Suzuki has given South Africa a peek of what a Jimny bakkie could look like, but we aren’t going to be getting one anytime soon.
The carmaker made a cheeky post across its social media platforms this week, declaring that the all-new Suzuki Jimny Bakkie is finally here due to popular demand.
There’s only one catch, and it’s the fact that the post was uploaded on April 1st, removing all doubt as to whether this highly-anticipated model will actually appear in showrooms.
Joke’s on you, we’d all buy one
As with any good April Fool’s joke, the best subversions are the ones that are plausible enough to get people onboard before the rug is pulled out from under them, and a Jimny-based bakkie is the sort of thing that South Africans would snap up in a heartbeat.
Case in point are the comments left by the public on Suzuki’s post, where many users expressed varying degrees of disappointment at the revelation that it was all a prank.
Comments ranged from “Still put me on the list for the first one” to “It’s a shame that it’s an April Fools joke, I would have bought one,” but one of the most interesting takes that caught our eye was this: “You guys joke but if you made a Jimny bakkie it would the best seller of the range.”
Even more intriguing is the fact that Suzuki responded to this comment, saying “We’ll pass that on to the powers that be” with an accompanying wink emote.
Hold onto your seats #SuzukiSA fam, because the all-new Suzuki Jimny Bakkie is finally here! You’ve been asking and we listened!
With its compact size and rugged versatility, this little bakkie packs a punch 😉 pic.twitter.com/yLHZTX0PJT— Suzuki SA (@Suzuki_ZA) April 1, 2024
While it’s obviously too soon to say whether a Jimny bakkie will ever become a reality, the “never say never” mentality seems to apply here, as the concept is just too good to write off entirely.
The image provided by the company shows that the hypothetical high-rider would be based on the recently launched five-door version of the fourth-generation models, rather than the three-door units that first appeared in 2018.
The 4x4s are largely the same of course, but the five-door boasts a longer wheelbase of 2,590mm compared to 2,250mm, making it well-suited as a platform for a single-cab bakkie.
It’s also a good bet that the light commercial option would feature the same engine as its SUV counterpart, namely a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol block with 75kW and 130Nm.
A Jimny pickup has been global speculation for years now, with outlets from Australia to the United States all expressing their desire for the compact vehicle while impatient motorists have taken matters into their own hands with unofficial conversions.
Time will tell whether Suzuki’s remark that it will echo the public sentiment to the higher-ups has any weight behind it, but there’s little doubt that a Jimny bakkie would be a massive hit, especially in a market like South Africa that is desperate for an affordable and compact workhorse right now.
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