You Still Cant Get A Suzuki Jimny In The U.S., But These Might Be Your Next Best Bet

Whether it’s kei cars, motorcycles, snacks, or Super Sentai shows, Japan usually saves the best stuff for itself. Take the Suzuki Jimny, for example. This tiny, mighty, micro-SUV is popular all over the world for its rugged good looks, Kei-like charms, sturdy build, and incredible off-road capabilities. Unfortunately, it’s also impossible to get here in The Colonies for a number of boring reasons.

Never fear, though. If you’re jonesing for some of that good, good smallbore off-road action promised by the Jimny, you’re not totally out of luck. There are a handful of good Jimny alternatives out there that run the gamut from JDM imports to domestic mainstays to an actual Jimny in disguise. First, though, let’s talk about what the Jimny is and why so many people want one.

Way, way back in 1967, Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company introduced a tiny, Kei-class off-roader called the HopeStar ON360. Power was provided by a 359-cc air-cooled two-stroke Mitsubishi inline-twin with 21 horsepower mated to a four-speed manual transmission. It was equipped with a two-speed transfer case, a PTO, axles from a Colt 1000, and wheels from a Jeep CJ-3B license built by Mitsubishi.

The ON360 was a simple, no-nonsense, pocket-sized two-seater with serious off-road bona fides. It had two seats, no doors, very spartan styling, and absolutely zero pretenses to anything other than what it actually was—a utility vehicle. Due to the engine’s small displacement and low output, the ON360 was slow — a stated top speed of just over 40 mph in two-wheel-drive mode and less than half that in four-wheel-drive — but the potent, Mitsubishi-derived drivetrain meant it could go just about anywhere a driver could want.

Despite buying 100 engines from Mitsubishi, Hope made, depending on who you ask, around 15 ON360s for the domestic market and another 30 for export. The company tried to sell the plans and tooling to Mitsubishi, but the triple-diamond passed on the offer. In 1968, however, the boys from Hamamatsu swooped in and bought Hope Auto Company in its entirety. In 1970, Suzuki released a stout Kei-class off-roader called the Jimny based heavily on the ON360, and the rest is history.

The first Suzuki LJ10 Jimny rolled out of Hamamatsu in 1970. Based heavily on the HopeStar ON360, the first-generation Jimny was a simple, body-on-frame vehicle powered by that 359-cc air-cooled two-stroke twin. Within two years, it gained a water-cooled mill, a handful of horses, and was rebadged the LJ20. The larger LJ50 was released in ’75 powered by a 539cc, two-stroke triple and equipped with a tougher, more capable driveline. The line gained a four-stroke engine — an 800-cc inline four — in 1978 with the introduction of the LJ80, and with only a few upgrades here and there, the Jimny soldiered on until a thorough redesign in the early 80s and the introduction of the second-gen series.

By this point, the big brains at Suzuki had clearly hit on a winning formula — boxy, broad-shouldered styling, reliable powertrain, and off-road capabilities that put many larger off-roaders to shame. Over the course of its 55 years in production, the Jimny has sold nearly three million units and has been exported to around 200 countries. It’s been a soft top, a hardtop, a three-door, a five-door, and has featured a ton of different engine and transmission combinations. To say that the little off-roader that could is a popular is a gross understatement.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s have a look at some non-Jimny options you might consider for pocket-sized off-roading stateside.

Suzuki unveiled the second generation Jimny, which included the SJ30 and SJ40, in 1981. In 1985, the company started exporting the larger SJ40 to the States badged as the Samurai. It was the first four-wheeled vehicle the company sold in America. Powered by a water-cooled single overhead cam 1.3-liter inline-four, the Samurai put down around 63 horsepower and 74 foot-pounds of torque in stock trim. It wasn’t a barn burner — a contemporary MotorTrend review clocked its 0-to-60 time at a languid 16.9 seconds — but it was small, agile, efficient, and most of all, fun.

