension feel of the XL was a little softer than the three-door and while still not as comfortable as a Rolls Royce, this aspect of the Jimny has been improved a lot.

As we experienced in the regular Jimny, the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is a fun car to drive – though it’s more mature than the three-door variant thanks to its longer wheelbase. The Jimny XL is not a keen handler, but you will have a fun time: the body roll is almost comedic. On the launch of the XL, we tested it in reasonably serious off-road conditions: big inclines, a steep decline to test the hill descent control, the usual bumpy off-road testing and even a reasonably deep water section to test its wading capability. In everything thrown at the Jimny XL, it did very well and impressed us thoroughly.

As with the regular Jimny, the XL includes a smattering of active safety equipment like auto emergency braking, lane departure warning and for the automatic Jimny XL, adaptive cruise control. Our brief testing on the launch drive was quite positive. It maintained a good distance to the car in front and didn’t creep too far over the speed limit – the lane departure warning is a touch rudimentary, but does the job.

Inside the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is a cabin that could be called somewhat barebones as it doesn’t feature too much tech like many other modern cars, but there’s just enough to keep it current. We believe the interior is well suited to the Jimny’s off-road utilitarian vibe. There are no frills and while the materials are basic and hard to the touch, they are hard wearing which means they can get dirty without staining or breaking.

More interior storage would be great in the cabin of the Jimny as all you get is a small glovebox, small door pockets and two cup holders in between the driver and the passenger. More front and rear cabin storage would drastically help the practicality of the Jimny XL.

New to the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is a 9.0-inch touchscreen and though it doesn’t feature satellite navigation, it does now have wireless Apple CarPlay – though still wired Android Auto. It was easy to connect, though we had an issue where once we were connected it took a while to reconnect once getting back into the car. The new four-speaker audio system is better than the two-speaker setup in the standard Jimny as it has a nice amount of bass for a four-speaker setup.

Open the new rear doors and stepping into the rear of the Jimny XL will surprise you as while the Jimny is a small car there is a reasonable amount of leg room and head room. It is oodles more than the three-door. Unfortunately there are no rear air vents but for a car this small we don’t really think you need them. The only rear amenities on offer are rear power windows and a hook on the back of the passenger seat and that’s about it. The door-like tailgate opens up with assistance of a hydraulic strut and reveals 211-litres of cargo space with the seats up and 1,113L with the seats folded – much more than the 85L space of the regular Jimny.

Like other new Suzuki cars, the 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance. It includes five years/100,000km of capped price servicing, with servicing required once yearly or every 15,000km, whichever comes first. The cost to service the regular Suzuki Jimny over the course of five years or 75,000km is $2,265 (an average service cost of $435 annually), which isn’t the cheapest.

The 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.5/10

The 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL is a car that will now appeal to more people with its rear doors and greater practicality than the regular Jimny. It’s a vehicle that excels when it is shown a bush track or an off road course, though can also be used to take the kids to school and do the weekly shop. Is it worth considering over the regular model? We think that the XL is better value for month than the regular car due to the bigger body and more interior space, as well as the slight equipment bump. Because of that, the XL is a no brainer. Plus, its Indian build location means that supply is likely to be more plentiful.

Our only downsides of the Jimny XL are its ancient engine that’s underpowered, unrefined and thirsty, its wobbly nature and while we like the interior due to its hard wearing nature, we would like to see more soft touch materials such as the arm rests and more practicality as the storage space currently on offer is low. Ultimately though, we would be more than comfortable daily driving a 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL and would have a blast off-roading it on the weekend. It is definitely worth a test drive!

Thank you to Anthony Matteo from AJ Film & Photography for sharing some pictures from the Jimny XL local launch!