The three-door Suzuki Jimny has a legendary following in New Zealand and now it is joined by a five-door version that already has Kiwis excited.

The longer model joins the fourth generation Jimny 3-door that has been a success story from launch and offers a new dimension to the world’s smallest authentic off-roader, including an upgraded specification.

And according to Suzuki NZ, it has had more than 1000 prospective customers registered their interest online.

While the width and height of the 5-door remains the same as the Jimny 3-door, the overall length extends 340 mm to provide a still compact 3,820 mm body length or 3,985 mm including the full-size rear-mounted spare wheel. At the same time, the longer 2.590 mm wheelbase compares with 2,250 mm for the 3-door.

The rear seats benefit from increased thickness and added width while the luggage area more than doubles from 85 litres to 211 litres with the rear seats raised. They can also be locked in two reclining positions for improved comfort.

The load area capacity increases to 332 litres when the rear seats are folded and the convenience is further improved by the large side-opening rear door and 12-volt power sockets front and rear.

The 5-door retains strong ladder frame underpinnings and the same generous 210 mm ground clearance and tread of the Jimny 3-door. Front suspension changes include an increase in the coil springs, revised damping characteristics of the shock absorbers and a heavier-duty anti-roll bar. A further upgrade is the fitment of ventilated front disc brakes

The well-proven 1,462 cm3 4-cylinder Suzuki K15B multi-point injection engine has an aluminium block and cylinder head and twin overhead chain-driven camshafts, variable-valve technology (VVT) and multi-point fuel injection. It has four valves per cylinder and lightweight pistons with low-tension rings.

The power unit is lightweight, compact and fuel efficient with strong low and mid-range torque that ideally suit the character of the Jimny. Maximum output is 75 kW at 6,000 rpm and peak torque of 130 Nm at 4,000 rpm, and the new 5-door is as economical as the 3-door.

The Jimny 5-door has a recommended retail price of $40,990 plus on-road costs and the automatic is $ 44,990 plus ORC.