The Samurai proved more popular than even Suzuki imagined, thanks to a base price that was around two-thirds of its closest competitors and an aggressively cutesy marketing campaign. Team Suzuki figured it’d import around 1,200 Samurais a month, but demand was so great that nearly 50,000 units sold its first year on the market. It took just over a year for Suzuki to sell 100,000 units, and by 1988 it was selling 8,000 a month to rabid American buyers.

Unfortunately, in 1988, price increases caused by a strong Yen and a catastrophic review of the updated Samurai in Consumer Reports nearly killed the Samurai. If you’re a gearhead Of A Certain Age like me, you might remember all the rollover-related Samurai jokes from the late 80s. It turns out that the Samurai’s short wheelbase and relatively high center of gravity gave the little 4×4 a nasty tendency to roll over in turns even at sedate city speeds. Consumer Reports gave the Samurai its dreaded unacceptable rating, the jokes spread like wildfire, and sales plummeted. There was even a lawsuit that saw Suzuki sue CR that was eventually settled out of court in 2004.

Samurai sales never recovered, and despite some really nice upgrades, including a throttle-body fuel injection system in 1990, it was axed from Suzuki’s lineup in 1995.

Today, 30 years after the last one was sold here in America, you can still pick up used Samurais in relatively good shape. They’re not cheap — depending on the condition and any mods they’ll set you back between $15,000 and $25,000 — but can you put a price on a real, live, road-legal Jimny?

Before we get into the Isuzu Amigo, I need to make a confession. I was 13 when the Amigo came out and I was obsessed with it. I still am, all these years later, and you’re not going to get any objectivity out of me in this section, so be warned. Anyway, here goes.

Isuzu introduced the Amigo to America in 1989. Based heavily on the Isuzu Pickup Truck — AKA the P’up, the KB, and the Faster — it was a two-door, semi-convertible mini-SUV with a removable soft top over the rear seats and a sunroof in the solid roof over the driver and passenger seats. Isuzu offered two engine options, a 2.3-liter four that made around 96 hp or a 2.6-liter that made 120 horses, both mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. It got an automatic in ’92, but it was only for the 2.6-liter rear-wheel-drive version, and that disappeared by ’94 along with the smaller 2.3-liter mill.

The second-gen Amigo was released in 1998, and was announced by a pitch-perfect parody of the old-timey Slinky jingle that would have made Weird Al proud. It was sleeker than the first-gen Amigo, and could be had with either a 2.3-liter four or a 3.2-liter V6. The smaller engine could be optioned with either 2WD or 4WD, but the V6 only came in 4WD flavor. This generation of Amigo went through numerous changes and updates, including gaining a new identity as the Rodeo Sport, but was eventually phased out in 2003. The SUV market has never been the same.

Amigos are a bit bigger than Samurai, but they’re still square in the “Cheap and Cheerful” mini-SUV club. Every bit as fun in the city and as capable off-road, used Amigos in good quality can be had for not a lot of money these days. I prefer the first generation’s styling myself, but honestly, you can’t go wrong with either.

Didn’t see this one coming, did you? No, seriously. The Jeep Wrangler is a pretty decent substitute for a Jimny, especially in its base trim. A two-door, no-frills, soft-top Wrangler is just about as close as you can get to a Jimny in the States these days. It’s a legend, it has proven off-road capabilities, and it’s decent around town. Take the doors off and drop the top, squint real hard, and you can almost pretend that you’re in a Jimny.

Sure, it’s more expensive. Sure it’s a Jeep, with all the good and bad that comes with that. On the other hand, it’s new. A new vehicle, even a Wrangler, is safer, more convenient, more reliable, and easier to live with than something that was designed in the 70s and built in the 80s. It even has a warranty. If your 40-year-old Samurai breaks down in the middle of nowhere, it’s not like you can go crying to the dealership about it.

A base model Wrangler Sport in white with no options, the 3.6-liter V6, six-speed manual gearbox, and the standard running gear should set you back around $30,000 Yankee Dollars. More than the Samurai and Amigo, sure, but you’re paying for 30-some years of automotive development and convenience here.