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Five-door forbidden fruit: Suzuki Jimny gets bigger

If you’ve always wanted a Suzuki Jimny, but import laws and its small two-door body style held you back, thereÂ’s some good news. No, you cannot import a new one to the United States. Sorry to burst that bubble. The good news is that Suzuki just announced a five-door Jimny for people needing more space, at least if they live in India. The third-generation Jimny landed in 2018 and has remained a three-door since, making this a significant development for off-road fans and people upset with Suzuki for not selling it in the United States. Maruti Suzuki holds massive market share in India, so itÂ’s not surprising to see the automaker coming out with new Jimny variants. The pint-sized SUV measures more than a foot longer than its three-door counterpart but still carries the modelÂ’s signature upright boxy shape and modest accommodations. A 1.5-liter engine making 105 horsepower comes paired with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic and four-wheel drive. Though small, the Jimny five-door manages serious off-roading with a 36-degree approach angle, a 50-degree departure angle, and a 24-degree breakover angle. The SUV rides on 15-inch wheels and three-link rigid axle suspension with coil springs. It also features an old-school ladder frame, which helps deliver that impressive off-road ability, but likely impacts on-road comfort. Jimny buyers get a surprising number of niceties, including a 9-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. ThereÂ’s also a rearview camera and a premium stereo option. The top Alpha trim level adds push-button start, cruise control, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. We donÂ’t have pricing details for the five-door Jimny, but the three-door variant starts at around $24,000 in other markets, such as Mexico. Suzuki will build the Jimny at its facility in Gurugram, India. Orders are open now, with deliveries planned to start in May. The automaker said it would soon expand the five-door to other markets, including Latin America and Australia.      

Suzuki heads rolling over fuel economy scandal

Suzuki Motor Corporation executives admitted last month that the company had been falsifying fuel-economy tests for some of its vehicles. Today, it was announced that chairman Osamu Suzuki will not become CEO and executive vice president Osamu Honda will step down from his position at the next shareholder meeting, which takes place June 29. Executive bonuses for 2015 will also be eliminated or cut in half. The company is also promising to change its corporate culture so as to allow whistle blowers to get their messages heard. "Suzuki has a top-down culture and it's been difficult for voices from lower down to go to the management," Toshihiro Suzuki (Osamu's son) told reporters, according to Bloomberg. Both Suzuki family members will take a pay cut for the last half of 2016 (Osamu at 40 percent, Toshihiro at 30). Over 2 million Suzuki vehicles were involved in the fuel economy fakery. Japan's transport ministry is taking a closer look at company-submitted data after Mitsubishi and then Suzuki were found to have misled regulators and the public. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Suzuki Fuel Efficiency resignation osamu suzuki

Suzuki Jimny gets confused by American guardrails

The reborn Suzuki Jimny 4x4 has faced some crosswinds in the time it's been on the market: It earned only three stars in its Euro NCAP test due to a badly-inflating driver airbag and troubles with pedestrian protection. The automatic emergency braking function also had some issues in NCAP testing, but now the Jimny's AEB system is facing an another problem — it appears to be confused by guardrails. Two German-market Jimnys had been shipped to Los Angeles for the World Car of the Year testing, Australian journalists found that on some corners of the California test route, the AEB was seemingly triggered by a guardrail in a curve in the road. The problem was found with both Jimnys, and Suzuki's Jimny chief engineer was present to look into the matter; later, Suzuki engineers were able to replicate the glitch with these particular vehicles on the same road. While U.S. sales of the Jimny are extremely unlikely, test data acquired on American roads still seems to be highly valuable for Suzuki, as tests in Japan could not replicate the problem. It appears the road condition, tilt angle, curve aspects and vehicle speed all conspired to puzzle the AEB system, which is now being evaluated for a software or calibration change. The jerky correction by the electronic stability program, audible on the CarAdvice video, happened at 45-55 mph, which is not overly fast for even the narrow and tall Jimny — it is possible that the AEB mistook the guardrail for another car. Suzuki stated: "There is a possibility that the (stability control) is instantaneously switched on (by) reacting to the vehicle sway when departing the S-shaped curve — and then consecutively switches on because the vehicle is circling the curve at high speeds. [...] The intervention of the stability control may give a sense of discomfort to the driver but is not an event that would disturb the vehicle's direction of movement." The driver safety assists are a good addition to the Jimny, of course, given that the 1980s second-generation truck was the subject of a beef between Consumer Reports and Suzuki North America due to its reported tippiness in corners. Related Video: